Billy Goat Hop Farm
VAPG Funding Providing Hope for Hop Farmers
Sandra Yerges
Filled with a draw toward nature, a drive for spontaneity, and a goal of entrepreneurship, Audrey Gehlhausen and Chris Della Bianca have always been agricultural producers at heart. Their extensive backgrounds in outdoor careers first brought them together. Now, as co-owners of Billy Goat Hop Farm, the two have been able to connect with others in the industry who have the same business-centered mindset.
Like the mountainous slopes surrounding their first interaction, their journey toward beginning this nine-year-old business was nothing short of an uphill trek. It began with yet another similar hobby of theirs: enjoying craft beer. One of the defining ingredients in these specialty beverages is hops, a vital addition to overpower or complement an otherwise undesirable blend of basic ingredients.
“Hops do two different things in a beer,” Audrey explained. “They add bittering and aroma.”
Although it may be obvious when flavored and fragrant hops are not present within a beer, their prevalence as a crop, especially in the Northwest, is not prioritized. Once Chris was made aware of this reality during his time as a brewery employee, he and Audrey chose to do something to turn hops into a more accessible product in the United States. Between Chris immersing himself in a large-scale hop farming internship and their land-buying mission around the United States, they finally had the knowledge and space to begin this feat.
Ever since they purchased their Colorado farming land, it has been a slow path to maximizing the area’s capabilities. The lanky nature of hop plants requires much more than fertile soil to ensure they grow properly. Audrey noted that due to the delicate bines that grow exponentially higher throughout the four-month growing season, Billy Goat Hop Farm has developed a 32-acre trellis system reaching 18 feet above the fields. This system has over 2,300 poles and 67 miles of cable where coconut coir is tied for the bines to grow up.
Because of this long span and height, the process of planting their hop plants proves to be more challenging than the average crop. Along with a few extra workers, Chris and Audrey take on the laborious spring task of attaching 30,000 bines to the framework with twine. Then, when it approaches the end of summer, they are fortunate to have the assistance of two massive harvesting machines to keep the collection process more manageable.
Hops are not ready for use in their harvested form, so Billy Goat Hop Farm has an on-farm processing space to transform them into the proper pellets. Over the years, they have offered nine different types of pelletized hops to businesses around the country, many of which became their customers due to Chris and Audrey’s early face-to-face promotional approach.
“Small farm hops are quality hops and worth supporting,” she shared.
Around 2022, Audrey and Chris hoped the support they had seen in previous years would continue to increase by adding to the types of hops in their inventory. Because they had an existing capacity of hops that worked for their operation, they looked toward other producers to begin sourcing the types they did not have. With the prospect of the Value-Added Producer Grant (VAPG) in mind, they decided to pursue the funding to put this project idea into action.
The VAPG is a large undertaking, and as Audrey approached the grant writing process herself, she was made aware of this fact. She meticulously crafted all 270 pages of the grant, which she found to be a challenging and overwhelming experience. Even amid this long technical journey, she sought out the help of USDA Rural Development employees to guide her through this time.
“Don’t be afraid to ask,” Audrey advised when speaking on what she learned from that process. “There is a representative for every person.”
Reaping the rewards of the hard work she put into the grant, Audrey found out she had a successful application four months after submission. From there, it was time to begin the many plans for the farm’s “Pellet Project.” Although this grant was tailored around obtaining unique off-farm hop types, this was simply one of the many funding uses. The new products sourced by the farm were not yet pellets, so the grant offset the processing costs of creating and managing these repurposed products. Furthermore, the funds were used to familiarize the public with Billy Goat Hop Farm through trade show attendance and professional promotions.
What started as a difficult process turned out to be “a win” for Audrey and Chris as they are now completing the end of their three-year grant. During their time with the VAPG, they have been able to reach their goal of working with a larger number of craft breweries. The farm’s expanded hops inventory was appealing to these makers, which in turn, brought them increased business for the future.
The next few years of Billy Goat Hop Farm will be another upward climb as Chris and Audrey expand their offerings to more than just breweries. They want to target customers like them who appreciate craft beer with their upcoming on-site lodging and drinking opportunities. Additionally, they plan to begin making their own single-serve drink products, including alcohol-free seltzers, to connect with a new set of customers.
Audrey indicated this new, excitement-fostering direction is “a neat avenue to get the word out about hop farms and agriculture in a way that’s directly to the consumer.”
