BCI was proud to support the Hop Research Council's 2026 Summer Meeting, held in August in Bonners Ferry, Idaho.
Hosted in Bonners Ferry, Idaho, with the Idaho Hop Commission, the meeting brought together growers, researchers, and industry leaders from across the Pacific Northwest for two days of business planning and scientific exchange.
On August 5, HRC's President Diane Gooding led the Business Meeting covering regional hop reports from Idaho, Washington, and Oregon, a US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) update, and a review of 2027 research project proposals. Alicia Adler, HRC’s Executive Technical Director updated members on the organization’s support of the USDA-ARS public hop breeding program, government affairs priorities, and next steps in strategic planning, along with a 2026 budget update.
Michelle Palacios, HRC's Business Manager, kept the meeting on track from roll call through adjournment. The day closed out with an experimental hop beer tasting and a farm tour and dinner at Elk Mountain Farms, hosted with generous support from the Idaho Hop Growers' Commission and Anheuser-Busch, LLC.
August 6 turned to the research side, with presentations from Douglas Walsh (Washington State University), David Gent (Oregon State University), Tom Shellhammer (Oregon State University), Christopher Willig and Veerendra Sharma (Oregon State University), Kayla R. Altendorf and Francisco González (USDA-ARS), and Armando Falcon-Brindis (University of Idaho). Their research spans hop disease, entomology, breeding and genetics, kilning and brewing quality, agronomy, and biotechnology. BCI's Eva Chappell, Ph.D. presented on monitoring international policy developments in biotechnology, reflecting our ongoing work tracking global regulatory trends affecting market access for U.S. hops.
We were glad to help lead another productive gathering for the hop industry and look forward to reconnecting with the HRC community at the 2027 Winter Meeting in Anaheim, California.