Szaro Farms Wants to Help Revive New York's Hop Belt

Follow our progress: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Szaro-Farms/322079861219889

Our farm was purchased by my great-great grandfather, Thomas Sharo, in 1922. Not long after arriving in the United States from Poland he was drawn to this area because it reminded him of his native country. Tom and his family soon established themselves as a successful farm; growing various grains and corn, and raising dairy cows.

Now, ninety years after the original purchase, we've found hops growing wild on the barn! 

We found that the plant had proliferated significantly around the site of the old silo, and were able to successfully transplant 10 rhizomes. 

My grandfather (82) and I cut, stripped, and set three poles to assemble a trellis.

The Project: 

We want to continue to transplant our wild hops and expand our hop yard. To do that we're going to need poles, cables, turnbuckles, clamps, and so on. Our current funding goal will allow us to establish an approximately half-acre yard.

Any funds raised beyond our goal will allow us to either install an irrigation system and/or go bigger!

With your help we can expand!

Why We're Going to Succeed:

We're already growing and we know that our climate is ideal for hops.  We're located in the strip of Central New York counties that used to be called the "Hop Belt". Production from our area made New York the nation's leading producer of hops at one time.

We also know that the variety we're growing will succeed because it has proliferated without any external intervention. Expanding production of a hardy local variety is a good thing!

We know we have a market too. Our hops have already been included in Saranac's annual Wet Hop IPA. The Wet Hop IPA is a specially brewed beer made with locally grown New York State hops. The hops are hand picked, and the beer is brewed less than 24 hours after picking.

We know we're going to continue to have a market because of New York State's recently passed Farm Brewery Law: http://nehopalliance.org/2012/06/farm-brewery-law-passes/ The law stipulates that farm-breweries can sell beer from a farm if 20 percent of the hops in the final product were grown in New York State. By 2023, 90 percent of the hops will have to come from New York.

In sum, we have the know-how to expand our operation, and we have the space to do it. We have a market, and will continue to have a market. What we lack is the necessary materials to expand. 

We need a KickStart!

We would greatly appreciate your assistance in getting us the supplies we need. With your help we can provide locally grown hops to brewers and do our part in reviving New York’s Hop Belt! 

We can't thank you enough for your support.

Sincerely,

Dave, from Szaro Farms

T-Shirt Logo Concept:

The Coasters will look like this, and our name will be branded on 'em: