Marijuana-Hemp

Reviving Hemp: Economic Boon or Passing Trend?

Tue, 22 Apr 2025 18:15:14 GMT

Industrial hemp is gaining more ground in the U.S., according to the 2025 National Hemp Report , released on April 17 by the USDA-National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).

The report says the total planted area for industrial hemp in the U.S. reached 45,294 acres in 2024 – up 64% from 2023. Likewise, total harvested acres were 32,694 acres last year – up 55% from 2023.

The report was based on a survey of 8,153 producers across the U.S.

(USDA-NASS)

The total value of U.S. hemp production – which includes open (fields) and under protection (such as greenhouses) – totaled $445 million, up 40% from 2023.

Of that $445 million, hemp production in the open was the lion’s share of the value – $417 million – a 46% increase over 2023.

The value of industrial hemp is increasing once again, following a profitability nosedive during the early days of the Covid pandemic.

(USDA-NASS)

What Is Industrial Hemp?
The National Hemp Report is based on the 2025 Hemp Acreage and Production Survey of 8,153 producers. The survey was conducted during February and March 2025.

As defined in the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018 (2018 Farm Bill), the term “hemp” means the plant species Cannabis sativa L. and any part of the plant such as seeds, all derivatives and extracts.

Industrial hemp, whether growing or already processed, is characterized by low THC (delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol) content, not exceeding 0.3% on a dry weight basis.

Industrial hemp is an ingredient used in supplements, skin creams, and shampoos, among other products containing Cannabidiol, better known as CBD.

The hemp-derived cannabinoid industry supports over 325,000 jobs and $13.2 billion in wages across the U.S., according to Whitney Economics.

Texas leads the country in hemp production, followed by South Dakota.

Texas leads the country in hemp production.

(USDA-NASS)

Four Facets Of Industrial Hemp
The USDA’s 2025 report addresses four facets of industrial hemp, including floral, grain, fiber and seed production.

Floral hemp made the largest production gains in 2024, with U.S. production totaling 20.8 million pounds – a 159% increase over 2023.

The 37-page National Hemp Report says the area harvested for floral hemp in the open was estimated at 11,827 acres, an increase of 60% from 2023. Average floral hemp yields in 2024 reached 1,757 pounds per acre, a gain of 669 pounds per acre over 2023 yield results.

Seed hemp grown in the open made the most significant gain in value last year, jumping 482% to total $16.9 million. With 2,160 acres of hemp for seed in 2024, that marked a 61% increase over 2023.

Seed hemp has a high protein content with a balanced amino acid profile and is used in human dietary supplements. The seed oil is also used in the food, pharmaceutical, medical and cosmetic industries.

The Domestic Hemp Production Program, which allows for the cultivation of hemp under certain conditions, was established in the 2018 Farm Bill and is administered by the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS).

Hemp Seed Livestock Meal Receives Green Lights On Way to Federal Approval

Fri, 27 Sep 2024 18:07:07 GMT

After years of work and regulatory paperwork, the The Hemp Feed Coalition announces Hemp Seed Meal for laying hens has been recommended by FDA-Center for Veterinary Medicine and voted by AAFCO into their Ingredient Definition Committee for the final step in the approval pathway.

The definition allows hemp seed meal up to 20% into feed mixes for laying hens. This marks the first hemp feed ingredient to get federal recommendation and uptake by AAFCO.

Wendy Mosher, CEO at New West Genetics and vice president of Hemp Feed Coalition, says this is something that has been in the works for at least four years.

“There’s a lengthy process for any new crop to get ingredient approval, but it’s worth it, you can’t have commodity crop without a feed opportunity for that crop,” Mosher says. “Federal approval gives us a leg up into adoption and scale.”

Mosher says before deregulation in 2014, hemp acres were zero, then by 2020, climbed to a peak of around 400,000 acres. Today, total U.S. hemp acres are reported around 55,000.

“I think this is a positive thing—it shows with the right incentives crops can be expanded rapidly, and that those participants with long term vision are still here, and are building the markets in a sustainable fashion. Hemp is a great opportunity for the crop rotation as well as soil health” Mosher says. “Hempseed meal as a feed ingredient contributes to the risk mitigation of planting the crop—it’s another place for the crop to go.”

As a feed ingredient, the coalition cites hemp grain providing essential vitamins, minerals, healthy oils, and a complete protein profile. For egg production, this can lead to a value-added product with higher omega 3 content. It has been verified that any potential cannabinoid contaminants do not transfer into the egg product.

With the regulatory obstacles starting to be removed, Mosher is optimistic about the educational opportunities for the market to increase in size.

“Hemp can serve the same basic protein and oil markets that currently use soybeans or canola,” she says. “Feed manufacturers are seeing success, including Wenger Feeds in Pennsylvania who make hemp feed for Kreider Farms’ eggs. In the next year we hope to get some additional adoption by some larger players.”

Mosher highlights her company, New West Genetics, has been developing improved hemp varieties to double grain yield.

“We’ve got momentum in hemp as we are providing high yielding and adapted genetics for hemp production in the U.S., and the industry is also near the finish line on this feed approval,” she says. “It’s a moment we’ve been waiting on for 10 years. In the not so distant future, we hope to see hemp on the million acre scale.”

Voluntary Registry Opens to Hemp, Helps Protect Crops

Tue, 20 Sep 2022 04:16:45 GMT

FieldWatch launched 12 years ago as a voluntary registry to assist applicators in being aware of where specialty crops were planted. And in the past six months, the voluntary platform has added hemp to the crops that can be listed on the DriftWatch site.

“The 2018 Farm Bill changed the status of hemp for everyone,” FieldWatch CEO Stephanie Regagnon says. “After our board of directors approved adding hemp to our system, we put it out to our participating states. And of our 22 states and 1 Canadian province, 17 states and the Canadian province decided to add hemp.”

One such state offering the hemp listing for the first time in 2020 is North Carolina.

“In North Carolina in 2019, we had 1,404 registered growers with 17,589 acres of production,” says Pat Jones, Deputy director of pesticide programs. “Additionally, we had nearly 7 million square feet of greenhouse production and 989 processors.”

As the hemp industry grows, farmers stand to be benefit in identifying where their crops are planted to avoid drift incidents and increase awareness of in-field sensitivities.

“Hemp is bringing such a new and exciting opportunity for ag, and any tools we have that we can use that ensure success of this new industry it’s a positive thing,” Regagnon says.

The FieldWatch platform is voluntary but has seen up to 100% adoption of some crops in some states, such as grapes.

“There are a lot of anecdotal stories of this mapping system bringing connectivity between growers, applicators and beekeepers creating a community and avoiding an issue,” Regagnon says. “If any kind of applicator—rights of way sprayers, railroad sprayers, agricultural, etc. – learns about the presence of a sensitive crop such as hemp in the area they are about to spray, they can take this information into account to avoid incidental crop damage. They can even contact the grower to learn more about a crop on the site. And in turn, growers can expect if any of those pre-application concerns arise, they will get a call.”

