YAKIMA — Across the Yakima Valley this month, tractors and picking machines have been rumbling to life to send millions of pounds of hops from bine to bale. At the heart of the nation’s hop industry, the scents and sounds of harvest season are palpable … but on the ground, growers are still working to make a comeback from the pandemic.

After a sudden drop in craft beer sales a few years ago, many farms have dramatically slashed acreage to make up for an oversupply — a reality that growers like Leon Loza Jr. know well.

On a recent morning in mid-September, Loza sat on the tailgate of his black pickup truck and watched as a top cutter machine made its way down a row of Citra hops at Loza Farms in Wapato. From his spot in the middle of the field, the crops seemingly stretched on forever — b

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