Farming hops is nothing new to us. The farm is located in an area known as the French Prairie, one of the earliest hop growing areas in Oregon. Grandparents Patrick and Ella Leavy—Patrick, an Irish immigrant—purchased the farm in 1912 and began growing hops a few years later. In many ways, Ella was the hop farmer in the family; under her leadership, the farm survived prohibition and the introduction of the devastating hop downy mildew disease.

Today's Farm

Today the farmer is grandson Patrick, who spent his summers as a kid living on the farm and learning hop growing from his uncle Joe. He took over the farm in 1978 and has been farming hops ever since.

The Hophouse

Harvesting facilities include the picking machine and hop dryer, also known as the hophouse—thus the origin of the name The Oregon Hophouse. The farm has the capacity to produce tens of thousands of pounds of organic hops—whole or Type 90 pellets.

The hop dryer (the hophouse) was built in 1989, the last completely new harvesting facility built in Oregon.