(Disclaimer: The editorial that follows is the sole opinion of the author. It is not the opinion of the American Organic Hop Grower Association, organic hop growers, brewers, or other organization mentioned.)
On September 3, 2010 the Handling Committee of the USDA’s National Organic Standards Board (“NOSB”) dealt a massive blow to the fledgling United States organic hop industry and the American Organic Hop Grower Association ("AOHGA") in voting 6-0 to recommend that hops remain one of only 3 whole crops on the “National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances” entirely allowed in non-organic form to be used in the production of a product labeled “organic”. The Committee’s recommendation is below:
“On the basis of written and public comment in response to this petition to remove, organic hops were deemed not to be available in the form, quantity, or quality to currently justify removal from 205.606. To do so would negatively impact the organic brewing industry. Many varieties of organic hops are becoming more available however, and it is the Handling Committees intention that future boards take this into consideration for any future petitions to remove, or at the next sunset of this material. The committee also reminds the industry that as a section 205.606 listed material, hops is subject to commercial availability scrutiny when used in an organic product.”
In this case, hops are being held to a higher standard than virtually any other agricultural product with respect to their use in an organic product. In the production of beer, not every variety of barley is available organically but organic brewers are required to use organic barley in a beer labeled “organic”. Why does the NOSB feel that all varieties of hops need be grown organically before organic hops are required for use in organic beer?
Elsewhere in the committee’s recommendation they state “credible public comment refutes that all necessary varieties are available as organic.” Who is to say what varieties are necessary or unnecessary? If it’s the NOSB, can we get some guidance so we know what to grow? If this is the standard that hops are required to meet, all that is required to keep hops on the National List is for one brewer or person to state that a variety not currently grown organically is “necessary”. I find it hard to believe that other crops are held to the same standard and that hops (humulus lupulus), chia (Salvia hispanica L.), and Wakame seaweed (Undaria pinnatifida) are the only species in the plant kingdom that don’t meet the standard. After all, they are the only three on the National List identified by their scientific species name. Other ingredients on the list are derivatives of agricultural products, like celery powder, not all celery in all its forms.
Consider the following statement in the committee’s recommendation (emphasis mine):
“The petitioner claims that hops can now be sourced as organic, but a significant number of written and public comments at the Spring 2010 NOSB meeting contended that although some varieties of hops were available as organic, not all varieties are equal, and many varieties used for specific flavor profiles or beer types were not available.”
At the Spring 2010 meeting, the only people to make public comments about the removal of hops from the list were two people in favor of the removal and a single brewer who has since been working with organic hop growers to ensure future availability of organic hops that meet his needs. I am not aware of any other comments made to the NOSB that would support the statement above. In essence, the committee is either considering private comments and calling them public, or took the word of a single brewer as all the evidence they need to cripple the future of the organic hop industry.
Arguably the biggest problem is the Catch-22 still facing the organic hop producers. Like many organically grown agricultural products, organic hop production is considerably more expensive than non-organic hop production. Consequently, organically-produced hops are priced higher than non-organically produced hops of the same variety, giving brewers an immediate incentive to work around the system and use non-organic hops in their organic beers. Sadly, this isn’t a difficult task. Many hop dealers do not carry organic hops, or if they do, they carry very small quantities. Most of the organic hop inventory is carried on the farm level. A brewer can call his preferred hop dealers asking for organic hops fully knowing that the dealer doesn’t have those hops. He documents this contact and then purchases the non-organic hops despite the fact that organic hops sit unsold on the farms. But the brewer never attempted to contact the grower so the sale was never going to made. We never had a chance. It’s not surprising then that the market for organic hops is mostly non-existent. Organic hop producers are currently growing organic hops because they believe in the principle of organic production, but because there is no significant market for their product, the growers have consistently lost money while hoping that someday there will be a market for organic hops.
Then the dagger from the NOSB Handling Committee (emphasis mine):
“The organic hop industry has made significant advances since the NOSB recommendation to include hops on the National List in June 2007. Hop farmers in the Pacific Northwest, as well as other growing regions throughout the U.S., are now producing organic hops on at least 100 acres of farmland, resulting in tens of thousands of pounds of organic hops produced domestically in 2009. This effort has resulted in at least nine new organic hop varieties, bringing the total number of available organic hop varieties to at least thirty. Public comments indicate that although the organic hops industry has grown, there is still not the form, quantity, and quality available to serve the entire organic beer industry.”
