The Hop King's Forecast
Ezra Meeker weighs in on the state’s hop yield, the superiority of 'short-pole' farming, and the labor politics of the Puyallup Valley fields.
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Ezra Meeker, the prominent hop grower, estimates the Washington state crop at 45,000 bales. Meeker reports a decided improvement in quality and management this season, noting that his own crop has yielded nearly twice as much as the previous year. He credits this success to his 'short-pole' system, which allows for better vine maturity and easier harvesting. Discussing labor, Meeker states he employs mostly white pickers but keeps a contingent of 52 Indians as a 'security against' the unreliability of white labor during stormy weather, noting that Indigenous pickers 'do not flinch from storm and rain.' He dismisses rumors of malicious cutting in his yards as baseless and remains optimistic about the quality of Washington hops for the London market.
“I did not intend to employ any Indians this year because there was such a pressure for labor among the whites, but our experience has shown us that if there are protracted storms numerous whites would give out and consequently as a sort of security against that we have employed a few Indians.”
Ezra Meeker was a pivotal figure in Washington’s agricultural history, and his hop farms near Puyallup and Kent anchored the region's early economy. His casual description of his labor management—weighing the reliability of white versus Indigenous pickers—offers a stark look at the power dynamics and racial attitudes present in the development of the Puget Sound landscape.
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