As a public service, I’ve composed a list of eight questions somebody in the hop or brewing industry should ask the handful of people who control over 70% of U.S. hop industry while they’re together on stage this morning.
If answered would provide clarity, openness and transparency. For that reason, I realize the chance anybody will ask these questions is small, and that they would be answered even smaller. A powerful cartel causes most farmers, smaller merchants and brewers to self-censor any criticism of the establishment for fear of retribution.
Here you go:
1) With great market power comes responsibility. How do you balance profitability with the ethical obligation to maintain a fair and competitive marketplace?
2) For the people who own or represent the Hop Breeding Company: Have you ever met to discuss acreage management for the varieties whose patents you jointly own?
3) Given the close-knit nature of the hop industry, what safeguards do you have in place to prevent the sharing of sensitive market data that could facilitate coordinated behavior?
4) For the Yakima Chief Hops™ representative: Have your acreage reduction efforts reduced the production of farmers who own HBC, YCH, YCR to a lesser extent than those outside of those groups?
5) For the owners of every proprietary variety: Once your 20-year patent-enforced monopoly expires, do you intend to allow the variety to enter the public domain as required in the U.S. Constitution and by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office[1][2]?
6) For the Yakima Chief Hops™ or John I. Haas representatives: In 2018 Louis Gimbel warned from the merchant panel at the HGA convention that a market surplus existed[3]. Given that acreage for the proprietary varieties owned by HBC that your companies market did not decrease until 2022, can you identify when the oversupply situation became apparent for you and what brought it to your attention?
7) For proprietary variety owners: How do you respond to the farmer criticism that you broke a deal you had with them to properly manage the supply of your proprietary varieties and maintain profitable pricing in exchange for them reducing themselves to contract growers?
8) The companies on the panel represent a significant majority of the global market. How do you respond to concerns that your dominance stifles competition and limits opportunities for smaller players to thrive?
"Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is to not stop questioning."[4]
- Albert Einstein
I would not expect clear or valuable answers to these questions from a panel of merchants in a public forum. The people in such positions are very smart and excellent public speakers. They can maneuver around difficult questions and weave together a beautiful answer while providing very little useful information while making you feel good that they answered your question.
One more thing: For the people whose future in the industry is uncertain because forced acreage cuts of proprietary varieties reduce their efficiency, remember this … you probably don’t have as much to lose as you think. If the status quo continues, you won’t attend many more hop conventions.
Good Luck!
[1] https://www.goldsteinpatentlaw.com/what-happens-when-patent-expires/
[2] https://www.uspto.gov/sites/default/files/documents/patent_basics.pdf
[3] https://brewingindustryguide.com/rightsizing-the-hop-market/
[4] https://www.alberteinsteinsite.com/quotes/einsteinquotes.html