Idaho hop production forecast to be way down this year

By Sean Ellis

Idaho Farm Bureau Federation

WILDER - From 2011 to 2022, Idaho hop acres soared, year after year, riding the craft beer craze.

Now, with the craft beer lovefest leveling off, Idaho hop acres are headed the other direction.

"The craft craziness has slowed," said Wilder hop grower Oliver Schroeder, president of Hop Growers of America and chairman of the Idaho Hop Growers Commission.

Hops are used as a bittering and flavoring agent in beer production. Most of Idaho's hop farms are located in southwestern Idaho.

Like other Idaho hop growers, Schroeder reduced acreage significantly this year.

"All of us are pretty much in the same boat," he said.

In 2011, there were 2,265 acres of hops grow in Idaho and the state ranked third in the nation in total hop production, behind Washington and Oregon

As Idaho hop acres rose rapidly in coming years, the state passed Oregon to take over the No. 2 spot.

Idaho hop acres peaked at 9,694 in 2021 before declining to 9,267 in 2022, and now they are falling fast.

USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service estimates Idaho growers will harvest 5,833 acres of hops this year, down from 8,645 last year, a 33 percent drop.

NASS estimates Idaho hop production will total 12 million pounds in 2024, down from 16.9 million pounds in 2023. That's a 29 percent drop in one year.

The reason it's not more is because NASS is estimating average hop yields in Idaho to be up 6 percent this year compared with last year.

Idaho still ranks No. 2 in hop production. NASS estimates that Oregon growers will produce 9.3 million pounds of hops this year off of 5,726 acres.

Washington is the nation's unchallenged No. 1 hop producer and NASS estimates that state's farmers will produce 66.5 million pounds of hops in 2024 off of 33,265 acres.

Idaho isn't the only state losing hop acres rapidly. Both Washington and Oregon hop acres are forecast to be down close to 15 percent in 2024 compared with 2023.

The vast majority of U.S. hop production occurs in Washington, Idaho and Oregon.

NASS estimates U.S. hop production will total 88 million pounds this year, down from 104 million pounds last year, and that U.S. hop acres will total 44,824 in 2024, down from 54,318 in 2023.

The rapid, double-digit growth in Idaho and Pacific Northwest hop production that occurred for a decade was not healthy, Schroeder said.

"If you look at historical trends, that's not how things go," he said. "You had to have a reduction and we're going through that."

He said Idaho's acreage decline is mostly a result of less demand for certain hop varieties that were planted here in large numbers.

"The biggest driver in the reduction of acres are varietals that have been … over-planted and are not being used in the industry as much," he said.

Logistic challenges are another factor, he said, with more than 70 percent of Idaho hops heading to Washington to be processed.

In 2023, "the U.S. hop industry navigated currents of change," according to a statistical report by HGOA. "Marking a divergence from recent trends, growers shifted to idling yards and replacing aroma and dual-purpose varieties with super high alpha cultivars."

Last year, with demand for hops falling, "The season served as the first period in 12 years with a substantial decrease in acreage, accruing to a 10% total reduction in the Pacific Northwest," the report added.

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