You might say that Ben and Dave Smith – two brothers born and raised in St. Paul, Oregon, in the heart of the Willamette Valley – have hops in their blood. Their dad grew hops in the Valley with his three brothers, as did their dad’s dad. Their mom’s dad grew hops too. And today, all of Ben and Dave’s sons are working in the business.
B&D Farms began in 1984, when the Smith brothers planted hops on 15 acres in St. Paul. Over the years, they’ve slowly expanded their operation to 1,000 acres, making B&D one of Oregon’s largest hop growers. “It’s been very satisfying to build the operation to what it is today,” Dave said.
“Growing hops all season long and seeing it through to the end product of hops in a bale is what I love to do,” Ben shared.
*Back Row Left to Right: Adam Smith, Ethan Smith (sons of Ben), Austin Smith, Zach Smith (sons of Dave.) Front Row Left to Right: Ben Smith, Dave Smith.