2024 Top Cut Award Winners

We are pleased to kick off 2024 by acknowledging the hard work and dedication of our hop growers! The Top Cut Awards are an annual tradition, where growers who deliver hops to Yakima Chief are evaluated based on our Green Chief® scoring model and recognized for outstanding growing practices.

The evaluation takes place each harvest season through a tallying of points as per the Green Chief guidelines. The Green Chief Program was formed in a collaborative effort to achieve long-term goals in day-to-day farm operations. It provides a uniform grading system which serves as an internal audit to measure best practices for sustainability and quality. It promotes healthy competition between farms, and it incentivizes and measures the impact of several of our sustainability initiatives. The goal of the program is to continuously improve hop quality and farm efficiency.

The small, medium, and large categories are based on the farms’ production volume. Each lot of hops delivered is scored, and at the end of the season, an overall grower score is determined by a weighted average. Scores are tallied on a points-based system that accrues from three categories: Variety, Sensory, and Facility. The highest score receives the Platinum award, with runners-up awarded as Gold and Silver.

We say this often, but it cannot be overstated: We take immense pride in the quality of our hop products, and that quality is cultivated in the field by our dedicated network of hard-working growers. A sincere “thank you” to all our farmers, growers, and farm hands, for testing the limits of their potential!

Small Farm Category

SILVER

Pearmine Farms
Fourth-generation hop growers, established in 1956 in Gervais, Oregon. They have been delivering hops to Yakima Chief for eight years.

Loza Farms
Established in Wapato, Washington in 1992. Loza is the first Hispanic-owned hop farm in the United States and has been delivering to Yakima Hops for seven years.

GOLD

Coleman Farms
Founded in St. Paul, Oregon in 1847, Coleman Farms is nearly on its seventh-generation. They have been growing hops for YCH for nine years.

Newhouse Farms
Established in Sunnyside, Washington in the 1940s, third-generation Newhouse Farms is one of our original growers. They have been delivering hops for 31 years.

PLATINUM

CSC
The hop farm was established in 2014 in Mabton, Washington. They have been growing hops for YCH for eight years.

Medium Farm Category

SILVER

Lakeside Ranches

Established in Salem, Oregon in 2022 as a new entity of the next generation of Sodbuster farms, this is their first year delivering for YCH.

Westwood Farms

Established in Gervais, Oregon in the 1930s, they have been growing for YCH for one year.

Puterbaugh Farms

Fifth-generation hop farm was founded in the 1930s in Mabton, Washington. They have been delivering to YCH for eight years.

GOLD

Sauve & Son Farms
One of Yakima Chief’s original hop farming families, Sauve & Son are fourth-generation hop growers. Established in Mabton, Washington in 1938, they have been growing with YCH for 29 years.

Warrior Ranches
Third-generation hop farm established in Granger, Washington in 1963. One of Yakima Chief Hops’ original growers, they have been delivering hops for 36 years.

PLATINUM

Van Horn Farms
Founded in Moxee, Washinton in 1904, fifth-generation Van Horn farms are one of Yakima Chief’s original growers. They have been producing YCH hops for 36 years.

Large Farm Category

SILVER

Black Star Ranch

Fifth-generation Black Star Ranch was founded in Moxee, Washinton in 1935. They have been delivering hops to Yakima Chief for 13 years.

Jackson Hop

Jackson Hop Farm was founded in 2008 in Wilder, Idaho. They have been delivering to YCH for nine years.

Oasis Farms

Established in Prosser, Washington in 1968, fourth-generation Oasis Farms has been growing hops for YCH for nine years.

Double R Hop Ranch

Fifth-generation Double R Hop Ranch was established in Harrah, Washington in 1935. They have been delivering hops to Yakima Chief for 10 years.

GOLD

Carpenter Ranches
Sixth-generation Carpenter Ranches was established in Granger, Washington in 1868. One of Yakima Chief Hops’ original growers, they have been delivering hops since the company’s inception 36 years ago.

Loftus Ranches
Fourth-generation Loftus Ranches was established in Moxee, Washington in 1932. They are one of Yakima Chief Hops’ founding growers.

PLATINUM

Perrault Farms
One of the founding farms in the Yakima Chief Hops family, fifth-generation Perrault Farms was established in Toppenish, Washington in 1902. They have been delivering YCH hops for 36 years.