Farming Story Archives - Page 7 of 7 - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

How Well Will Hops Grow In West Virginia?

One day you might be able to buy even more styles of 100 percent West Virginia-made beer. That is, if a current study shows the state is a good place to…

One day you might be able to buy even more styles of 100 percent West Virginia-made beer. That is, if a current study shows the state is a good place to grow hops.

Since the craft beer industry has taken off, West Virginia State University decided to study whether local farmers can benefit from the burgeoning beer industry by growing hops for the brewers to use.

West Virginia State extension agent Brad Cochran says the state agriculture department awarded a $23,000 grant for the project, which seem to be popular. He received 70 applications from folks wanting to participate.

Matthew Grove and Robbie Babbitt were chosen to take part in a study on whether hops can grow well in West Virginia.

Three larger growers were chosen, in Jefferson, Fayette and Marion Counties. They received 60 hops roots, known as rhizomes, and the materials needed to construct a structure on which to grow the hops, which are like bean plants, they climb.

Currently there is no large scale hops production in West Virginia. Some people grow the plant for home brewing purposes, but commercial brewers order from what what Cochran calls the “hops mecca of the U.S.,” the Pacific Northwest. He says beer makers also order some specialty hops from Germany and other European countries.

Cochran said one goal of the study is to boost the state’s production and encourage farmers to consider growing the plant commercially.

Meet Two Hops Farmers

Matthew Grove and Robbie Babbitt of Berkeley County are among the 35 smaller growers throughout West Virginia who received 60 free plants as part of the study. They have to construct their own structure.

All the participants were given the same three varieties, Cascade, Centennial and Columbus.

Grove and Babbitt have planted 60 rhizomes on a plot of ground in front of Babbitt’s house at Broomgrass, a farming subdivision in western Berkeley County.

“Maybe some varieties work in some parts of the state and some don’t,” Babbitt said. “Maybe none of them work in West Virginia; we’re just going to try to find out.”

Each of the three varieties is planted in its own circle. Grove and Babbitt will erect an 18 foot pole in the middle of the circle which will support twine that the hops can climb.

“It’ll be set up so the lines that run to the top can be hoisted and lowered for harvesting, similar to a flag pole, a way to run the line up and down so we don’t have to get on ladders,” Grove said.

“Big tall ladders,” Babbitt added, laughing, “20 foot straight up.”

All the participants will provide Cochran with data over the next three years on how their plants are doing. Cochran said the ultimate goal of this little experiment is to encourage farmers across the state to consider growing hops that can be used in some of the local, craft beers.

“We can have 100 percent produced West Virginia beer and that’s exciting just to keep everything here at home,” he said.

Later this year forums and panel discussions will take place so farmers and brewers can get together to learn more about developing a hops production industry that can support local breweries.

New Book Examines the Impact of 'Hippie Homesteaders'

Hippie Homesteaders is the new book by Carter Taylor Seaton.

They’re known as the hippie homesteaders. People who moved to West Virginia in the late 1960s and 1970s to live off of the land. Some considered themselves as hippies, but others just wanted to leave urban environments for rural America.

A new book by Carter Taylor Seaton, Hippie Homesteaders: Arts, Crafts, Music and Living on the Land in West Virginia, examines the impact these people had on West Virginia.

You can find out more about this book at this website.

W.Va. Gets Snapshot of Agriculture from Federal Government

New federal data show that the value of West Virginia’s agricultural products increased 37 percent over the past five years to a total of $809 million.

The West Virginia Department of Agriculture says officials recently met with federal officials to review preliminary results from the Census of Agriculture.

The findings are produced every five years and the latest information is from 2012.

Officials say West Virginia had nearly 21,500 farms in 2012. That’s down 9 percent from 2007.

Land in farms decreased by only 2 percent to 3.6 million acres during that time.

State officials also noted that West Virginians are consuming more than seven times more food than the $800 million currently being produced in the state.

Senate Ramps Up Voting as Session Winds Down

Members of the state Senate had 25 bills on their morning calendar Monday, passing almost all unanimously. Those bills included:

Senate Bill 623

The bill requires employers in the mining industry to report all positive drug and alcohol tests to the Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training. Currently, notification is only required if a miner is discharged.