Jones reports in North Carolina having FieldWatch’s BeeCheck registry, which enables the mapping of apiaries, available has created a benefit for the industry, and he sees a similar pattern possible for hemp through DriftWatch.

“The fact that BeeCheck is voluntary has proven to be a benefit, because in the past some beekeepers had a hesitancy to list where their hives were, however, over time we’ve demonstrated the value and it’s been preferable over a mandatory registry,” Jones says. He says since launching the program in North Carolina in 2016, they now have more than 12,485 hives registered.

The seventeen states currently providing hemp as a crop listing are: Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, New Mexico, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Tennessee (and the Canadian province is Saskatchewan.)

Click here to learn more about the FIeldWatch registries.

Hemp Blueprint Thrives on Midwest Farm

Tue, 06 Sep 2022 13:47:26 GMT

The early, buck-wild days of hemp farming spawned many a gun-shy grower, but Aaron Baldwin found a sweet spot. Avoiding the pitfalls of broken promises and grinning middlemen, Baldwin brought hemp processing home and established a corresponding grower group. “Good times or bad times, any real farmer is always looking for genuine opportunity, and we knew the numbers were right,” he says. “It was time to s*** or get off the pot.”

Welcome to the near bull’s-eye of Kansas and the first industrial hemp fiber processing facility in the Jayhawk state, spurred by the entrepreneurial eye of a farming family with roots in 60 years of corn and soybeans. Is South Bend Industrial Hemp (SBIH)—farmer conceived, sourced, owned, and managed—a close blueprint for the future of American hemp?

The Bottleneck Trap

On the flat, sandy soils south of the Arkansas River in central Kansas’ Barton and Stafford counties, the Circle K Farming Partnership is steered by the trio of Baldwin and his wife, Melissa, and his brother, Richard.

Circle K encompasses 2,500 acres of row crops (3,000 acres total), typically set on an irrigated corn-soybean rotation, with wheat also in the mix, along with grain sorghum depending on the year and circumstance. In addition, the operation includes a feed yard with a 2,000-head capacity, but the livestock ground is leased out. Baldwin, 46, carries a wry sense of humor and a strong dose of self-deprecation, and describes himself as “in no way a full-blooded cattleman.”

The Baldwin brothers took over decision-making on the family farm in 2011, and assumed the official helm in 2018, allowing their mother, Karla Kirkman, to step backward into a landlord role. At roughly the same time in 2018, the hemp train left the federal station as regulations eased and opportunity opened for growers—and grifters. The stampede took CBD prices to dizzying heights, attracting carpetbaggers and con-men to a new crop with no genuine market rules.

While the hemp buzz increased, Baldwin searched for a new player for his crop roster, finding modest success by growing 200 acres of teff for a buyer in Colorado, but the shine of high hemp prices caught his eye, particularly the opportunity to scale.

“Me and Richard started looking to grow hemp for CBD and we had all kind of guys romance us. We were told a $500,000 facility with geothermal heating and all sorts of bells and whistles was the way to go. No way. On this farm, we always start simple. I’ve already got to gamble in farming every damn day, and there was no way we were gonna spend more than necessary.”

“We wanted to bet what we could afford to lose,” Baldwin continues. “It’s what we tell other guys today, ‘Start small.’ There are true horror stories out there of guys investing millions and losing it all.”

The Baldwins built a hoop house (2,000 square feet) for $10,000 and ran in water lines via a drip system. The rationale? If the hoop house didn’t work for CBD, the structure could be turned toward vegetable or specialty crop production. Obtaining clone genetics from Tennessee, they raised 1,500 plants (indoors and outdoors) and had an excellent first-year growing experience through harvest. (The Baldwins also grew 80 acres of fiber, but weren’t satisfied with tonnage production and didn’t harvest the crop due to weed and insect pressure.)

The CBD hemp, however, was a slog: The promised processor dropped the ball. “He was an extractor out of Colorado who was supposed to take all our biomass,” Baldwin explains. “It was all done on a shares deal so we weren’t out cash. But we were at the tail-end of high prices, which had dropped from $4,000-$5,000 per kilo to less than $2,000, and the processor was out. We pulled in the reins and regrouped.”

“Eventually, we found an extractor in Kansas with a strong reputation, the same guy we still use. It’s crucial in hemp to vet and do research about who you’re working with. It’s a small industry and you can learn a lot if you keep asking questions.”

The following year, in 2019, the Baldwin trio added a successful fiber field, growing 4.5 tons per acre on half a pivot. With product (300-plus bales) ready for processing, the Baldwins ran into a déjà vu scenario. Bottom line, the processor jumped ship. “We were supposed to take the bales to a guy in Texas for decortication, and he said he was happy with every shred of fiber we could grow. Suddenly, he was out. No buyer.”

Two steps forward, three steps back. Frustrated, but convinced he was on the right track, Baldwin kept his nerve. “Long story short, I rounded up the troops and told them, ‘If this processing gap between farmers and manufacturers isn’t made right, then we’ve got to quit.’ We were stuck in the bottleneck of the U.S hemp industry that is fed right now by product out of Canada and overseas. These U.S. companies can’t dependably source American-grown hemp, but they want all they can get.”

Rather than throw in the towel, Baldwin solved a monumental processing problem with an on-farm, DIY solution. Welcome to the birth of South Bend Industrial Hemp (SBIH).

Pinky Chop

With Melissa crunching the numbers, the Baldwins weighed the possibility of building an industrial hemp processing facility. Three years after starting down the hemp road, the trio pulled the trigger. “We were diligent on research,” Baldwin emphasizes. “We knew it would work and we were being conservative.”

Baldwin looked at decortication machines and spoke with contacts in the processing industry, but initially found extremely limited options for American-made equipment. “Also, the big stuff was costing $5 million to $10 million,” he says. “Like always, we wanted to keep things simple and go in low.”

During his search, Baldwin recalled an industry name from the 2018 NoCO Hemp Expo in Denver, where he and Richard had bumped into Corbett Hefner, vice-president of research and development at FormationAg, a Colorado company specializing in hemp harvesting and processing machinery.

Three years later, the Baldwin brothers stood in the FormationAg manufacturing plant, ready to buy a decorticator. “Their equipment was simple and scalable,” Baldwin says. “We didn’t have to chop off an arm to get a decorticator, just a pinky. Plus, and maybe most important, they were trustworthy people.”

Machinery companies play a vital role in the U.S. hemp industry because of a major disconnect between a given farm and sellable product. “Without reasonably affordable processing equipment, the process doesn’t work,” Hefner explains. “When FormationAg got in the hemp business six years ago, the first thing we built was a decorticator because the lack of processing was plainly evident. Even back then we saw fiber and grain as the most viable part of the hemp market and most definitely for large scale agriculture.”

How does Hefner see the future of industrial hemp farming? “I see more bootstrap farmers like Aaron Baldwin taking processing machines and going regional. Growing a lot of hemp, but having no means to attain a sellable product is not a good thing.”

