Will They Harvest the Hops?
Facing a glut of inventory and low market prices, Seattle-area hop growers debate whether to pick the season's yield or let it wither on the vine.
The story, cleaned up
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Facing the unseasonably low market for this year’s hop crop, the produce reporter spoke yesterday to Mr. Marcus J. Meeker, who is largely interested in crops in both the White River and Puyallup valleys. 'That depends upon circumstances,' said Mr. Meeker. 'If the news in regard to better prospects for higher prices in the East comes within the next few days, most of the hops will be picked. On account of the long continued dry weather, there is only two-thirds of a crop this year. I have 150 acres in hops, and if I can get them picked for 8 cents per box, or three cents per pound, I will do so; otherwise, I will let the hops dry on the vines. No offers by contractors for the season's crop are being made here. Picking will begin September 1st. I shall require 100 whites and 150 Indians if I conclude to gather my crop. I think pickers will accept 75 cents per box. At that rate, they can make from $1.50 to $2 per day cash.'
“Rather than sell my crop for less, I will turn the hogs in and let them harvest the crop.”
In 1885, Seattle’s agricultural economy was struggling with the volatile commodity pricing and labor dependency that would eventually define the region’s boom-and-bust cycles. Much like today's concerns over labor shortages and agricultural logistics, the 19th-century reliance on migrant labor—specifically Indigenous pickers—remains a core, albeit often overlooked, chapter in the history of Washington’s industrial landscape.
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