LARCHWOOD—The basis for organic beer is a skip, jump and hop away.

Star Sister Organic Hops near Larchwood is the only U.S. Department of Agriculture-certified organic hops farm in the Midwest this side of Michigan.

The farm is putting its four and a half acres to good use, growing 3,000 hops plants on 20-foot poles.

Tending to the vines requires a lot of work, especially since the Stensland and Hawf families are committed to their organic values, but they say it is worth the effort.

Owners and operators Curt Stensland and his son-in-law Steve “Bubba” Hawf decided to pursue hops production after researching the 2008 hops shortage. They found there was an increasing number of microbreweries, and they wanted an alternative project to start. However, it was not until 2014 that everything was set up and the crop began.

“There was a lot of work up-front,” Bubba said. “We had 100 20-foot poles. We had to hang wires. Every spring, you have to physically train the vines to climb up. We have 3,000 plants and eight vines per plant.”

Read the full article on the NWest Iowa Review website.