Along with FormationAg, Hefner is part-owner of two businesses tackling U.S. hemp bottleneck issues, TAHNJA Partners , and Global Fiber Processing . “It gets tiring seeing a misleading hemp picture on the internet,” Hefner says. “We want to help and embolden farmers to get machinery in place and know where to sell a crop and how to make money.”

Price-makers

Along with a decorticator, the Baldwins needed a building to house the entire show. Keeping budget at the fore, they found a bargain building at an industrial park, five miles from the Circle K farm. At 13,000 square feet, the building houses the decorticator’s footprint (2,500 square feet). “Perfect for now, even though we’re already needing more room,” Baldwin describes. “It helps us and our community.”

SBIH’s grower group of 10 farmers in Kansas and Colorado make up 1,600-2,000 acres of industrial hemp sourcing, a number which matches with current SBIH process capability. (SBIH also grows hemp for CBD purposes at Circle K and sells a line of CBD products —salves, oils and gummies.)

In theory, the Baldwins could grow all the hemp acres on their own ground, but the option is counter to long-term success, Baldwin explains. “This goes back to starting small. We want to be all in with our farmer group and grow together. We will all learn and benefit from each other. Then, in a few years, when we need more tonnage, we’ll all be connected and ready. You can’t just wait for a big number five years from now, then reach out and expect farmers to come along. We are building relationships today and we’re figuring out what cooperation and specialty harvesting equipment we may need in the future. For ourselves and everyone involved, we start with a small investment and learn at each step.”

Equipment needs are minimal for new industrial hemp growers, Baldwin emphasizes, with no demands beyond what many farmers already possess: planter, swather, sickle mower, baler, rake, and combine. Most SBIH growers use a combine to take grain off the top and then return to swathe and bale the fiber.

The bales funnel into SBIH for decortication (roughly 20 bales per week). The machine is a series of rollers designed to break down the stalk and strip the outside bast fiber from the inner woody hurd. The entire plant is utilized: Even remaining dust is collected and packaged through a vacuum system.

Industry demand is extremely strong, Baldwin explains, yet U.S. manufacturers turn to foreign supplies if supply is not steady. “There are a lot of companies that need a large, consistent amount of hemp material and then there are guys developing products right now that need small samples to trial and will need a large supply later. That’s why we have to be able to provide a constant stream at large volume.”

The challenge for the Baldwins breaks down into a three-pronged division of labor. Richard covers the farm and fieldwork; Melissa, an independent crop research scientist, conducts on-farm trials, manages and provides agronomic support for the SBIH Grower’s Group, and runs her own company, Performance Crop Research ; and Baldwin (along with six employees) steers the decortication plant.

Hemp profit with fiber and grain, Baldwin says, is a reality. “There is no set market and no commercial conglomerate, so that truly lets us be price-makers and not price-takers. Our numbers for fiber and grain compete very, very well with any crop, and blow wheat and grain sorghum away. There’s still a ways to go before hemp is a normal rotation crop, but that’s where this is going. Hemp is going to be a regular crop for many farmers.”

The Normal Crop

There is no everlasting hemp honey hole to tap, but the bottom-line fiber and grain numbers are solid, Hefner echoes. “This crop is not the million-dollar CBD deal everyone thought. I speak everywhere about the economics of this crop comparing it to other crops like corn, soybeans and wheat. It’s not the primary cash crop at this stage for seed and fiber, but you can get a good picture of how this can play a significant role on your farm.”

“Hemp for fiber and seed, I believe, is going to become a normal tool in a farmer’s arsenal to be successful. The innovation in the market will be endless, because the possible uses are almost endless. However, we are going to reach a normalization stage because 200 to 500 acres of industrial hemp on someone’s farm will be normal,” Hefner concludes.

Baldwin encourages interested growers to invest heavily in vetting efforts. “Do your homework and do it slow. Farmers are good at reading people and they know what questions to ask about numbers.”

Beyond SBIH’s geography, Baldwin pushes hard for hemp success in Kansas and all states beyond. “There is room for any U.S. farmer in hemp, and this industry needs them all. If I can help anyone, please just contact me or any of the three of us, and if we don’t know the answer, we can point you to credible people and get you in touch. We absolutely believe in the U.S. hemp industry’s great future and we know it is going to succeed.”

To read more stories from Chris Bennett (cbennett@farmjournal.com — 662-592-1106), see:

Cottonmouth Farmer: The Insane Tale of a Buck-Wild Scheme to Corner the Snake Venom Market

Tractorcade: How an Epic Convoy and Legendary Farmer Army Shook Washington, D.C.

Bagging the Tomato King: The Insane Hunt for Agriculture’s Wildest Con Man

How a Texas Farmer Killed Agriculture’s Debt Dragon

While America Slept, China Stole the Farm

Bizarre Mystery of Mummified Coon Dog Solved After 40 Years

The Arrowhead whisperer: Stunning Indian Artifact Collection Found on Farmland

Where’s the Beef: Con Artist Turns Texas Cattle Industry Into $100M Playground

Fleecing the Farm: How a Fake Crop Fueled a Bizarre $25 Million Ag Scam

Skeleton In the Walls: Mysterious Arkansas Farmhouse Hides Civil War History

US Farming Loses the King of Combines

Ghost in the House: A Forgotten American Farming Tragedy

Rat Hunting with the Dogs of War, Farming’s Greatest Show on Legs

Misfit Tractors a Money Saver for Arkansas Farmer

Government Cameras Hidden on Private Property? Welcome to Open Fields

Farmland Detective Finds Youngest Civil War Soldier’s Grave?

Descent Into Hell: Farmer Escapes Corn Tomb Death

Evil Grain: The Wild Tale of History’s Biggest Crop Insurance Scam

Grizzly Hell: USDA Worker Survives Epic Bear Attack

Farmer Refuses to Roll, Rips Lid Off IRS Behavior

Killing Hogzilla: Hunting a Monster Wild Pig

Shattered Taboo: Death of a Farm and Resurrection of a Farmer

Frozen Dinosaur: Farmer Finds Huge Alligator Snapping Turtle Under Ice

Breaking Bad: Chasing the Wildest Con Artist in Farming History

In the Blood: Hunting Deer Antlers with a Legendary Shed Whisperer

Corn Maverick: Cracking the Mystery of 60-Inch Rows

Against All Odds: Farmer Survives Epic Ordeal

Agriculture’s Darkest Fraud Hidden Under Dirt and Lies

Leading Kentucky Hemp Processor Files for Bankruptcy

Thu, 04 Nov 2021 20:41:28 GMT

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A bankruptcy filing by a leading hemp processor strikes a “gut punch” to the fledgling industry as it tries to secure a foothold in Kentucky, the state’s agriculture commissioner said Thursday.

GenCanna Global USA Inc. announced it has filed a bankruptcy petition to work out a reorganization plan that could lead to debt refinancing or a potential sale. The Chapter 11 filing would allow it to continue operations during a reorganization, the company said.

