[MattFarmer]

Thanks for all the advice so far guys!  Right after I posted on here the other day I was at a local restaurant in town and talking to the owner...  It was kind of funny, the first thing he said when talking to him was "Dude, grow hops!!" 

I'll definitely try and get my hands on some hops to see if they make me itch or not...

As for the "Hops market" where I live...  It's basically non-existent.  Tioga-Sequoia is a really good micro brew company about 45 minutes South of me in Fresno, I'd like to email them, but I also found a "Beer Train" on sierra dinner trains website, it looks like a really good way to meet a variety of micro companies and find out what there needs are, what they would want me to grow, and if I could grow enough.

I was looking at http://www.hopsharvester.com/ and need to email them to see what a basic PTO  driven machine would cost...

[chumley]

Not to be a Debbie Downer, but.....

DON'T DO THIS!!!!

(I said these words to my now defunct LHBS owner 5 years ago).

As someone who listens to the news, I realize that almonds are the worst water suckers in the Central Valley.  But hops suck a boatload of water, too.  Surely there must be something better, crop-wise that doesn't require so much water.

[denny]

Not to be a Debbie Downer, but.....

DON'T DO THIS!!!!

(I said these words to my now defunct LHBS owner 5 years ago).

As someone who listens to the news, I realize that almonds are the worst water suckers in the Central Valley.  But hops suck a boatload of water, too.  Surely there must be something better, crop-wise that doesn't require so much water.

I tried to get that across, chumley, but sometimes people seem to have their minds made up in spite of the best advice.