Hemp Roots Running Deep in Canada

Below is a very encouraging article from Your Ottawa Region online newspaper. Initially the Canadian farmers thought that hemp for textiles would be the primary driver for the crop but food products have provided the vast majority of demand--and most of that demand is from the USA, land of the 'free' farmers who are not allowed to grow industrial hemp.

• Sherry Haama
• |
• Feb 04, 2011 - 9:47 AM

Area farmers hip to hemp

Crop's potential discussed in Galetta, Admaston-Bromley

Hemp meeting. Micksburg-area farmer and CEO of Valley Bio Reuben Stone, foreground, and Tom Greaves, director of operations for Manitoba Harvest Hemp Food and Oils, are among the experts who spoke to farmers Feb. 1 in Galetta. Sherry Haaima

Industrial hemp is a growing industry in Canada and local interest in the crop has been piqued if robust attendance at two recent public meetings is any indication.
Micksburg-area farmer and CEO of Valley Bio, Reuben Stone, joined Tom Greaves, director of operations for Manitoba Harvest Hemp Food and Oils, and Gordon Scheifele, president of the Ontario Hemp Alliance, at an information meeting at the Galetta Community Centre Feb. 1.

Stone, a fourth-generation farmer at Stone Farms, said hemp might be a perfect addition for local farmers’ fields. The growing industry has breathed life into a lifestyle that has become a tough sell for many young people today. “The reason I’m into it is the potential for growth as a young farmer. There’s a major opportunity for me to participate in building the industry,” Stone told close to 30 people gathered for the meeting, with similar turnout reported for a session held the day before in Admaston-Bromley Township.

HEALTH FOOD MARKET
Greaves explained that his company, Manitoba Harvest, works with producers across Canada. “Currently we are selling into a whole bunch of different markets,” he said.
He explained the basics of the industry in Canada, dispelling a common myth from the outset. “There are a lot of misconceptions about hemp out there,” said Greaves. “Hemp is not marijuana.” Named Cannabis Sativa, hemp contains less than 0.3 per cent of THC (Tetrahydrochloric acid). There are Health Canada licenses required to grow the crop, but the process is fairly simple, requiring a criminal records check and some basic information, explained Greaves. And while it was once thought fibre would be hemp’s major use, it turns out the health food industry is where almost all of Canada’s hemp ends up. There are two main areas of production for Manitoba harvest: the branded product and the industrial seed ingredient. 

There are legal restrictions on growing hemp in the U.S. and elsewhere, so Canada, with the help of Stone Farms, is a big player on the world scene. Grain processed as hemp is used to make hemp nuts, non-gluten flour, high quality oil, a whole seed  toasted for a snack food, hemp milk, frozen desserts, protein drinks and more. Hemp seed oil is high in Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids.

Meeting organizers had a treat for attendees – a snack that is gaining in popularity. “The shelled hemp seed is probably our most popular product,” said Greaves. The seeds can be sprinkled over oatmeal or salad and the hemp products are quickly becoming available at major grocery stores across the country. There’s even hemp seed butter. “It is green, you have to get over that first,” said Greaves. “But it’s good.” Business has taken off and the industry is anxious to welcome new producers to help grow and expand. “It’s a growing industry and it’s starting to become more mainstream,” said Greaves. Manitoba Harvest has been growing by about 50 per cent each year for the past five years, he explained, and in 2010 will do over $10 million in sales. “We started in ’98 with just a couple of presses and it’s come a long way,” he said.

Stone Farms
Stone likened the budding hemp grain industry of today to the emergence of soybeans in the 1960s. He detailed his family farm’s history with the crop, which began in 2009. Valley Bio Limited has established itself as the leading source for hemp seed genetics in eastern Canada. Their flagship variety (Anka) was the first Ontario developed hemp variety of the eastern Canada condition.  Stone explained the crop’s many advantages, which include that it is rare to encounter insect or wildlife damage, it’s an effective break crop to disturb the life cycles of pathogens, it generally will leave the field clean and there is no need for regular herbicides or pesticides.  It could help farmers increase efficiency and profits.
“The main economic advantage with this crop is efficiency with equipment,” said Stone. It provides work and earnings for the combine and other machinery between cereal and soybean crops. Stone Farms produces about two per cent of the Canadian market and about one per cent of the entire world production of hemp. If Canada gets on board and establishes the industry now, down the road it’ll be able to help other countries. “If and when they do legalize it in five to 10 years time,” said Stone, “we’ll be supplying them with our seed grain.”

ONTARIO HEMP ALLIANCE
Scheifele outlined the history of the Ontario Hemp Alliance, an agency that was created in 1998 and is made up of hemp growers and processors to recognize and meet the needs of the young and evolving industry. The mandate and membership reflects the broad interest in hemp from all sectors of the economy, explained Scheifele. He assured the crowd that while the industry had definitely had some ups and downs in the beginning, it is not fly-by-night. “It’s not a break or bust,” said Scheifele. “That’s over.” Hemp can be a useful and profitable crop for farmers and in the future there are opportunities to branch into other areas, including fibre. “Industrial hemp took off as an oilseed crop, as a food crop, and today globally we are the leader with regards to industrial hemp as a food crop.”