Hop Farming

After many years in decline, the once massive Hop growing industry is finally showing signs of a revival.

The closure of many local breweries and the fact that the major commercial concerns chose to purchase their Hops from cheaper sources abroad, accounted for much of the industries problems.

The recent rise in Craft beers and associated local Breweries has led to a steadily increasing demand for the local product. For the first time in many years, new Hop fields are being created, adding to the remaining acreage that forms an important part of the landscape that straddles the Belgian/French Flemish border.

Some of the specialist machinery can be quite ingenious, if not without its Health and Safety issues! (see tractor photo with high level steering)