Growing hemp

By Keith Norman
Source: jamestownsun.com


Keith Watson, agronomist and plant breeder with Parkland Industrial Hemp Growers in Dauphin, Manitoba, Canada, talks Wednesday about the biology of the hemp plant to a group interested in industrial hemp. The field tour was at a test plot near Adrian, N.D. John M. Steiner/The Sun

ADRIAN, N.D.—After 50 years of farming, Lyle Edwards, a farmer in the Adrian area, is trying something new. He and his son, Jamie, each planted 15-acre test plots of industrial hemp as part of a pilot program operated by the North Dakota Department of Agriculture."It sure has been a learning curve," Edwards said, during a field day at the plot Wednesday. "I'm a little apprehensive how it will be harvested."

The Edwardses were two of four farm operations licensed to grow test plots of industrial hemp in North Dakota this year. The North Dakota Department of Agriculture had 17 applicants for the licenses. Additional research is being done at Langdon Extension Research Center on seed varieties.

Doug Goehring, North Dakota agriculture commissioner, said in a press release that industrial hemp test plots were intended to help understand how to raise and utilize a crop that hasn't been legal in the state for decades.

"The program's primary goal is to increase our knowledge of how industrial hemp fits into the existing agriculture landscape and economy," he said.

Industrial hemp remains a controlled substance in the United States because the plant is of the same species as marijuana. Industrial hemp varieties have low levels of tetrahydrocannabinol, commonly known as THC. THC is the psychoactive component of marijuana. Fields of industrial hemp must be tested for THC content and have less than 0.3 percent THC as part of the grower's licensing requirements.

Jeff Kostuik, director of operations for Hemp Genetics International, and Keith Watson, agronomist with Parkland Industrial Hemp Growers, both Canadian companies, spoke at the field day on growing industrial hemp. The crop has been a regulated legal industry in Canada since 1998.

The field at Lyle and Jamie Edwards' farm stood about 6 feet tall Wednesday with few weeds present. Kostuik estimated the crop was at least a month away from harvest. Edwards said the field was planted May 15 and had received about 9.5 inches of rain since.

Kostuik said industrial hemp plants were vulnerable until the crop reached between 12 and 18 inches tall. From that point, plants grow about 2 to 3 inches per day and outpace any competing weeds in the field.

Watson said hemp plants are day-length sensitive and will shift from growing stalks and leaves to producing seeds after the longest day of the summer in June.

Harvest, usually in late September in Canada, utilizes standard combines with straight-cut headers adjusted to cut the plant just below the formed seed head. Kostuik said this still leaves a large amount of stem and fiber going through the combine, which can clog the machine and pose a fire hazard.

This also leaves a 4-foot-tall stubble of stalks in the field.

"You don't want to jump off the combine out in the field," Kostuik said.

Watson said field residue is usually burned in Canada. That is most often done the next spring after the field has been rolled to break down the plant stems into a mat that will burn.

Industrial hemp seeds can be crushed for oil or shelled and used for food, Kostuik said. The plant fiber can be used for paper and cloth products. The first hemp fiber processing plant in Canada may come online this fall in Manitoba.

"Until you've got that option, a match is the only option (for dealing with crop residue)," Watson said.

Kostuik said North Dakota would need several things to happen before industrial hemp could be a commercial crop. Federal and state laws would need to change to allow the crop even on a regulated and licensed basis, and processing plants would need to be constructed.

"You need to make sure you have a market before growing it," he said. "It only lasts about two years in the bin."

Edwards said they plan to sell their harvest this year to Healthy Oil Seeds in Carrington. Healthy Oil Seeds principally markets flax seed on the international market.

Edwards said despite the application process, and the learning curve involved with a new crop, he would like to continue to grow industrial hemp.

"My intention is to do this again next year if the state allows," he said. "I'm thrilled to be part of having a new crop for North Dakota."

Edwards thinks industrial hemp could become a major crop in the area.

"Years ago, I was one of the first to grow soybeans in this area," he said. "This could happen the same way. Unless you try something different you never know."