Senate Bill 476

The bill sets regulations and standards for vehicles being altered to run on alternative fuels. The bill states that no diesel engine modifications for dual fuel retrofit can change the original engine in any way. A similar piece of legislation was passed by the chamber last year, but died in the House of Delegates.

0224EngineSPOT.mp3

Cecelia Mason reports on the bill.

Senate Bill 431

The bill lengthens the driver’s license renewal cycle from 5 to 8 years. The bill also allows for the development of an online renewal process and permits individuals with expiring licenses to be notified electronically.

0224DriverSPOT.mp3

Ashton Marra reports on the bill.

Senate Bill 469

The bill creates the Veterans and Warriors to Agriculture Program under the Department of Agriculture as a tool to integrate veterans into agriculture jobs. It aims to help West Virginia veterans find employment after returning from combat as well as strengthen the future of the state’s agriculture economy.

All four bills will now move to the House for further consideration.

Stories from the Lost River Valley

Stories and photographs from the Cacapon and Lost River Valley are featured in a book just released by West Virginia University Press.

Listening to the Land features the stories of several owners throughout the watershed who have chosen to preserve their land through the Cacapon and Lost River Land Trust.

“When we signed some of the first easements that the Land Trust did, people started sobbing, literally, in the easement signing in the attorney’s office,” Nancy Ailes, executive director, said. “And I started realizing that there are these great stories behind those tears.”

Ailes wrote a grant proposal and received $50,000 from National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to produce the book. The Trust hired documentary writer Jamie Ross and photographer Tom Cogill to traverse the valley documenting the people, their land and their stories.

“The land is beautiful, I think this valley could be a national park,” Cogill said.

Cogill is primarily a portrait photographer so he approached the landscape the same way he would if he were capturing an image of an individual. There are photos in the book of teenage girls hauling in a deer they shot, scenes of farms, livestock and hay, as well as the highway and power lines bisecting the land.

Cogill is particularly fond of a photo that shows a weathered wood plank wall with graffiti scratched in it.

“It’s the two page spread for the section called ‘The Pull of Home,’” Cogill said. “Probably 100 people have written their name and the date, just kind of scratched it on the wall, some of them have extended stories, others it’s just initials and dates.”

“It’s a portrait, it’s a short story, it talks about the people who live here without showing any of them,” he said.

While Cogill shot photos, Ross interviewed people. The Land Trust chose about 30 whose stories might be interesting, including those who still live in the valley as well as those who grew up there and moved away.

The 150 page book documents families like the Hahn’s, Mongold’s, Slonaker’s and Mills as they participate in activities such as hunting, farming, enjoying meals and gathering mushrooms.

One of Ross’s favorite stories is that of Josh Frye, who comes from a long line of Frye’s who have worked on the family’s farm near Wardensville since Colonial times. Frye’s father and two of his brother’s died in farm accidents.

“And still they could not bring themselves to sell the property,” Ross said. “And part of that too goes with all the funny stories that go along.”

The book details how Frye’s mother was embarrassed when her husband bought a hearse that he parked in the field so he could sleep there and keep an eye out for predators trying to eat the turkeys raised on the farm.

“And Josh speaks so warmly about farming when people used to move from farm to farm to accomplish the task,” Ross said. “They would do haying as a group and move from one place to the next.”

Another profile features Bobby Ludwig from Baker, who the book says went off to college in New England and built a lucrative career on Wall Street.

Ludwig no longer lives full time in Hardy County but he’s bought and preserved thousands of acres of farmland to prevent developers from building houses on it.

Ross said Ludwig had a good comeback when officials wanting to widen the state highway near his farm suggested he could just go buy another piece of property in exchange for the one they’d take.

“And he said ‘well how about I take your girlfriend and spend the night with her and you just go get another one,’” she said. “It’s not just the attachment it’s the wit and wisdom and everything.”

Ross said there were two thoughts she heard over and over again as she interviewed people: it’s important to leave the land better then you found it, and your word is your bond.