One of the biggest factors and expenses associated with your hop yard build or expansion will not only be your poles, which can run anywhere these days from$35 to $100 depending upon which variety chosen and delivery expenses, but will also be the cables that you will use for your trellis.
Again, like so many things there is some debate centered around the right cable to use. Galvanized Aircraft Cable appears to be the most popular or universally accepted by commercial growers, but depending upon your build requirements you can opt for other kinds of cable. If you simply are trellising one row of hops with a half dozen poles it is quite different than say a build or trellis system of 30 rows.
The biggest thing to consider is the load weight on your cable. The average mature hop plant will load at about 30-40 lbs. You would have to take this number and multiply it by the number of plants you plan to have in the row to get a realistic load weight for the row. Also, factor in some extra weight for high winds, rain storms and other weather systems that may impact the stability or shift the weight of the trellis system when choosing your cable.
Here is a nice chart related to the size, load weight and diameter options for aircraft cable:
It is highly recommended by experienced trellis designers not to go less than 3/16 in diameter for your cable. It often times is only a few cents more for thicker diameter cable and that may just be the thing that can prevent any trellis disaster late in the season when the load weight is its most.
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