WINNIPEG — As hemp users develop more uses for the plant and its seed, so too grow the demands on the crop.
It’s a demand that is becoming tougher to fill, according to an industry expert, as the public becomes increasingly interested in the plant. “You talk about canola being the miracle crop? Well, hemp has even more uses,” said Kim Shukla of the Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance. Smoothies, cereals, milk, salad dressing and biodiesel are just some of the uses customers have come up with, with most of the demand coming from the United States.
Protein power is another common hemp product, Shukla says, but where in the past it was aimed exclusively at the body-building market, now it’s directed toward the public. “That’s where we’re seeing it, in the smoothie market for people’s breakfasts,” she said.
About 100,000 acres were seeded to the crop this year in Canada, about the same size as last year. Shukla said the 2015 crop looks like a typical one despite some periods of excess dryness in Alberta. The industry generally considers “decent” yields to be 750 to 1,000 pounds an acre. Those numbers were reached last year, and Shulka believes they’ll hit them again this year. “We’re expecting decent yields based on the reports back,” she said.
Most of the production has been sold. Shulka estimates that 90 percent has been contracted to five key processors across the country. “There’s no way we can meet market demand at this point in time. We’re always looking for more processors to address that market demand that exists,” she said.
The average price for hemp right now is 65 to 85 cents per lb., which is about the same level as last year, she said. “Farmers are quite happy with the return they’re receiving,” she noted. Organic acres continue to demand the top end of that price range due to customer demand.
Producers are about a third to halfway finished harvest, Shulka said. However, some producers are still waiting for the crop to dry down. “In Saskatchewan, I talked to one producer who told me the crop was 25 percent moisture and he was looking for 15 percent moisture,” said Shulka. She says the farmer is waiting for the moisture to decline and won’t likely start harvesting for another seven to 10 days.
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