E-Malt.com News article: USA: Idaho hops industry stabilizes after challenging 2026 growing season

Idaho remains one of the country's leading hop-producing states, ranking behind Washington in acreage. But as demand for hops has shifted in recent years, Idaho and Oregon have traded places for second and third on the list, Yahoo reported on October 16.

This year brought another set of challenges for growers, including an unusually warm winter, drought conditions and smoke that affected harvest timing.

At Gooding Farms in southwest Idaho, the harvest is now complete, and the work to prepare for next year's crop is already underway.

For Enrique Albor, the end of harvest means a return to other work on the farm. He spent years working in hops before moving to vegetables this season.

"This is my first year working on the vegetables," Albor said.

Hops are a labor-intensive crop, requiring more hands-on work than many traditional commodity crops, according to Diane Gooding, who helps manage the family operation with her sisters.

Gooding is also the chair of the Idaho Hop Growers Commission.

"So, it's a lot more labor-intensive than, say, corn or wheat or other commodity crops," Gooding said. "Very more reminiscent of grapes and grape harvest, where you have a lot of hand labor."

Gooding said 2026 was one of the most difficult growing seasons of her career, which dates to 2010.

A mild winter caused the hops to begin growing earlier than usual, throwing off the farm's typical schedule. Growers often plan labor around the timing of a normal season, Gooding said, but this year did not follow that pattern.

Drought conditions and smoke also affected the timing of the harvest and the maturation of the hops.

Despite those challenges, Gooding Farms harvested about 650 acres of hops. Idaho harvested nearly 6,000 acres statewide, according to Gooding.

The industry has faced market challenges since the COVID-19 pandemic, when production was high before beer consumption and production began to fall. Gooding said that trend has continued globally.

Now, she said, the market is showing signs of greater stability, which can help farms plan for the future.

"We're not necessarily up per se, but more stable," Gooding said. "From a long-term perspective, the more stability that we can have in the supply chain and consistency, the better for the businesses and the family farms."

Gooding also pointed to the collaborative nature of Idaho's hop-growing community as one of the industry's strengths.

With harvest finished, the farm is preparing its fields for next year. That includes planting cover crops, which help prevent weeds from growing in areas where hops will be planted in the next season.

The cover crops can also provide forage for livestock, adding another benefit to the fields during the offseason.

For Gooding, the goal now is to finish the year's work and prepare for what comes next.

"2026, we're ready for it all to be done," she said.


16 October, 2026