Year: 2018

I would like to thank friends, family, and new acquaintances for the support of our little farm! It sure can be a lot of work but the end produce is so rewarding! We find so much joy in knowing we are selling the best products we can, without any chemicals! We’re not a certified organic farm but we’re about as close as you can get, without the certification. We had the pleasure of talking with old friends and meeting new ones, on our journey!

The next year or two will be very exciting for the farm as the hop production will increase immensely!!! We look forward to having a hops product which we can start to sell to breweries, and to home brewers! If all goes well, (fingers crossed!!) there may need to be a harvest party or two! Overall, it was a great year and we look forward to the growing season again, next spring!

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Thank you

Craig and Rachel Pierce

The last year and a half sure has gone fast. We went from and idea and research for 8 months to starting CR Hops Farm in January of 2017! I was finally able to convince the boss one of my ideas was a good one. (Thank you Rachel)

It all started when my wonderful mother in law was telling me about the Wild hops she found growing! From there I figured I could grow hops. The spring of 2017 I got busy getting ready to set up a hops yard. I used ash poles off our property.

We then waited for summer, when I could sink the 22 foot poles in the ground. All the while designing and redesigning the hops yard to use the maximum amount of space to plant the most plants I could in my half acre yard.

I believe I picked the hottest day of the summer in 2017, to put the poles in the ground! I did get great advice from new farmers: do not order plants unless your hops yard is up and ready to go!

The rest of 2017 was spent figuring out where and when to order plants! The spring of 2018 came super fast! The yard needed the cabling system set up, prior to plants showing up in June.

We were able to get all 420 plants in the ground, relatively quickly, with some help from my brother Brice, his wife Kelly and their son Taylor. We were grateful for the help!!

It has been amazing to watch them grow all summer! First year plants didn’t grow as large as the will in year three. To date, less than 10 have died!

The hops farm has finally hit our FIRST goal! Yesterday, the boys and I finished up our first harvest of the hops! It was a very small harvest, but that was expected. In two short years we should be at a full harvest!

The next step in the journey is to sell to breweries or home brewers! …. We’re optimistic and hopeful that part of the journey will happen next year, and the HOPS journey will continue!

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The Pierce Crew 😄

All the hard work is starting to pay off. We have been busy picking peas, beans, and raspberries. They are slowing down a bit now and many more items are nearing harvest time.

The hops plants are growing well for first year plants, they range in a few feet tall to nearing 18 ft. It looks like we will have a small harvest the first year too! Can’t wait!

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I would also like to say thank you to my many co-workers that have been purchasing produce from us! We greatly appreciate it! We will do our best to continue to keep producing good quality produce! Much more to come this year!

Thank you Craig and Rachel Pierce

The farm is finishing the last few items in the hops yard and preparing for the hops plants to arrive. That cable for the trellis is run, and will be anchored once the frost leaves the ground!! We will be getting the veggie gardens tilled and prepared for planting very soon too!! Can’t wait for fresh veggies out of the garden! Keep us in mind if you looking for veggies: small or bulk orders for canning!!

The Pierce’s

The last two days have been fun, exciting, and a bit intimidating. We learned a lot about what we are doing right and what we need to get in to place be for our first harvest. We are super excited to be a part of the MN Hops Growers Association. What a great wealth of knowledge to have access too!

The order is in for our Hops plants! We will officially be growing Cascade, Willamette, Chinook, and Saaz Hops. The plants will be delivered around the end of May and hopefully they will be able to go right into the ground.

We are super excited to finish up the last few items on the Hops yard, building a drying oast, and the expansion of the vegetable gardens.

Looking forward to longer days and warmer weather!!

CR Hops Farm!!