Farm

Left Fields has been operating since 1999. We grow fruit and vegetables for our community and friends, a small sheep flock for meat and wool and hopyard pruning and we keep pigs every summer. We also grow hops for the brewery and sell hops rhizomes. Left Fields grows 16 varieties of hops!

Hops rhizomes

Left Fields is the certified organic farm on which Crannóg Ales stands. We grow hops for the brewery and sell rhizomes to other commercial producers and the general public. Hops sales run from early February to mid-May every year, with hops shipping in April. Hops plants are available throughout the summer at farm gate. Please phone or email the farm for availability and orders. Products Order rhizomes and plants on ourpage. We can also take orders hops by email or phone (call 250-675-4122 or email the farm address). Rhizomes and plants available for 2020 will start pre-orders in February, with shipments starting in April 2020. For detailed variety information, from storageability to alpha potential to maturity (early or late season) please consult the Yakima Chief listings. Left Fields ships rhizomes within Canada only. Left Fields is BC Certified Organic, which means that our certification is valid within BC only. We do conform to the Canadian Organic Regime, under which all organizations claiming to be certified organic must be registered, but we have chosen not to undertake the extra paperwork of ISO certification. Please see our Sustainability page for more information on organic certification and our certificate.

Resources

While this list is bound to be incomplete, these are resources we have personally found to be very valuable to us and other hops growers. Please contact us directly if you would like to be included in this list, or know of another great resource! There are also a number of print references in our manual.

General cultivation information

Small Scale & Organic Hops Production Manual

This is our own manual, designed to be a general guide. We cover everything from soil types to harvesting, focusing on horticultural information rather than marketing. The manual is invaluable for smaller growers and those looking for information on organic production. Pest and disease management, soil fertility, cover crops and green manures are all included, along with how to plan a yard, irrigation needs and general management. The Manual has been used by growers all over North America for the last 12 years, and remains a benchmark.

There is a lot of material available on-line apart from our manual. The very best resource we've found is the University of Vermont, which has been engaging in serious open research into hops production for several years. There's more specific information on markets in these resources, but nothing will replace doing your own business planning research!

University of Vermont

University of Vermont — Hops Feasibility Study

Hopunion

Freshops

Ontario Government

Nova Scotia Hops Growers Guide

Minnesota Department of Agriculture

Canadian Organic Growers

Hops variety information

Hopunion

Yakima Chief

USDA hops list

Specific cultivation issues

Integrated Pest Management in Hops

Farmscaping to Enhance Biological Control

Organic Agriculture guides (ATTRA)

Organic Agriculture research, guides and information (COABC)

Organic Agriculture research and information (OACC)

Machinery, equipment and trellising

Simple Earth Hops trellis design

UVM Extension’s Instructional Wiki for blueprints for a small-scale harvester, small-scale balers, and a small-scale oast

Hopyard Construction costing

Irrigation research

Irrigation supply – Southern Drip Irrigation

Cables & trellis materials – Pacific Wire Rope

Small Scale Harvesters:

Bine Implements

Callahan Mobile Hop Picker

Pelletizers

Analysis:

Alpha Analytics

Siebel Institute

Hops growers associations

American Organic Hops Growers Association

Hop Growers of America

Oregon Hops Commission

Ontario Hops Growers

Maritime Hop Growers Cooperative

Canadian hops growers

Harvesters of Organic Hops (HOOH) – An offshoot of Bitterbine in Lillooet, HOOH is a creative approach to hops production: many farms, one processing facility. If you are within 1 hour of Lillooet, this is a great solution for new farmers.

Eagle Valley Hops

Section 10 Fieldworks

Bitterbine

Wysmykal Farm

Slow Acres

Bighead Hops