Originally aired on YPR’s Flavors Under the Big Sky
About halfway between Winifred and Denton on the Bear Springs Bench, Clay Boyce is growing hops on five acres of land. Amongst the vast amber fields of wheat, the dominant crop grown in this area, is a five-acre patch where 18-foot trellises train hop vines towards the sky, and then 260 feet across the air.
After finishing college with an agriculture degree at MSU Northern in Havre, Boyce wanted to return home to Winifred to live. His brother, Casey, and sister also wanted to come back home. To be able to live on the land that he and his parents had ranched and farmed, the family needed enough water to sustain everyone’s livelihoods.
A well dug down to 3,000 feet helps Clay water the hops he grows for his company, Triple XXX Hops…