Herefordshire and Worcestershire’s hop production hit by drought

Drought conditions could cause a hop shortage, threatening a major part of the farming landscape in Herefordshire and Worcestershire, farmers say.

Hop farmer Ali Capper from Suckley, on the border between the two counties, and said this year’s yield could be down by as much as 50%.

“We’ve got a crop that is looking fairly unhappy,” she said, adding she was likely to make a loss due to the shortfall.

Paul Corbett, the managing director at hop supplier Charles Faram & Co, said prices needed to be kept at a reasonable level to avoid costs being passed on to beer drinkers.

“The last thing we need to do is put more expense towards brewers, who are already struggling, to make their beer more expensive,” he said. “If beer’s more expensive,…