Hot off the presses, Michigan State University Extension has just released Bulletin E3236, Estimated Costs of Producing Hops in Michigan.

The Bulletin provides an overview of the revival of hop production in Michigan, including:

1) Costs to prepare and establish and acre of land for hop production,

2) Annual hop yard operating costs, and

3) Annual return per acre of hop-producing land.

While hop cost of production bulletins exist in other areas of the country such as the Pacific Northwest, this bulletin should better reflect the costs and returns associated with a five -acre hopyard in the Great Lakes Region. Potential hop growers (and their lenders) can use the information to calculate whether they could produce hops at a profit.

The first section provides a detailed budget for hopyard preparation and establishment on both a per acre and 5-acre scale. Examples of specific establishment costs include: land preparation, plants, poles, labor, anchors, hardware, irrigation, and project management. The bulletin also outlines the estimated annual operating costs and returns per acre in a typical Michigan hop yard. Growers are encouraged to study and adjust the cost assumptions carefully as they may influence the final net returns per acre and may vary greatly between operations.

The bulletin can be downloaded for free from the Michigan State University Hops Webpage, under the resources tab on the left hand side of the page.