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Hop to it: Happy Valley Hop Yard tour Saturday

Posted by Jamie Oberdick on 08/15 at 08:27 AM

From the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture (PASA)...to RSVP for this event please go here:

Tess Weigand recently began a half-acre hops production yard in Coburn (Centre County). We invite PASA members and friends from the north central region to join us for a tour of the Happy Valley Hop Yard!

Tess will discuss a variety of topics regarding hop production–everything from how to begin a hops operation & varieties, to specific nutrient needs & conditions, trellis systems and harvesting - growing hops on the east coast is very different than what they do on the west coast.

Did you know hops used to be a huge industry in Pennsylvania during the 1800s? For Tess, this raised a huge question for her, why did the crop disappear? She will share with you why they left, as well as why hops need, and more importantly, can return as a marketable and successful crop in PA.

Tess is striving to meet increasing demand for quality, sustainably-grown hops for local craft breweries. She welcomes everyone to join her for a tour and discussion, so that you too, can grow hops!

Tess has a passion for hop production, which came from many directions. After graduating from Penn State with a degree in agronomy, she had the desire to do something different, so she began doing research. Tess wanted to figure out why people say you can’t grow hops here and she wanted to change that…she says, “I brought this up to my parents and they told me, ‘sometimes you have to stop talking about it and just do it.’ Well, here I am…”

After the tour & discussion, we will travel a short distance to the PASA Headquarters office to have a potluck dinner. Please bring a dish to share, along with your own table service (plate, cup, silverware).

This event is organized by PASA’s North Central Regional Advisory Committee.