In 2012, we purchased HillCrest Farm (what we named our new property) to settle with our small family and build a home. After building our dream home and looking towards the future of how to use the rest of the land, Bill talked with a friend who suggested growing hops. Our first questions was, “What are hops?” And so our journey began!

Bill began years of research from soil requirements, water needs, setting up a hop yard, the market, projected income, and feasibility of growing hops in Worland, Wyoming. After visiting a research site at Northwest College, growing some test plots, installing a new irrigation system, working with hop farmers and commercial growers in Michigan, and designing a hop yard, we began the giant step into the hop world.