“We are taking this action in order to position our business for success in a highly dynamic and rapidly evolving industry,” GenCanna CEO Matty Mangone-Miranda said in a statement.

Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles said the bankruptcy filing was the latest sign that the national hemp industry is facing “strong headwinds.” Kentucky positioned itself at the forefront of hemp’s comeback and Quarles is an enthusiastic advocate for the crop.

“Today’s announcement is a gut punch to Kentucky’s hemp industry and to many Kentucky farmers who dared to hope and risk on this crop,” Quarles said in a statement.

Quarles called it a priority to ensure that farmers and contractors get paid what GenCanna owes them. Hemp farmers contract with processors to supply the crop that can be turned into a myriad of products, including CBD oil.

GenCanna said Thursday it had obtained about $10 million in “post-petition debtor-in-possession” financing from its senior lender. That cash infusion, subject to court approval, would provide the company with liquidity to maintain operations during the bankruptcy process, it said.

Hemp became a legal agricultural crop as the result of a provision inserted into the federal farm bill that removed the plant from the list of federally controlled substances. For decades, the leafy plant was banned due to its family ties to marijuana. But hemp, unlike its cousin, has a negligible amount of THC, the psychoactive compound that gives marijuana users a high.

Hemp gained mainstream support in Kentucky several years ago and the state’s most prominent political leader — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell — led the legalization push in Congress.

The versatile crop was historically used for rope but has many other uses, including clothing and mulch from the fiber; hemp milk and cooking oil from the seeds; and soap and lotions. Other uses include building materials, animal bedding and biofuels. Hemp-derived cannabidiol, or CBD oil, as a health product has gained an increasingly large market.

In Kentucky, nearly 1,000 growers and more than 200 processors received state licenses to participate in the 2019 crop. The state doesn’t have statistics yet for this year’s crop in an industry facing growing pains.

Quarles said Thursday that some hemp processors “overextended themselves.”

He has been among hemp advocates urging federal regulators to develop a regulatory framework for the processing of hemp and manufacturing of CBD oil. The commissioner said “inaction” on that issue has been a main contributor to “paralysis in this industry.”

Based on price and production estimates, Kentucky producers could have earned between $55 million and $65 million from last year’s hemp crop, University of Kentucky agricultural economists said in December. That would amount would represent 1% of the state’s total agriculture receipts, they said. That’s up from the $17.7 million that Kentucky growers made in 2018.

In its release, GenCanna said Thursday its Chapter 11 filing allows it to “continue to operate its business without interruption to customers, vendors, partners and employees while working through a reorganization plan that could include refinancing of the company’s existing indebtedness, or an alternative restructuring transaction such as a sale.”

The company, founded in 2014, pointed to the need to adjust its operating costs to “better match the landscape” amid an uncertain regulatory situation.

“While this is certainly not the outcome we desired, the bankruptcy process gives us the ability to move forward in a way that allows us to best continue operations and serve customers as we work through our reorganization,” the company release said.

Field Work: 5 Steps to Minimize Risk As You Adopt Regenerative Practices

Thu, 24 Jun 2021 19:03:01 GMT

By Laurie Stern

Marc Schober is director of specialized agriculture solutions for Bremer Bank. That means he looks for innovative ways to increase ag customer profitability and decrease bank risk. He told Field Work hosts Zach Johnson and Mitchell Hora he is not a banker himself, but a resource for bankers and their customers.

As the ninth biggest ag bank in the country, Bremer serves farmers in Wisconsin, Minnesota and North Dakota. Many of the “solutions” Schober vets come from Silicon Valley and may not apply to crop farmers in the Midwest.

“Nothing grinds my gears worse than a solution coming from Silicon Valley, from a team that has never been to Iowa, Illinois or Indiana and has no clue what spacing on corn and soybeans should be trying to tell me about a solution that that helps strawberries or blueberries or vineyards,” Schober said.

Schober said there are innovations worth bringing to the farmers Bremer serves. Some of those are in seed genetics, and many are at the intersection of #agtech and #fintech, where banks are uniquely positioned to help.

“I look at farm management systems, livestock management systems, any sort of data collection, soil, sensory, remote sensing, real time sensing, insurance solutions.”

Lately he’s been trying to figure out how the Biden administration’s climate goals could translate into opportunity for farmers, especially when it comes to carbon markets.

“I think we all know that the farmers don’t deliberately release carbon,” Schober said. He thinks banks may be able to help growers make the most of whatever carbon markets emerge.

“I want to do everything in my power to make sure that value can stay inside the farmgate,” Schober said. “I would hate to see some sort of middleman come in there.” Schober is optimistic that carbon markets will eventually benefit farmers. But it could be tricky. “You want to make sure that you’re not selling those credits for nothing … especially if you have to change equipment.”

He compared it to banking’s role in ethanol.

“Corn-based ethanol is probably not the 50-year solution, but that was the solution to get car manufacturers and consumers to understand what ethanol does.”

Other trends he’s eyeing; industrial hemp, non GMO soybeans, consumer demand for more traceability in their packaged goods. Policy wise, he said banks have to protect their depositors and support innovation by investing cautiously and encouraging growers to take small steps as they try new crops or regenerative practices.

“Crop insurance is the first risk mitigation tool out of the box,” he said.

Here are a few of Marc Schober’s other ideas for farmers who want to minimize risk as they adopt more regenerative practices:

1. Find a crop insurance agent who has a direct relationship with the Risk Management Agency. “You may think (that) being a government organization RMA maybe has ears closed,” Schober said. “They actually are open to trying to improve the process and expand the program as efficiently as possible.” Schober said he hopes RMA will begin underwriting more regenerative practice in the near future.

2. “Be conscious of how big of a jump you’re taking into the pool,” Schober said, especially if you’re growing a noninsured crop. He recommends testing it on a few acres if you don’t happen to have your own back forty.

3. Network. Partner with a local college or university. Compare notes with your neighbors. “We’re kind of all in this together,” Schober said. “If something’s working on your farm, chances are the soils are similar on neighboring farms. “The whole county could benefit.”

4. Be aware of profitability versus yield. “Farmers are getting hounded constantly by input providers saying, ‘try this, try that, I’ll give you a few gallons free, just give it a whirl,’” Schober said. It makes sense only if it’s a good return on investment. “Having cheap inputs and average yields could get a stronger bottom line than strong yields and expensive inputs.”

5. Make a succession plan. Schober is not a financial advisor but recommends farmers find a good one. “Try to get your ducks in a row and position your assets in a way that that can be as productive as possible,” he said. Everyone’s circumstances are different and tax laws can change.

Find Trusted Partners To Help You Succeed With Hemp. Here’s One Way.

Fri, 20 Nov 2020 05:54:25 GMT

When you start a new endeavor, one of the best ways to learn how to succeed often comes from other people—those individuals who are willing to share their knowledge, resources and first-hand experiences with you.

That’s certainly true if you want to grow hemp in 2020 for the first time, or even if you’ve got a couple of years of production and marketing under your belt.

