FluteSequences - The only hop grower before the first normal harvest after the flood
Three years after the flood, the only hops farmer in Rhineland-Palatinate stands between lush hops that reach eight meters in height in Reihes im Holsthum in the South Eifel. "There's nothing more beautiful than going back to the hop gardens now," says Andreas Dick. The rebuilding of the facilities is almost complete. "We expect to harvest a normal full crop for the first time this year."
During the 2021 flood in the Eifel river Pruem, water masses destroyed a large part of the hop gardens. "It was all torn down, torn apart. Cars were in the way. We were stunned, and many tears were shed," recalls Dick. The Pruem, which is normally five meters wide, had expanded from the 14th to the 15th of July overnight to more than 100 meters and had flooded the depression six meters high with water.
Reconstruction re-established
He had thought about giving up for only a short time. But help came from all over Germany to clean up, and farmers and hop growers from other regions of Germany came to help with the rebuilding. "We had 50 hop growers from Southern Germany here who came with their machines. I still get goose bumps today." There were donations, and the land covered 80% of the damage of 1.6 million Euro.
Dick used the rebuilding for a new setup of his business. He reduced the cultivation area from previously 22 hectares to 17 hectares - the remaining areas are now used as strip fields along the Pruem and as overflow fields. "Floods will come again," he says. In addition, hop installations have been "turned" so that the alleys between the hops run parallel to the river, and water can flow through them in the future. "It was like a wall before."
Harvest begins in early September
Moreover, wooden posts were replaced with stable concrete posts that are meter deep in the ground. Regarding the climate change, new hop varieties were planted that are better suited to heat and drought. And they are planning to install drip irrigation at height. Regarding possible further floods, he means: "The damages will then certainly be smaller."
In the past three years, there have been "no five days" when he did not work, says Dick. "The rebuilding was exhausting." Now he looks forward to the harvest, which should start around the beginning of September and last about four weeks. He calculates with a yield of around 750 centners. Last year, it was still 250 centners during partial harvesting.
Crisis as opportunity
Dick's cultivation area is the northernmost in Germany. There are around 1,000 hop farming businesses in Germany, most of which are in the Hallertau in Bavaria. The rest is distributed in the Elbe-Saale, Spalt in Mittelfranken, Tettnang in Baden-Württemberg - and in the Eifel. The cultivation area is about 20,000 hectares, as the managing director of the German Hop Growers Association, Erich Lehmair, reports from the Bavarian Wolnzach.
The hops harvested in the Eifel are dried and then taken to Southern Germany for processing. The entire harvest of the "Bitburger Siegelhopfen" goes to the Bitburger Brewery. Hops are one of the four beer ingredients that can be used according to the Reinheitsgebot of 1516.
Other farmers were also affected
At the flood due to heavy rainfalls in July 2021, the Ahr Valley was particularly in focus with 135 deaths and damages in billions, but also in the Eifel and at the Kyll areas were places flooded. In the Eifel, about 20 to 30 agricultural businesses were affected, says the spokesperson of the Farmers' and Winemakers' Association Rhineland-Palatinate, Herbert Netter, in Koblenz. They had received subsidies over the farmers' aid fund. In the Ahr Valley, more than 100 wineries had to endure severe damages.
"Somehow it goes on and on," says Dick. "We said, in every crisis there is an opportunity. And we have now used and seized it."
- Andreas Dick, the only hops farmer in Rhineland-Palatinate, is cultivating hops in the South Eifel, where the plants reach up to eight meters high.
- The reconstruction of the hops farm in Ahltal, affected by the flood in 2021, is almost complete, and Dick expects a full crop this year.
- Dick reduced his cultivation area after the flood and implemented changes to make the farm more resilient to future climate challenges.
- In the past three years, since the flood, Dick has worked tirelessly on the rebuilding of his hops farm, which was exhausting but necessary.
- The crisis brought an opportunity for Dick, as he was able to implement new measures to enhance the resilience and efficiency of his hops farm.
- German farmers and hop growers from various regions, including Southern Germany, came to help with the rebuilding after the flood.
- The German Hop Growers Association reports that the cultivation area in Germany is around 20,000 hectares, and the hops harvested in the Eifel are sent to Southern Germany for processing.
- Dick's 'Bitburger Siegelhopfen' hops are taken to the Bitburger Brewery for processing, and hops are one of the four essential beer ingredients according to the Reinheitsgebot of 1516.
