The US Department of Agriculture has spoken: Hop production in the US has hit the highest levels ever. This is great news for the craft brewing industry and lovers of IPAs.

Production for the world’s main hop farming areas of Idaho, Oregon, and Washington in 2019 totaled a record high 112 million pounds, up five percent from the 2018 crop of 107 million pounds.

Combined area harvested for Idaho, Oregon, and Washington in 2019 totaled a record high 56,544 acres, up three percent from the 2018 level of 55,035 acres. Harvested acreage increased in Idaho and Washington, but declined in Oregon.

The United States hop yield, at 1,981 pounds per acre, is up 38 pounds from a year ago. Washington produced 73 percent of the United States hop crop for 2019; while Idaho accounted for 15 percent and Oregon accounted for 12 percent. CitraR , Cascade, Zeus, SimcoeR , C/T/ZR , and MosaicR were the six leading varieties in Washington, accounting for 50 percent of the State’s hop production.

In Idaho, C/T/ZR , MosaicR , Chinook, Zeus, CitraR , and Cascade were the major varieties, accounting for 65 percent of the State’s hop production.

In Oregon, Nugget, Cascade, CitraR , and Willamette were the major varieties, accounting for 50 percent of the State’s hop production. The 2019 value of production for the United States totaled $637 million, up 9 percent from the previous year.