File:Hops Harvest at Goschie Farms - 52388172672.jpg

English: Nestled against the hills of Silverton in Oregon’s Willamette Valley lies Goschie Farms, a 1200-acre farm with 435 acres of hops and 150 acres in wine grapes. The farm is run by the three Goschie children: Gayle, Gordon and Glenn. Goschie Farms produces hops for numerous breweries across the country, from local craft breweries to large-scale national parent companies.

When early fall rolls around, Gayle Goschie looks for a fullness in the aroma that lets her know it's time to harvest. Local brewers visit the farm and check out the harvest by smelling the subtle notes of the hops composition and determining how it will translate into a brew.

Once it's time to harvest the hops, the hops strings are cut from the wires in the field and hauled in hop wagons to the processing station where stems and vines removed from the hop flower. The hops are then placed in the drying warehouse to remove moisture from the flowers. When picked, the hop flower contains about 80% moisture. Once the hops have dried down to contain about 8-10% moisture, they are bailed for storage in the cold warehouse. Goschie Farms sells directly to brewers across the United States, which is unique for a hop farm. The farm also works with a hops broker to ensure an even and fair price for the hops across the harvest season.

Gayle Goschie is seen as a pioneer of microirrigation in Oregon. In the late 1980's, the Goschie family experimented with drip irrigation on a 4-acre test plot to test if it would help reduce downy mildew later in the growing season. When the hops grow on the wire vertically and branch out, the growing structure can create a greenhouse-like effect that encourages heat and moisture. Their experimentation worked and not only solved their downy mildew problem, but also allowed them to reduce their fungicide use, more precisely supply nutrients to the plant, and conserve water. The farm operates in Mt. Angel's ground water restricted area, so water conservation was a key priority for the Goschie family farm. Today, almost all hop operations in Oregon harness microirrigation.

Les Bachelor, NRCS Oregon District Conservationist in Salem, and Theresa Brehm, NRCS Oregon Soil Conservationist, work with Goschie Farm to support their water conservation efforts. Over the years, Les has worked with Gayle to fund microirrigation systems across approximately 400 acres, funded through the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP). Goschie Farms has also worked with NRCS Oregon through the Conservation Stewardship Program to install pollinator habitat, riparian buffers, cover crops and other conservation practices. Goschie Farms is currently working with Jarod Seaman, NRCS Oregon soil conservationist, to implement new acres of micro-irrigation and irrigation water management practices on the farm.

Gayle Goschie has been instrumental in helping NRCS reach other hops growers in the county, spreading the word with first-hand testimony of the benefits of modernizing irrigation systems to conserve water and energy.

The Goschie family stays active with the Marion County Local Working Group, dedicating time and energy assisting NRCS Oregon with developing a soil health Conservation Implementation Strategy in upcoming years. The partnership between NRCS and Goschie Farms has been invaluable, and NRCS Oregon looks forward to more opportunities to support Goschie Farms and hops production for years to come.