Milestone in czech hop growing: harvest of the first czech organic hops

摘要

Organic farming is the official direction of the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy. It gives priority to production quality rather than quantity, unlike conventional farming, which strives for the highest possible profits. The world's history of organic hop growing started in Bavaria in the mid-1980s. In 2011, 55 farms in 10 countries of the world were devoted to organic farming. They cultivate a total of 187 hectares of hop fields with an annual production of 240 tons of certified organichops. In other countries, which include the Czech Republic, there are additional hop fields with a total area of 127 hectares undergoing a period of transition from conventional to organic hop growing. At the end of 2011, 10.6 hectares of hop fields cultivated in the organic mode by four entities were registered in the Czech Republic. Saaz is grown on eight hectares and the Premiant variety on the remaining area. Issues related to the production of organic hops are part of a research project titled "Czech Organic Beer", receiving financial support from the Ministry of Industry and Trade in the period from 2011 to 2013. Czech organic hops have a promising marketing potential for the relevant beer market segment. The objective of the project is to develop a comprehensive system for organic hop growing in the Czech Republic, to produce high-quality hops and to process them into a final product - organic beer. Ceskomoravské Sladovny, a.s. in Zábreh is the only Czech company producing malt for these purposes.