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The Ministry of Agriculture, to further state-led agricultural Steam tractors with ploughs on the village square, Stekník, early 20 century
research, founded the State Experimental Agricultural
Centre in 1925, in the nearby village of Deštnice, which
was renamed as the Hop growing Research Centre in
1936. In 1927, the significant hop grower, Karel Osvald
(1899–1948), started to breed the original regional
varieties of Czech hops. These varieties, later named as
Osvald’s clones, prevailed significantly within the hop
growing areas and in Czech hop production in the second
half of the 20 century.
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The "Hop growing Municipality Union of the Žatec
region" organisation, with a permanent seat in Žatec since
1891, was renamed as the "Hop producing Municipality
Association of the Žatec region," or the shortened
"Hopfenbau – Verband." In 1929, this organisation
united a record number of 11,000 hop producers
from 237 municipalities from the German community
and 116 municipalities from the Czech community.
There was no demand for the highest-quality hops, and
After a short period of consolidation in the post-war the warehouses in Žatec remained full. The prices of
period, there was a short period of growth in cultivation, hops were rapidly changing, sometimes even from hour
from 1923 to 1929, and the area of hop fields was enlarged. to hour. To resolve the crisis in demand, especially to
The hop field area increased to 17,264 ha in 1929. monitor the prices, quality, and maintain the goodwill of
the hops, the Czechoslovak Hop growing Syndicate Ltd.
Whereas the prices of hops reached their peak in 1924, was established, with governmental support, after the
when 50 kgs of hops was worth as much as 5,000 CZK, harvest in 1930, with offices in Žatec.
the prices of hop later began to sink due to the growth
of production. Sales prices of hops in 1928 did not The unmarketable hops was bought up, destroyed
cover the expenses for their picking and drying. Later, through the companies close to the Czech and German 129
due to a worldwide overproduction of hops, there was section of the Hop growing Union in Žatec, and the
a dramatic drop in interest in hops. Subsequently, during hop field area was decreased and later regulated. In
the world economic crisis, from 1929 to 1933, there
was a catastrophic drop in hop prices well below the
production costs.

The crisis in Czech agriculture affected the hop industry
to the largest extent, as it was mainly dependent on
demand from foreign markets. There was an emergency
situation for the hop industry in the Žatec region as local
hops were exported at 60 to 85 % of their previous levels.
The unfavourable situation further deteriorated due to
the Prohibition Act passed in the United States of America.

The impact of the economic crisis on the Czech hop
industry was, therefore, drastic. The hop growing area
in 1929 of 17,264 ha plummeted to 9,856 ha in 1932.
A collapse in prices took place, reaching their lowest level
in 1931 when the average price for 50 kgs of hops was
only 229 CZK. A certain part of hop fields were even left
unpicked and were down cut and burnt in the autumn.
The economic crisis increased unemployment, which
lead to a drop in the purchasing power of the majority
of the population. The situation deteriorated due to the
forced procurement of hops and the introduction of high
import duties in the states that used to import Czech
hops on a regular basis, especially in Germany. In 1933,
150 hop traders were registered in Žatec. Only ten of them
were Czech nationals. The educator Antonín Mohl among his students,
Saaz hop growing region, approx.1922