It’s Time To Harvest The Taste Of Beer

SEATTLE (AP) — Hop farmers in the Yakima Valley say it's a challenge to keep up with demand from Washington's craft breweries.

The Seattle Times reports Washington hop farmers expect to harvest more than 29,000 acres of hops this season. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says that's a 7 percent increase from last year.

Washington grows 77 percent of the nation's hops. At the same time the number of craft breweries is increasing, hop growers say they are facing labor shortages. So even though they are planting more acres, getting the product to market is becoming more of a problem.

Apple growers have been complaining about worker shortages for years. Now the much smaller hop industry is dealing with some of the same challenges.