You can click this one to enlarge so you can see the workers up there on top of the lead vehicle. They cut the hop vine and sting from the trellis and throw it onto the truck that is following.
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With so many new acres planted in hops this year, this is new equipment. The load trucks are larger, and I have never seen an enclosed rig like the one in front in years past. The ones used before were like this tractor rig that I posted a couple of weeks ago doing some other work in the yard nearest us.
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Tomorrow we are headed to the Central Washington State Fair, and on Saturday the Prosser Balloon Rally. I will keep an eye out for more good hop harvest pictures as well.
4 comments:
I really like this photo! Not only teach us how you guys colect the hops nowadays...I acctually was scared and thought that there has been an accident, a truck going against the hops etc... what a good surprise after star reading and clicking to enlarge....uffff feel much better now!! I feel like having a beer...Imust look for some of yakima beer here at the liquor store I keep forgetting!!! ohh thanks for following my blog!! :O)
Fascinating! Hops looks like a labor intense crop. Reminds me of seeing the tobacco farmers in North Caroline when I was a kid. All the harvesting was manual and the leaves were tied in bunches and smoke cured in a tall barn.
There was a hop field behind my house growing up (I still think it's there, actually) in Terrace Heights. I remember during harvest time, it was a 24/7 operation. The guys would be swinging machetes and singing at the top of their lungs at, yes, 3:00am. :)
Getting a great pictoral education about hops from you!
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