2020 Crop Report: HPA record a 5.5% increase in hop production volume
Hop Products Australia | After more than a month of cutting, picking, drying, pressing, pelletising and packaging, the numbers are in. Hop Products Australia, North Hobart, Australia (HPA) harvested 631 hectares across its three farms in 2020, which resulted in a production volume of 1,554 metric tonnes.
This was a 42 hectare (7.1%), 81 metric tonne (5.5%) increase year-on-year across six proprietary varieties – Ella™, Enigma™, Galaxy™, HPA-016, Topaz™ and Vic Secret™ – as well as Cascade and Super Pride. Harvest commenced at the start of March and was completed by early April.
All three farms – Bushy Park Estates, Rostrevor Hop Gardens and Buffalo River Valley – endured a dry, cold and windy spring. This slightly delayed growth and lateral development in some of the more exposed gardens. Fortunately, the conditions improved towards the tail end of the growing season, which helped the crop mature well in the lead up to harvest.
Challenging conditions
The HPA-team was remarkably resilient in the face of some very challenging conditions. Following the threat of bushfires, they were tested by the rapidly evolving situation surrounding COVID-19. Fortunately, agriculture is categorised as essential, which meant it was more or less business as usual.
Quality was not impacted by the conditions. There appears to be no precedent for bushfire smoke effecting hop aroma or flavour in beer, and the alpha acids and essential oils are within the normal range across all varieties.
The 5.5 per cent increase in overall production volume allows HPA to meet all contractual obligations. There were some individual performances that exceeded expectations, including notable increases in Galaxy™ and Topaz™ as well as a bumper crop of HPA-016 in its first year of commercialisation. The rest of the varieties were down, but stayed within the normal range of variation. This was due to the conditions during the growing season rather than reductions in acreage.
Despite an increase in hectares planted and production volume, the highly contracted position of the 2020 crop means that a limited amount of hops will be available in the short-term.
Total HPA has completed phase one of the $35 million expansion that aims to increase our total production volume to 2,400 metric tonnes by 2024. This involved planting 150 new hectares and construction of the new processing facility, which includes 1 Daunhauer picker and 6 kiln floors. Phase two will include planting an additional 150 hectares, installation of a second Daunhauer picker and another 6 kiln floors over the next 3 years.
