Hop growing predominated the area contiguous to what is now Route 20, running from Sharon Springs to Cazenovia, with a north-south axis of the belt extending approximately 20 miles in either direction. In those days, good, properly brewed beer was a favorite beverage and fields all over the United States bloomed with hop-bearing vines. Almost every farm had a few acres of the vine, that yielded un
der ordinary circumstances an average of one thousand pounds to the acre, and by the Civil War nearly 90 percent of the total hop crop of the United States was raised in New York State. So what happened? During the "Golden Age" of the hops industry, market prices soared and many farmers, eager for sudden wealth, plowed up every available piece of land. while they depended on other income from dairy, potatoes, grain or lumber, they also planned on saving whatever profit there was from their hops. Unfortunately west coast farmers had the same idea. Achieving greater yields and utilizing mechanized picking, they manipulated the market so that in 1882 the price peaked at an unheard of price of over $1.25 per pound and plunged considerably the following year. These violent price fluctuations made profits more uncertain. Local growers grew skeptical of these risks and began to cut the size of their hop yards in favor of more stable crops. Then a series of disasters conspired to destroy the local growers. In 1909 the crop was hit with the downey mildew sphaerotheca humuli, often referred to erroneiously as "blight" or "blue mold". Efforts to defeat the disease were in vain and after two dismal years it put the family farmer nearly out of the business. Then in 1914, an extreme attack of hop aphids broke out that further added to their demise. By this time the picture in upstate New York was one of disaster, and farmer no longer could afford to make further attempts at growing hops. The final blow came as Prohibition eliminated virtually all needs for hops. Now comes the good news. In 2012, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed into law the Farm Brewing Law, designed to match New York State breweries with New York State farms. With a renewed vigor to find quality hops in the state of New York, breweries will be searching for the best hops the state can offer. With over 10 acres of farmed land, as well as the correct soil and weather to grow hops in the same area where they flourished all those years ago, Madison Hop Farm hopes to help bring Central New York back to the hops capital of the country.
