Hop & Brew School Ep16 | Green Chief Program Live From HomebrewCon 2019

In this episode of Hop & Brew School, we are joined by Yakima Chief Hops Chief Supply Chain Officer, Steve Carpenter, live at HomebrewCon 2019, in Providence, RI. Steve is a fifth generation hop farmer in the Yakima Valley and shares his wealth of knowledge about hops with us. We also learn about YCH’s Green Chief® internal farm quality and sustainability management program that was developed in 2008 as a collaborative effort to achieve long-term goals in day-to-day farm operations. We learn about how the program was formed to promote and develop strong baselines, guidelines and practices for traceability, harvest food safety, and data collection and reporting. The program now includes more than 25 farms collaborating on environmentally and socially responsible solutions that ensure the ongoing quality and competitiveness of YCH offerings, even if that means rejecting product that does not meet their strict standards. We also learn a little about YCH’s newest blend, Cluster Fugget, and Steve’s other passion, baseball.