“The No. 1 piece of advice farmers are telling us is you have to know who you’re working with, and that can be hard to know sometimes. It can be tricky to identify those sketchy players and figure out your trusted partners—from purchasing your seed to processing, and all the way down the line,” Portia Stewart, Farm Journal content strategy director, producer media, told AgriTalk Host, Chip Flory, earlier this week.

One way to accomplish that is to attend a Farm Journal Hemp College this winter . Later this month, the company is hosting a nationally focused hemp program in Chicago, featuring industry speakers and farmers from around the U.S. To learn more information about the agenda and register for the Chicago event, click here: https://bit.ly/2QVqnsv .

The Hemp College is being held in conjunction with the Top Producer Seminar, Executive Women in Agriculture and the Legacy Project.

“Real farmers from across the United States will tell you their secrets to what has worked and what has not worked for them with hemp,” Stewart said. “You’re going to get detailed policy updates. You’re going to have an opportunity to network and talk to people who might be good partners and really suss out what hemp could be for you.

“We also like to level set and make sure that you know we’re giving you all the information available, so that you don’t get in over your head. It’s really about making a good choice for 2020 and beyond, if you’re taking a close look at this crop,” she added.

Some of the featured speakers and topics at the Chicago event include:

How to Grow Hemp: A Farmer’s Perspective
Speaker: Dion Oakes, Farmer, Monte Vista, Colo.

Best Practices for Tillage, Harvesting and Processing Hemp
Speaker: Corbett Hefner, VP Research & Development, Formation Ag

The Agronomics of Hemp Production from A to Z
Speaker: Bryan Parr, Legacy Hemp

Hemp Seed Genetics, Availability and Selection
Speaker: Jeff Kostuik, Director of Operations, Central Region, Hemp Genetics

Hemp’s Hefty Pitfalls
Speaker: Chris Adams, Adams Family Farm

Legislative Outlook for 2020
Speaker: Jonathan Miller, Frost Brown Todd Attorneys

Top Producer Summit 2020

Farm Succession Planning Gets A Boost From An Ethical Will

Paul Neiffer: Help, I Have An Ugly Return!

Thieves Make Off with Vermont Farm’s Entire Hemp Crop

Wed, 11 Nov 2020 06:27:06 GMT

A Vermont farmer woke Monday morning to find his entire hemp crop stolen, all 50 plants sheared off at the base of the stem.

The Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets (VAAFM) reports the theft occurred in the early morning hours of Sept. 7 at the Fancy Plants farm near Moretown. There was signage at the field indicating the crop was hemp being grown for CBD, according to the agency.

“The theft appears to have been premeditated and involve more than one individual, utilizing shearing tools and large vehicles to remove the 500 pounds of hemp,” the agency said in a press release. “The 50 plants comprised the entire hemp crop of the Fancy Plants business.”

The crop was valued at $6,000 according to a report filed with the Vermont State Police.

VAAFM notes that hemp thefts at harvest time have occurred in previous seasons and urges growers to take precautions such as “installing appropriate fencing, motion activated lights and cameras like trail cameras, and no-trespassing signs that include a statement that the crop is industrial hemp.”

Rules governing the production and sale of hemp in Vermont are designed to make the sale of the stolen product more difficult according to VAAFM.

“In Vermont, only registrants of the Hemp Program are legally able to possess hemp crops in registered locations or to sell hemp crops in the marketplace accompanied by appropriate documentation including test results that show compliance with the Vermont Hemp Rules,” the agency noted in the release about the theft.

Hemp Prices Tank, But New Opportunities Are On The Horizon

Wed, 11 Nov 2020 06:23:08 GMT

The philosophy of “go big or go home,” might work well for sports teams, but it’s not a good strategy for farmers looking to grow hemp for cannabidiol (CBD), according to Corbett Hefner, vice president of research and development for Colorado-based Formation Ag.

“We saw that happen in Oregon, and many of those farmers went broke,” he notes.

The financial opportunities with CBD are equally bleak now. Spot biomass prices have continued to trade lower on a month-over-month basis, recently transacting at a midpoint price between $0.62 in the Great Plains to $0.72 per point in Colorado, according to PanXchange, a commodity trading platform.

The price for CBD-yielding flower is based on dollars per point per pound. So, a Colorado crop containing 10% oil sold at a midpoint price of 72 cents per point the end of January, an average of $7.20 per pound.

A year ago at this time, that same crop would have been valued at $3.50 per point or $35 per pound, which is reflected in a chart by PanXchange at the bottom of this page (Learn more at https://bit.ly/3a1oH7F ).

The lack of dollars has caused farmers in much of the U.S. to apply the brakes to production, and understandably so.

“If you haven’t seen a lot of buying contracts out there lately, there are reasons for that,” says Dave Neundorfer, CEO of Open Book Extracts. The company operates a processing facility and is headquartered near Roxboro, N.C.

He says the hemp market, particularly for CBD, currently is being driven by brokers.

“Right now there are some opportunistic brokers out there making decisions based on a price game, which is a rush to the bottom,” he notes.

Most brokers aren’t buying on quality and consistency, though Neundorfer expects that to happen as consumers demand both.

Outdated or unclear regulations are a second factor contributing to the current uncertainty for farmers and other groups in the hemp industry.

In North Carolina, for instance, the state’s pilot program for producing hemp, which was developed under the authority of the 2014 Farm Bill and state law expires at the end of October.

“We’re in a transition period, waiting for the various federal agencies to develop regulations,” explains Marne Coit with North Carolina State Extension and a member of NC State’s hemp team (learn more at Industrialhemp.ces.ncsu.edu ).

“We have one of the biggest hemp programs in the country, and I don’t have good answers for our growers going into this season. This puts farmers in a precarious position, and I don’t like that,” she notes.

She adds that federal regulations guiding hemp production come under the umbrella of USDA. Once the crop is harvested and processed, it is under the jurisdiction of the FDA.

“I think the laws might be uncertain for the next three years and will continue to evolve for the foreseeable future,” she says.

So why bother growing hemp at all this season?

Maybe you don’t, Neundorfer says, because there’s still a lot of unsold product available from last year—though a lot of it is of such poor quality it will never be sold.

Or, if you do grow it, consider putting in only 100 plants or so to gain experience working with the crop.

“A 1-acre patch is a good start,” says Hefner, who says hemp is useful in a crop rotation. “Don’t plant more than you’re comfortable turning under,” he adds. “This crop isn’t like grain—you can’t take it to the elevator.”

However, there are opportunities for hemp on the horizon and offer some compelling reasons why farmers might want to work with the crop.

For instance, the Hemp Feed Coalition is an organization working in 12 states, conducting animal feeding studies particularly with cattle.

“Once hemp is approved for animal feed the market will be much more viable and available for farmers,” Hefner says.

“Start thinking about how this crop can be used to build houses—that’s what they’re doing in Europe in some areas,” he adds. “Those are the kinds of things you need to be thinking about to make money with this crop.”