Apparently for organic hops to be used in organic beer, organic hop growers have to continue losing money and piling up inventory until we can supply the entire organic beer industry while organic brewers continue to go around organic growers to use non-organic hops. Consequently, organic hop growers have no idea what varieties and what quantities would be required to supply the entire organic beer industry so that we could finally sell our product. That’s the Catch-22. The NOSB has laid out the path to a future for organic hops, but it’s a path that organic hop growers cannot realistically follow. We can’t sell organic hops until brewers start to use them and brewers aren’t using them because the NOSB says they don’t have to and until the NOSB reverses their stance, we can’t be expected to grow organic hops for very much longer. We’ll go broke trying to supply the entire organic beer industry before organic brewers are required to use organic hops.
Just last week, I had the pleasure of meeting with a group of small-scale organic hop growers from all around the country that had traveled to Yakima to see commercial hop production. Most of these growers were very new to hop farming and are growing certified organic hops on a small scale, using hand harvesting and air drying. What becomes of them now? I can reluctantly tear out my 10.5 acres of organic hops and go right back in to growing conventional hops if there is not going to be a market for my organic production, but these small farmers are going to be out of business completely. Their future in hop production relies on brewers using organic hops because these growers will not be able to compete with the larger farms in the Pacific Northwest. These growers need a niche market like organics that they can sell into, but if organic brewers can pay less for non-organic hops and still label their beer “organic”, how will these small organic growers continue to produce hops? The NOSB has effectively sentenced these hop farms to death. Is this fair?
The final group that really loses here is the organic consumer. Most people who are buying organic beer have no clue that the beer contains a non-organic ingredient and the brewers are the last people that will tell them. Many of these organic beers command a higher price than their non-organic counterparts, yet the brewers are buying cheaper non-organic hops and hiding the truth. How many hundreds of thousands of consumers have been misled into believing they were buying a truly organic product? On both sides of the spectrum we have people that believe in the organic ideal - hop growers and consumers - that are getting screwed over by the continued use of non-organic hops in organic beer. This is utterly outrageous.
So what is going to happen from here? If the NOSB follows the Handling Committee’s recommendation at their meeting in Madison, WI next month, I honestly believe that the decline of the organic hop industry will shortly follow. We have tried to establish this market for years now with very little luck and had rested our hopes on the NOSB to do the right thing and secure a future for organic hop production. Without future commitments from brewers for my organic hops, I will almost certainly exit organic hop production, probably forever. Producing hops organically is extraordinarily difficult, and I won’t continue to go through the headache without a secure outlet for my product.
The right thing for the NOSB to do is to lay out a reasonable roadmap for a future for organic hops. The current recommendation is far from reasonable. A better solution would be to include organic hop growers and organic brewers in the decision-making process and set a date in the future by which time all organic beer must use 100% organic hops. In the meantime, brewers and hop growers could work together and mutually agree upon terms that ensure a future for the organic hop industry. The recommendation as published places far too much responsibility on the grower and lets brewers continue about their merry way. Both parties should be held responsible for making the future of organic beer include organic hops.
The right thing for organic brewers to do is begin to contract with organic hop growers for organic hops. And if an organic beer contains non-organic hops, brewers should tell their customers that. Be open about your organic hop sourcing process. Answer consumers’ questions honestly about why your beer does not use organic hops while organic hop growers lose money. Anything less is unfair to the principle of organic production and unfair to the purchasers of organic beer.
Finally, I want to thank all of the people who have supported organic hop growers in the noble mission of removing hops from the National List. Your contributions are greatly appreciated and I hope that this was not all in vain.
Brewers
Anheuser-Busch, Inc.
Blackfoot River Brewing Company
Fremont Brewing Company
Lakefront Brewery, Inc.
Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Organic Hop Growers
BT Loftus Ranches, Inc.
Carpenter Ranches, LLC
The Oregon Hophouse
Perrault Farms, Inc.
Plough Monday Farm
Roy Farms
Sierra Nevada Brewing Company
Other Contributors
Meghann Quinn, Executive Director, American Organic Hop Grower Association
Ralph Olson, Hopunion, LLC
Amelia Slayton, Seven Bridges Cooperative
Tawnie Brown, Corporate Purchasing Manager, Reser’s Fine Foods
Charles Bamforth, PhD, D.Sc, University of California - Davis
Winfired Fuchshofen, President, Organic Insights, Inc.
Thank you all for your support.
Patrick Smith
Vice President
BT Loftus Ranches, Inc.
1209 Morrier Lane
Yakima, WA 98901
Phone: 509-452-3931 ext. 152
