APOPKA, Fla. (AP) - With Florida's iconic citrus industry struggling from a bacterial disease, some farmers are eyeing a new niche crop that taps into the country's burgeoning beer-brewing business: hops.
Traditionally, Florida was considered too hot and humid to grow hops. About 95-percent of U.S. hops are grown in the cooler climes of Washington and the Pacific Northwest.
But a craft brewing explosion has pushed demand sky high, and as a result, shortages of popular hop varieties are common for smaller breweries.
University of Florida horticulturist Brian Pearson began doing research on a few hop plants 3 years ago.
Now he has hundreds of thriving plants, and there is some hope that Florida may have found a new niche crop.
Still, while promising, Pearson says more research is needed before Florida's hops industry can take off.
(Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
8/14/2016 10:31:22 AM (GMT -4:00)