For its part, Farm Journal is hosting a series of Hemp Colleges to help farmers learn the ins and outs of producing and marketing the crop. More information on the upcoming Hemp College on March 25 in Lubbock, Texas, is available at: https://bit.ly/37Y29TN

Hemp Seed Available Through Arcadia Biosciences

Wed, 11 Nov 2020 06:21:54 GMT

Farmers looking for hemp seed have a new option with Arcadia Biosciences through their new product line, GoodHemp. The company announced this is its new commercial brand for hemp seeds, transplants, flower and extracts.

Its first commercial product is a disease-resistant and ultra-low THC hemp seed called Complia Bot+. It is a cannabis strain that delivers high CBD content, more than 10%, with low THC—the psychoactive compound in cannabis.

“In less than a year since we first announced our division for hemp research and cultivation, Arcadia Specialty Genomics, we’ve brought to market a commercial hemp line designed to solve a major industry problem—hot crops,” said Sarah Reiter, chief commercial officer at Arcadia, in a recent press release. “This is proof of our disruptive innovation and speed to market, and it is just the beginning of our ambitions for revolutionizing the commercial hemp germplasm market.”

GoodHemp represents the company’s first application of ArchiTech, its technology platform. It combines bioscience approaches, CRISPR and TILLING genome editing, phenotyping and convectional breeding. They’re “aiming modern technology at an ancient crop: hemp.”

“Through our ArchiTech platform, we are combining modern breeding science and genomics technology to develop high-quality, non-GM hemp varieties with improved uniformity, stability, resiliency and yield, enabling farmers to maximize the value and profitability of this newly-legal crop,” said Randy Shultz, VP of research and development. “In addition to this ultra-low THC disease resistant variety, we continue to build our germplasm estate based on our own varietal development and technology acquisitions.”

Learn more about growing hemp at the 2020 Hemp Summit Jan. 27-28.

EPA Approves 10 Pesticides For Hemp

Wed, 11 Nov 2020 06:21:54 GMT

In December 2019, EPA announced approval of nine biopesticides and one conventional pesticide for use on hemp.

This was the first time the federal agency approved products for use on hemp since the December 2018 Farm Bill provisions that removed hemp from the Controlled Substances Act, legalizing hemp for commercial use and production.

Click here for the full list of the 10 products, which uses include as an insecticide, bactericide, miticide, fungicide, and nematicide.

Included in the first wave of approved products were two from Marrone Bio Innovations. Biofungicide products Stargus and Regalia have EPA approval for indoor and outdoor use on hemp plants.

“With more than $1.1 billion in revenues in 2018, the hemp market is projected to more than double by 2022,” Dr. Pamela Marrone, CEO and Founder of Marrone Bio Innovations said in a news release. “This is an exciting opportunity for Marrone Bio to extend our business into a rapidly growing market, which will only continue to grow as the acres continue to expand. With Stargus and Regalia now approved at the federal level for hemp, we are well positioned to grow alongside this burgeoning market.”

The EPA says it will continue to review applications for product use on hemp as they are received and will update the list of approved products accordingly.

In a previous announcement regarding the pesticide applications for hemp production, Alexandra Dapolito Dunn, assistant administrator of EPA’s Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention said, “Given the strong economic forecasts for hemp production in the United States, it comes as no surprise that we are beginning to see pesticide registrants intensify their interests in gaining crop protection approvals for use on hemp. EPA is committed to helping hemp growers obtain the tools needed to support and increase commercial production. This step recognizes that innovation in pesticide use is critical to the success of our strong and vibrant agricultural sector.”

Click here to see the upcoming Hemp College events from Farm Journal.

The Top Hemp Stories From 2019

Wed, 11 Nov 2020 06:21:27 GMT

As writer Chris Bennett said, “Hemp is the belle of the crop ball in 2019, with farmers lined up for a chance to dance—but desire does not necessarily translate to know-how.”

AgPro’s website had more than 30 stories about hemp (how to grow it, how to make a profit, how to avoid missteps) posted in 2019. Here are the top 9:

1. How to Grow Hemp for CBD, Seed or Fiber

Whether growing for seed, fiber or cannabidiol (CBD), hemp producers share a colossal commonality: They are all learning on the go. Click here to learn more.

2. How to Grow Hemp in Kansas

K-State Research and Extension specialists will begin growing and harvesting small, highly controlled plots of industrial hemp at research facilities around the state this year. Click here for details.

3. Hemp Pitfalls and Promise: Alarm Sounded by Midwest Grower

After four years of growing experience and a host of invaluable lessons learned, Chris Adams is emerging as a leading hemp producer in the Midwest. Click here for the full story.

4. 41-Acre Kentucky Greenhouse Merges with Hemp Growing Company

ColorPoint KY announced on May 30 that it was shifting the country’s sixth largest commercial greenhouse growing operation fully towards hemp production through a partnership with AgTech Scientific in Paris, Ky. Click here to watch a video report.

5. Devil in the Details: Hemp Contracts Crucial as Litigation Jumps

In many cases, as growers, seed dealers and processors point fingers or hurl accusations of fraud, failure, theft and breach of contract—one lesson, among many, is increasingly clear: Hemp is a crop unto itself and a solid contract is crucial from the get-go. Click here for the full story.

6. NAICC: Risk Is Most Important Factor In Growing Hemp

Removing hemp from the controlled substances list takes the pressure off at the state level for the possibility of growers to turn a once-illegal substance into a potentially profitable cash crop. Click here for the full analysis.

7. 4 Tips to Navigate the Hemp Gold Rush

Here’s what you need to know to protect your investment even as smart leaders work to tame the Wild West hemp marketplace into a new and exciting crop for the family farm. Click here for more.

8. Everything You Need To Know About Hemp

AgDay and U.S. Farm Report National Reporter Betsy Jibben shares a comprehensive report on the ins and outs of hemp. Click here to watch the video.

9. Taking the THC Out of Hemp Plants

State growers and processors have struggled to keep trace amounts of THC out of natural variations in the plants that produce CBD oil and other products. Click here to learn more.

USDA To Release New Hemp Rules

Wed, 11 Nov 2020 06:20:23 GMT

USDA, this week, will release new rules around industrial hemp. The hemp industry has been waiting for clarifications to the federal rules and these are the regulations that will clear up a patchwork of statewide rules.

USDA officials say an interim rule will be published in the Federal Register later in the week - that’s when it will become effective. The rule will clear up information on THC testing, procedures for disposing hemp and requirements for licensing.

The USDA rules only apply to states and tribes that have authorized production of hemp within their border, according to USDA undersecretary Greg Ibach. Most states have approved hemp production.

Join Us At Hemp College

During these one-day events, our experts will discuss the best agronomic practices for hemp production and will also touch upon marketing, legal considerations and policy news.

December 16, 2019
Indianapolis, IN
Click Here to Register

November 13, 2019
Las Vegas, NV
Click Here to Register

“Farmers growing hemp can follow the same procedure as corn or soybean farmers to be able to certify their acres at the local FSA office,” Ibach said in a recent press call. “It won’t be a new system as far as USDA expectations. States, as I said can be more restrictive and may have different requirements in their state plan.”

