Cleanup is underway in one of the world’s esteemed and beloved hop-producing regions. The Tasman and Nelson regions of New Zealand recently endured continued barrages of heavy rain that caused extensive flooding, landslides and evacuations. The most recent episode was described as a greater than a one in 100-year flooding event, with the Motueka River reaching or exceeding record-high flow levels. (Images above from Mac Hops’ Instagram.)
The Nelson region is located at the northern end of New Zealand’s south island. It is the epicenter of New Zealand’s hop country and is the primary source for hop varieties like Nelson Sauvin, Motueka, Riwaka, Waimea, and others. The area’s hop farms were not spared. A number of farms were described as “fully submerged.”
It is winter in New Zealand, with spring approaching. Likely, hopefully, the dormant hops will survive, but this is an unprecedented situation for the farms impacted by the floods. The effect on the upcoming growing season remains to be seen as the flooded farms address more immediate challenges, like repairing the above-ground, physical damage to the fields and infrastructure.
“Well, I don’t know why they call them ‘The Great Flood of…’ Because there is nothing great about it at all,” said one of the region’s hop farms, Mac Hops, via its Instagram feed. “The last few days has seen record flooding in our region and a reasonable amount of destruction… Both our farms have water everywhere, fences with damage and some debris scattered around but we are fortunate compared to others who have had significant damage and loss due to the flooding.”
sponsor
There is some human tragedy to report, too. Sadly, the hop-growing community is mourning the loss of one of its “originators” and fierce advocates. Peter Lines was a hop farmer from Totara Tce, Wakefield. On June 29th he was struck by a falling tree and died during the Tasman floods. It is being called a freak accident. Peter’s family has farmed hops for five generations.
