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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Corvallis, Oregon » Forage Seed and Cereal Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #338893
Title: Climate, weather, and hops

Author
item MORTON, LOIS - Iowa State University
item Gent, David - Dave
item GLEASON, MARK - Iowa State University

Submitted to: Sociology Technical Report, Department of Sociology, Iowa State University
Publication Type: Other
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/12/2017
Publication Date: 2/28/2017
Citation: Morton, L.W., Gent, D.H., Gleason, M. 2017. Climate, weather, and hops. Sociology Technical Report 1045, Department of Sociology, Iowa State University. 24pp.

Interpretive Summary: As climate and weather become more variable, hop growers face increased uncertainty in making decisions about their crop. Uncertainty can stem from social, economic, and/or biophysical factors that limit knowledge needed to make timely, good decisions. It is unclear how hop growers perceive risks to their production systems and what adaptations have potential to reduce uncertainties associated with their management decisions. This technical report is a preliminary effort to summarize information gathered from Oregon and Washington hop growers to better understand how they view uncertainty and decisions associated with a variety of production challenges.

Technical Abstract: As climate and weather become more variable, hop growers face increased uncertainty in making decisions about their crop. Given the unprecedented nature of these changes, growers may no longer have enough information and intuitive understanding to adequately assess the situation and evaluate their management options. Uncertainty can stem from social, economic, and/or biophysical factors that limit knowledge needed to make timely, good decisions. It is unclear how hop growers perceive risks to their production systems and what adaptations have potential to reduce uncertainties associated with their management decisions. This technical report is a preliminary effort to summarize information gathered from Oregon and Washington hop growers to better understand how they view uncertainty and decisions associated with a variety of production challenges. First, a brief overview of U.S., Oregon, and Washington hop production is presented. This is followed by an explanation of the concept mapping methodology used to gather and analyze grower information. Then, conceptual maps of Oregon and Washington hop growers’ views and priorities associated with managing their production systems under increasing uncertainties are shown and discussed.