After it’s published in the Federal Register, there will be a 60-day public comment period on the rules.

41-Acre Kentucky Greenhouse Merges with Hemp Growing Company

Wed, 11 Nov 2020 06:16:51 GMT

A greenhouse in Kentucky is merging its business with hemp grower to form a fully integrated hemp company. ColorPoint KY announced on May 30 that it was shifting the country’s sixth largest commercial greenhouse growing operation fully towards hemp production through a partnership with AgTech Scientific in Paris, Ky. The joint venture has been granted licenses through the Kentucky Department of Agriculture to be a licensed Hemp Grower and Hemp Processor.

The two companies initially met in 2017 and first started working together with a beta test on indoor hemp growing in late 2018 at ColorPoint’s more than 41-acre large greenhouse. This led to a supply agreement that included agricultural processing, hemp clones and an indoor growing during the summer season. The business relationship began in 2019 with ColorPoint growing clones for the outdoor farming season.

“Today is a great day for the company, our employees and our families. The strength of our unique approach and partnership with local farmers, combined with our indoor grow capabilities and our vertical extraction integration, places ColorPoint and AgTech in position to take a leadership role in the emerging U.S. hemp industry,” said Art VanWingerden, co-president of ColorPoint, after the announcement.

ColorPoint was established in 2001 and had been researching alternative plant growing systems before entering a business relationship with AgTech Scientific. The greenhouse is the sixth largest commercial greenhouse in the U.S., growing more than 80 million bedding plants for big box retailers in the Midwest. Now ColorPoint plans to move entirely into hemp production at the greenhouse through the merger in operations with AgTech Scientific.

“The announcement today is the big next step for the hemp industry. AgTech and ColorPoint are committed to their people, appreciated by everyone, especially farmers. I have been in the industry for numerous years and I am more excited about the future today than ever before,” said Jessica Scott, director of communications for AgTech Scientific.

Founded in 2015 by Canadian investors, AgTech Scientific started out as a pet food research project involving hemp. The company then went through a search process before establishing its base operations in Paris, Ky, by early 2017. During its first growing season in 2018, AgTech Scientific partnered with a local farmer to grow 80 acres. This growing season the company plans to plant more than 5 million hemp clones on 1,500 acres. The hemp will be processed through a 50,000 square feet manufacturing and extraction facility that AgTech Scientific broke ground on in October 2018. The plant is projected to open in August 2019.

Watch the video above with Andy Bishop, director of farm services at AgTech Scientific, to learn about the potential of hemp in Kentucky.

ColorPoint and AgTech Scientific offered the following statistics and details about the makeup of the hemp business:

Indoor Greenhouse and Facility:

1,837,847 square feet (or 41 acres) greenhouse, including 145,182 square feet of production and shipping facilities
Agricultural processing center, drying, stripping and milling of more than 100,000 plants per day
Experienced management team with 113 fulltime employees and more than 340 workers at peak season
Able to produce more than 200,000 cuttings per day
More than 100 tractor trailers with an experienced logistics team

Outdoor Farming

Projection of more than 5 million clones to be planted in 2019 on more than 1,500 acres in Central Kentucky. Farms average less than 15 miles from the indoor greenhouse facility
CBD crop with high yields based on past performance
Less risk, more opportunity for farmers with guaranteed payouts throughout the season
Detailed SOP program to ensure compliance and consistency with farm coordinators and managers in the field
Fleet of more than 100 trailers (many are refrigerated) to ensure timely logistics during the planting and harvest season
All 2018 farmers are shareholders of the company

Extraction and Manufacturing Facility

Ground-breaking was October 2018 and projected opening for August 2019
50,000 square feet, built to Good Manufacturing Practice standards
Located in the Bourbon County Business Park on 10 acres of industrial land, 15 minutes from the indoor greenhouse facility
Ethanol-based extraction, original biomass input of 2,000 lb./day scaling up to 14,000 lb./day in second quarter of 2020

For more on hemp read the following articles:

If you are interested in learning more about hemp production consider attending Farm Journal Hemp College on June 19 in Lexington, Ky.

How to Guard Against Hemp’s Dark Market

Wed, 11 Nov 2020 06:17:36 GMT

One of the biggest risks of the hemp marketplace is its newness. So how do you develop trusted partners? It’s a process, says Charles Wellso, the co-founder of Sanitas Peak Financial and an entrepreneur with investment experience in the hemp space.

With the farming community we tend to rely on our own, Wellso says.

“You want information, you go to your neighbor, you go to someone you trust and know that you’ve worked with for years,” he says. “There are long-established roots.”

Many farmers don’t have that opportunity in the hemp marketplace, because it’s so new.

“I’ve seen a lot of people coming into hemp come from the pot space. And there I saw kind of the dark market, something that we’re not familiar with, something that that takes caution,” Wellso says. “I would suggest going to the Department of Ag to look for recommendations. I would suggest coming to conferences, going to states like Colorado, where hemp has been established for a number of years.”

The biggest warning sign, Wellso says, is for people in a new ag state just starting to grow hemp. “I would be cautious if you’re starting a new ag state, and somebody comes trying to sell something to you,” he says.

Watch the video here:

Check out these related articles

Growing Hemp: The Risks and the Rewards

If you’re interested in learning more about growing hemp on your farm, click here to see future Hemp College dates.

Is Hemp the New Soybean?

Wed, 11 Nov 2020 06:22:12 GMT

CBD is the hemp flavor of the hour, getting the most attention because it’s where many farmers have made money on hemp today. But Marshall Custer, an attorney specializing in cannabis at Husch Blackwell Law Firm, says he sees the marketplace poised for change. Custer addressed the Agricultural Business Council of Kansas City on Thursday, Jan. 16, about the expanding hemp marketplace.

“In the future, as our vast agricultural infrastructure ramps up and starts to pivot towards handling industrial hemp crops, it will shift more towards your traditional and commodity products—oil, seed and use in bioplastics, grain, feed and textiles—its traditional uses,” he says. “I’ve often heard people thinking longer term about this industry: if soybean can do it, hemp can possibly do it better and cheaper.”

Does this mean hemp will replace soybeans?

“I don’t think hemp is going to take soybeans out of the market, but I think it will be a very valuable alternative for your large row crop farmer once we get the infrastructure in place to handle and produce the commodity products that can be made from that plant,” Custer says. “It will be another alternative for farmers to put in the field.”

That’s why the market potential is huge, Custer says. He encourages agricultural professionals to think of hemp like corn or soybeans because of its potential as a commodity crop.

Custer identifies two barriers farmers must overcome to reach hemp’s full potential. First, farmers must need to manage the steep learning curve of this crop. The farmer needs to know where to source the right seed and how to grow and harvest the crop. Second, the farmer must understand the regulatory, finance and insurance issues related to the crop. This encompasses everything from where you can grow the crop to how it’s going to be tested to make sure it falls below the legal limit of 0.3% THC to qualify as industrial hemp.

