With the increasing interest in local craft beers, there is a corresponding increase in the desire to learn more about the production of hops, one of the ingredients that helps provide beer its wonderful bitterness and aroma. The NYS IPM Program and Lake Erie Regional Grape Program have created Hopyard Walkabouts, which are designed for commercial growers, those looking at getting into hops, as well as those who just have an interest in how hops are produced. All are welcome for the Hopyard Walkabout on Tuesday starting at 6 p.m. at the Cornell Lake Erie Research and Extension Laboratory, 6592 West Main Road, Portland, NY. This informal meeting is the second of monthly Hopyard Walkabouts that will occur each month from June through August in the CLEREL hopyards.

Tim Weigle, Hops IPM Specialist with the NYS Integrated Pest Management Program, will be on hand to answer questions and lead a discussion of what is happening in the hopyards, review the various weed management strategies used in the lower hopyard and how the crew scouts for two spotted spider mites, a major pest of hops in NYS. Check out the Lake Erie Regional Grape Program (LERGP) website https://lergp.cce.cornell.edu/ for specific dates and times or call Kate Robinson at 792-2800 with any questions.

The Hopyard Walkabouts are part of a project funded by the New York Farm Viability Institute in an effort to develop IPM Programs for hops from the greenhouse to harvest.

The Lake Erie Regional Grape Program is a cooperative effort between Cornell and Penn State Universities; the participating Cornell Cooperative Extension Associations of Chautauqua, Erie, Niagara and Cattaraugus Counties in New York and Erie County in Pennsylvania; and participating industry partners National Grape Cooperative (Welch?s), Constellation Brands and Walkers Fruit Basket. The LERGP extension team provides research-based educational programming for commercial grape growers throughout the year at venues across the Lake Erie grape belt. For more information on LERGP, call 792-2800 or visit our website at https://lergp.cce.cornell.edu/