Hopyard Walkabouts Planned at CLEREL

JAMESTOWN, NEW YORK (4/23/18) -- Did you know that hops are a perennial plant that is cut down each year for the harvesting of their cones and then can grow 18 feet to the top of a trellis before the summer solstice in June the following year? Were you aware that hop growers ensure a uniform harvest by cutting back the early shoots and that you can eat the first flush of hop growth by adding it to a salad or pickling it for later use? Or, that by using special “string”, the hop bines can be trained in early spring and they will climb the remainder of the way on their own? With the increasing interest in local craft beers, there is a corresponding increase in the desire to learn more about the production of hops, one of the ingredients that helps provide beer with its wonderful bitterness and aroma. Anyone interested in learning how hops are produced should plan on attending the Hopyard Walkabout on Tuesday, May 1st starting at 6:00pm at the Cornell Lake Erie Research and Extension Laboratory, 6592 West Main Road, Portland, NY. This informal meeting is the first of a series of Hopyard Walkabouts that will occur each month from May – August in the CLEREL hopyards.

Tim Weigle, Hops IPM Specialist with the NYS IPM Program and LERGP, will lead the discussion of what is happening in the hopyards, what production practices are planned for the coming weeks and will give a firsthand look at some of the tools of the trade needed to ensure a quality crop is grown. Check out the Lake Erie Regional Grape Program (LERGP) website https://lergp.cce.cornell.edu/ for specific dates and times or call Kate Robinson at (716)792-2800 with any questions.

The Lake Erie Regional Grape Program is a cooperative effort between Cornell and Penn State Universities; the participating Cornell Cooperative Extension Associations of Chautauqua, Erie, Niagara and Cattaraugus Counties in New York and Erie County in Pennsylvania; and participating industry partners National Grape Cooperative (Welch’s), Constellation Brands and Walkers Fruit Basket. The LERGP extension team provides research-based educational programming for commercial grape growers throughout the year at venues across the Lake Erie grape belt. For more information on LERGP, call (716)792-2800 or visit our website at https://lergp.cce.cornell.edu/.

The Lake Erie Regional Grape Program is one of many programs offered by Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chautauqua County (CCE-Chautauqua). CCE-Chautauqua is a community based educational organization, affiliated with Cornell University, Chautauqua County Government, the NYS SUNY system, and the federal government through the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. For more information, call (716)664-9502 or visit our website at www.cce.cornell.edu/chautauqua. Cornell University Cooperative Extension provides equal program and employment opportunities.

Last updated April 23, 2018