Interested in learning more about how to grow hemp? Visit Agweb.com/Events/Hemp-College to learn more about Farm Journal Hemp College and find an event near you.

5 Reasons to Attend Hemp College

Wed, 11 Nov 2020 06:19:07 GMT

Join us for Farm Journal Hemp College Sept.17 in Altoona, Iowa.

Wondering what Hemp College is all about? Here’s a quick snapshot:

Don’t have time to watch? Here are the five reasons you want to be in the room where it happens:

1. This crop is getting a lot of second looks from farmers, as the data shows:

2. There’s a learning curve to growing hemp. “This is something we’re trying to make economically feasible on a large scale, and it’s going to take some management to be successful,” says Bob Pearce, a professor with the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment.

3. It takes education to separate the trusted partners from the sketchy players. “I would be cautious if you’re starting a new hemp state and somebody comes trying to sell something to you,” says Hemp College Instructor Charles Wellso, the co-founder of Sanitas Peak Financial and an entrepreneur with investment experience in the hemp space.

4. Farmers need to know the pests and diseases that threaten hemp. “We’ve already identified a number of diseases and insect pests on hemp,” Pearce says.

5. Sourcing hemp seeds is tricky. “Right now, we’re using varieties from all over the world, and some of them fit in our locations and some of them don’t fit. Poor seed quality has also been an issue, and something that we’re going to have to address,” Pearce says.

Ready to register for Hemp College Sept. 17 in Altoona, Iowa? Click here. Want to learn more about Hemp College? Visit AgWeb.com/events/Hemp-College

4 Tips to Navigate the Hemp Gold Rush

Wed, 11 Nov 2020 06:14:47 GMT

Gold fever. About 171 years ago, 300,000 people made a pilgrimage to California to hew those precious nuggets from the earth. Today, green is the new gold, and like those miners of the past, farmers must constantly guard against fool’s gold in this new marketplace. Here’s what you need to know to protect your investment even as smart leaders work to tame the Wild West hemp marketplace into a new and exciting crop for the family farm.

1. Understand certified seed. “In this industry, ‘certified’ refers to the maintenance of genetics to ensure cultivar performance, including, in the case of cannabis, THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) compliance,” says Tom Dermody, vice president of operations for Bija Hemp in Denver, Colo. “The certification process is enforced by vested members of the Association of Seed Certifying Agencies (AOSCA) within North America and by complimentary organizations like the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the International Seed Testing Association (ISTA).”

Heritage seed varieties—for example, those farmers saved from previous harvests—tend to be less reliable. The biggest benefit of certified seed, Dermody says, is that it helps protect farmers against hot crops—those exceeding the 0.3% THC limit outlined in the 2014 farm bill.

“In 2016, 25% of Colorado’s industrial hemp acreage failed for being ‘hot,’ noncompliant with federal THC limits,” Dermody says. “In 2017, that number fell to 7.8%. The Colorado Department of Agriculture found the majority of ‘hot’ acres were from heritage seed varieties.”

David Williams, a professor of agronomy with the University of Kentucky Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, is a participant in the Kentucky Department of Agriculture’s Industrial Hemp Program charged with investigating the agronomic parameters affecting field-scale production of industrial hemp.

His work started in 2014, with the passage of the 2014 farm bill, but their efforts that year were small, and he says they didn’t learn a great deal. Work started in earnest in 2015, and Williams says there is still so much that is unknown four years later.

“Acquiring the right genetics is by far the biggest challenge,” Williams says. “But every single year, even for people like me who plan months and months in advance, it doesn’t always go without issue. Until we have domestic certified seed production on a much larger scale than it exists today, I suppose that will remain a challenge for the future.”

Starting with the right genetics and a line that tests regularly at legal levels is the best approach, Williams says.

2. Choose a science-based approach. Williams says he predicts the current production model for cannabidiol (CBD) is not sustainable.It’s based on marijuana production, and there’s no scientific evidence these models are efficient for broad-acre production of CBD.

“If the bud is the harvestable component of interest, if that’s what you want to harvest and sell, then these current production models are totally valid,” he says. “But if the molecule CBD, for example, is the harvestable component of interest, or what they like to call the whole-plant extract, simple mathematics can be used to extrapolate greatly increased yield per acre of molecule from a drilled production model than the current spaced plant production models.”

Another area where farmers are perfectly poised to produce hemp: harvest time and drying. Currently, the infrastructure doesn’t exist to do that well, Williams says, so his team has been doing some work on ensiling with positive results.

“So if we can grow a high CBD germplasm as a row crop and chop it with a silage chopper and ensile that material until the processor calls for it, then we have a far more efficient production model,” Williams says. “Now clearly that’s going to have a negative impact on the price as well, but as long as it remains somewhere slightly above corn and soybeans and wheat—and it’s still economically and biologically a good thing to have the different species of plant in your rotation, in addition to spreading the risk in your operation. Additionally, some re-engineering of the extraction process will be necessary to accommodate the reduced efficiency of extracting from more extraneous materials in silage relative to the much cleaner bud material used today.”

Hence, farmers are much like Samuel Brannan, a merchant who purchased all of the pickaxes, pans, waders and prospecting gear he could get his hands on and sold them to the 49ers hopeful of striking it rich in the gold rush. Farmers possess the critical tools—in this case knowledge and infrastructure—to put reliable farming practices into action for hemp production.

3. Make a solid plan. Start by checking whether your state has the infrastructure and capacity to process your crop. Many states do not currently have the ability to support this crop or scale up to the processing capacity to support large crops, Williams says. You’ll also want to review your latitude and ability to irrigate to help you decide what type of crop you’re going to grow, whether it’s fiber or a dual purpose grain or a grain only or CBD dual purpose.

“It all boils down to a farmer being able to receive a check, and it’s not valuable enough to ship very far, with the exception today of the oil material for CBD,” Williams says. “But if you’re growing for fiber or grain you need to have a processor within a couple hundred miles.”

Also remember environments in every state will often be different, so each state will have to learn some things for themselves. Williams says we can also look to our Canadian and European neighbors for help, because they’ve had active industries for the last 20 years.

The bright side, Williams says, is hemp really isn’t that difficult to grow.

“Honestly, as a row crop, like corns and beans it’s really not that difficult to grow,” Williams says. “There are some potential issues during establishment that producers need to be aware of. But once the canopy’s established, it’s a pretty durable crop, and it’s very much like corn in many regards. It doesn’t like poorly drained soils, it reacts well to nitrogen, so a lot of the same thinking towards a successful corn crop would to a successful hemp crop as well.”

4. Don’t invest more than you can afford to lose. Like the gold hunters of yesteryear who bet the shirts on their backs to make it big in the gold rush, farmers must realize there’s no protection if you roll the dice, because crop insurance doesn’t currently exist for hemp. “We always recommend that farmers not enter into a program unless they can afford to lose 100% of their investments, and that’s happened on many occasions,” Williams says. “That’s definitely possible, especially with brand new processors and brand new producers.”

Click next page to read more about the future of certified seed: