Profession hop farmer

Hop farmers plant, cultivate and harvest hops for the production of commodities such as beer.

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Personality Type

• Enterprising / Realistic
• Realistic / Conventional

Knowledge

• Ingredients for beer production

  Basic ingredients of beer, which consist of water, a starch source such as malted barley, brewer's yeast to produce the fermentation and a flavouring such as hops.

• Plant propagation

  Types of different propagation methods, materials and seeds and their criteria for health and quality.

• Hop cultivation

  The cultivation of hop plants. The diverse types of hops and the means to cultivate and harvest hop crops for beer brewing and other purposes.

Skills

• Create crop protection plans

  Monitor crops for issues with crop protection. Design integrated control strategies. Assess the consequences of pesticide application. Keep up with developments in biotechnology to help reduce usage of chemicals. Manage pesticide resistance.

• Harvest crop

  Mow, pick or cut agricultural products manually or using appropriate tools and machinery. Take into account the relevant quality criteria of products, hygiene prescriptions and use the appropriate methods.

• Supervise hygiene procedures in agricultural settings

  Ensure that hygiene procedures in agricultural settings are followed, taking into account the regulations of specific areas of action e.q. livestock, plants, local farm products, etc.

• Prevent crop disorders

  Advise on how to prevent and limit particular crop disorders with the appropriate methods. Select corrective treatments.

• Propagate plants

  Carry out propagation activities by applying appropriate propagation methods, such as grafted cutting propagation or generative propagation considering the plant type. Carry out propagation control considering the required terms and conditions for specific plant type.

• Supervise crop production

  Supervise and analyse overall crop production in order to ensure effective production process, taking into account the environmental regulations.

• Store crops

  Store and preserve crops in accordance with standards and regulations to ensure their quality. Ensure that storage facilities are kept according to hyginic standards, regulating temperature, heating and air conditioning of storage facilities.

• Nurse plants

  Determine the need for nursing activities and carry out nursing by cultivating, maintaining, watering and spraying the plants and trees manually or using appropriate equipment, taking into account the plant species and following safety requirements.

• Grow plants

  Carry out plant growing activities. Carry out grow control considering the required terms and conditions for specific plant type.

• Use gardening equipment

  Use gardening equipment such as clippers, sprayers, mowers, chainsaws, complying to health and safety regulations.

• Advise on beer production

  Advise beer companies, small brewers and managers within the beer industry to improve the quality of the product or of the production process.

• Prepare planting area for planting

  Prepare planting area and soil for planting by fertilising, mulching and performing weed control. Take the conditions of the area, soil and plant type into account.

• Prepare planting area

  Prepare planting area and soil for planting by for example fertilising, mulching by hand or using mechanical tools or machinery; prepare seeds and plants for sowing and planting by ensuring the quality of seed and plants.Sow and plant by hand, using mechanical tools or machinery and in accordance with national legislation.

• Maintain storage facilities

  Maintain or ensure the maintenance of cleaning equipment, heating or air conditioning of storage facilities and the temperature of premises.

• Maintain gardening equipment

  Perform daily maintenance on tools and equipment and report major faults to a superior.

• Cultivate hops

  Carry out the cultivation of hops for the production of beer and other purposes.

• Monitor crops

  Monitor the growth of the crops to ensure the crops are free from diseases, harmful chemicals and organisms.

• Execute fertilisation

  Carry out fertilisation tasks by hand or using appropriate equipment according to fertilisation instructions taking into account the environmental, health and safety regulations and procedures.

• Monitor fields

  Monitor orchards, fields and production areas to forecast when crops will be fully grown. Estimate how much damage the weather may cause to crops.

• Assess crop damage

  Identify and evaluate damage to crops due to disorders, adverse physical soil conditions, unsuitable pH, nutrient imbalances and deficiencies, the misuse of crop protection materials, or extreme weather factors.

Optional knowledge and skills

Source: Sisyphus ODB