Hops Growers Vote to End Marketing Order

Producers of hops, which help flavor beer, have voted to drop a federal program begun 20 years ago to regulate the production and marketing of the crop, the Agriculture Department said Tuesday.

James C. Handley, administrator of the department’s Agricultural Marketing Service, said producers in the Pacific Northwest, where hops production is concentrated, voted in a referendum held Aug. 11-23 on whether to continue the federal marketing order for hops.

Handley said that to avoid disruption in hops marketing, the order would not be officially terminated until Oct. 31.