Do you want to start a hop farm from scratch? Or you need a sample hop farm business plan template? If YES, then i advice you read on. Farming business is one of the businesses that can hardily go into extinction because of the obvious fact that human and animals need food for survival. Farming is known to be one of the major contributors of the economy of many nations of the world.
Beyond providing foods for these countries, agriculture produce are exported to other parts of the world, thereby generating revenue for the country. That is why the government of most countries would do all that lies within its power to support the agriculture sector of the country.
So if you are looking for a business to do, and you are interested in the agric sector, then you should consider starting your own hop farm especially if you live in the united states of America, England, France or Germany. Hops are known to do very well in the pacific, and lake regions et al. Hop farming is rapidly becoming popular in the US and loads of farmers and entrepreneurs are heading towards that direction because of the profitability of the business.
Hops are female flowers of the hop plant and they are widely used in the production of beers, beverages and also herbal medicine. Hops provide flavor (bitter, tangy flavor et al) and stability in beer. Hobs are known to have rich antibacterial effect hence they are very suitable for brewing.
Some of the varieties of hop are Apollo, Bravo, Calypso, Cascade, Centennial, Chelan, Chinook, Cluster, Columbus, Comet, Crystal, El Dorado, Eroica, Galena, Glacier, Greenburg, Horizon, Liberty, Millennium, Mount Hood, Mount Rainer, Nugget and loads of other varieties in the US and other parts of the world.
Now let us quickly go through the 7 steps you need to follow to start your own hop farm from the scratch;
Starting a Hop Farm – Sample Business Plan Template
1. Carry out Research on Hop Farming
There are various species of hops and the climatic conditions and soil composition in which they grow may slightly be different from one country to another; that is the reason why it is very necessary to research on hop farming before committing your time and money to it.
As a matter of fact, different species of hops are suitable for different purposes; some are ideal for brewing, and some for beverages and while some others are highly suitable for herbal medicine. Your research will give you information that will determine the species that is in high demand in your country and that will in essence guide your decision on the species of hop to farm.
2. Raise Your Capital
You would need money to start your hop farm; hence, money will be needed to lease of buy farm land, to purchase hop cultivation tools, money will be needed to buy hop seedlings, to prepare the farm land, as well as to pay laborers that work on your hop farm, et al. So, if you intend starting your hop farm, then you should first do your budgeting and then raise the capital as required.
3. Secure Your Farm Land
Hop farms are known to do pretty well in the pacific regions or around the lakes, so when shopping for a farm land for your hop farming, ensure that you confirm that the land you want to lease or buy would be suitable for your hop farming.
If possible you can carry out a test on the soil before purchasing or leasing the land; this is because it would be to your advantage if you do so. One good thing about some farm lands is that it is very cheap to purchase and easy to come by depending on the area you live.
4. Source for Seedlings
Since you intend starting your hop farming from the scratch as against acquiring existing hop farm from a seller, then you would need to source for the seedlings of ideal variety / varieties of hop to be cultivated in your hop farm. The easiest ways to plant hops is to purchase collections of fully rooted hop plants and crowns.
As a matter of fact, since hop is a hardy, perennial plant that can easily be cultivated at home; it makes it easier for you to create a nursery bed in your backyard if you have enough space to prepare the seedlings of hops by yourself.
5. Adopt Your Own Farm Management Method
There are different farm management methods you can adopt for your hop farming, just ensure that weeding, watering, pruning, applying pesticides, harvesting and all other activities in your farm are well planned. It won’t be a bad idea if you search for best practices in hop farm and then adopt same.
6. Hire Laborers
You would need laborers to work in your hop farm; they will help you in watering the farm, in applying pesticides, also help you during harvest and any other areas you would need their service in your hop farm. The advantage you have as regard hiring laborers for your hop farm is that you will get them cheap. Farm laborers are cheap simply because they are unskilled and readily available.
7. Harvest and Sell Your Produce (Hops)
The last thing to do is to harvest your hops once they are ripe. It is important to secure buyers for your produce (hop) before harvesting it as against harvesting it and then taking it to the market to be sold. You can market your hop to companies that are into the production of beer, beverages and herbal medicines.
As a matter of fact, they are your chief customers and you should do all you can to become their major supplier of hop. The truth is that once you can secure at least 5 manufacturing companies to supply hops to, then you can be rest assured that you will have steady flow of cash to run and expand your hop farm.
There you have it; the steps you need to follow to successfully start your own hop farm from the scratch.