This Labor Day weekend, I worked, volunteering with the harvest at Alpha Beta Hops, which produces organic Cascade hops in Ashland, OR. Being an organic advocate who loves to help local farms and learn about the processes behind different crops, and I was happy to volunteer. What better way to spend Labor Day than to lend a hand to family farmers who rarely get a day off? It was a great experience and yielded hopeful reflections about the potential of truly sustainable agriculture and business, and how we can help maximize that.
Alpha Beta Hops is a family farm, involving Steve and Rebecca Pierce, and their sons, Spencer and Morgan. The harvest bought together a few more family members spanning three generations, as well as friends and volunteers from World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms. Great conversation brewed as we worked, with diverse topics weaving around the table like the intertwined hop bines (that?s right -?bines?not vines). This community helped move a mountain of work quickly and gave the Pierces and their friends the all-too-rare opportunity to sit and chat for hours.
The farm practices sustainability from the ground up, showing an impressive commitment for a small operation. The hops are Certified Organic, grown without synthetic, persistent agrochemicals and nourished with compost and other organic inputs like bloodmeal. Beneficial insects like ladybugs took flight as we plucked hops. Extending these values higher, the Pierces use heavyweight paper strings for trellising, which they compost with the bines.
To close the loop, the farm uses a solar drying system wherein heat from a concrete-slab greenhouse is directed to an adjacent room with hop drying bins. Several wind turbines also provide clean, green power for the family home.
Alpha Beta Hops shows that doing the right thing pays off. Solar drying and wind turbines provide free energy, a benefit that?s increasing in value as energy costs rise. The farm has been organic since its founding in 2008, helping it build sales from regional breweries that want homegrown organic hops and previously had few or no other options. Thanks to strong demand, the Pierces are looking to expand their plantings next year.
A change in the USDA Organic regulations stands to boost sales further. Organic Regulations currently allow Certified Organic beer to be made with non-organic hops, due to purportedly insufficient quantities of organic hops. This year, the National Organic Standards Board ruled that Certified Organic beer must be made with only Certified Organic hops as of 2012. Breweries producing Certified Organic beers with non-organic hops will turn to forward-looking producers like Alpha Beta, providing long-due rewards. Sometimes one does need a little patience as sustainability investments yield returns.
The collaborative nature of the harvest is also a reminder that it takes a community to help small-scale, organic operations thrive. The ways we can do so are as diverse as the life forms on a healthy farm, including volunteering for farm work, donating professional skills such as business planning, sales and marketing, purchasing products directly from farmers, encouraging family and friends to buy from organic family farms, and advocating for policies that advance organic, sustainable agriculture and level the playing field for small-scale farms. Indeed, the USDA?s decision to require organic hops in Certified Organic beer was influenced by input from organic growers and advocates who contacted the National Organic Standards Board about the issue.
Cheers to pioneers like the Pierces, and all who seek to fill our tables with food and drink that truly sustain people, planet and our economy. As we raise a toast, let?s lend a hand to support them in whatever ways we can. We all win, in more delicious ways.
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