b"Hops growing on a farm near the Shemogue marsh in New Brunswick. PHOTO: JASON MCCALLUMWhile there are genetic materials from Europewhere hopsWashington. Downy mildew thrives in wet and cold conditions, originatedand materials from North America, its imperativeso the hot and dry environment in this region was much better to understand the genetic materials are diverged by more than asuited for the hops, allowing the crop to thrive. million years. Western European countries including Germany, Czechia, France, Belgium, England and the Netherlands areClimate Mattersstrong growers of the cropas beer drinking is a historicalThe U.S. currently has around 74,000 acres of hops, with part of their culture. Germany about the same. Canada presently has around 500 Cultivation began in North America on the East Coast inacres in production, making it a very small player in the hops states including Massachusetts and New York. The industryworld. Yet growers and breeders are working to change that. ultimately died out due to various factors such as a downyThe greatest factor prohibiting a successful hops operation in mildew outbreak in the 1920s, prohibition in Canada and theCanada are climate issues. Since hops thrive in dry and warm United States, environmentally harmful production methodsconditions, places like Alberta, Prince Edward Island or Ottawa, and unethical business practices. In early commercialization,Ont. dont provide ideal environments.growers realized when the plant was pollinated, it wouldResearchers like McCallum are focusing on how to solve that produce more seedstherefore, increasing the weight. Hopsissue.were sold by weight, so people were intentionally pollinatingWhat we're trying to do with AAFC is to develop hops that are the crop to increase yields. well suited for other climates. There are differences in growing As soon as the plant starts to get fertilized, you're losingseason, precipitation, disease resistance and flowering times. All quality, but people were selling it with seeds in it because theyof these things are factors that come out, he explains.got paid by the pound. A barrel weighed this much, and theyOne grower that has faced these challenges firsthand is Ed got paid this much, says McCallum. Hofsink of Flatland Hops, located in Taber, Alta. Flatland Hops In the early 1900s, entrepreneurs moved west and broughtcurrently grows five acres of hops and is working towards their hops to grow in states like California, Oregon andputting in four additional acres. Prior to tackling hops, Hofsinks 48seed.ab.ca"