Kentucky’s first industrial hemp crop in decades shows promise for future production

By Tim Thornberry
Source: kyforward.com

By all indications, the state’s first industrial hemp crop in decades appears to have been successful.
 

That’s despite the fact that, this past spring, it looked as though a crop might not be planted at all. The Farm Bill allowed for research plots in states where hemp legislation had been previously passed, but the federal government held up a shipment of seeds in May. The Kentucky Department of Agriculture filed a lawsuit and eventually the seed blockage was lifted, making way for research locations around the state to plant hemp seed legally for the first time since World War II.
 

Adam Watson, the Industrial Hemp Program coordinator for KDA said this inaugural season has been successful in terms of getting a good harvest and getting a firsthand look at what might become a new production crop for Kentucky farmers.
 

Currently, in addition to the state universities that are involved in various types of hemp research, there are 12 farmers working under a Memorandum of Understanding to raise hemp research plots, as well.
 

“For the purpose of the industrial hemp pilot programs, they are cooperators with KDA, so in the eyes of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, it’s KDA conducting that research,” said Watson.
 

As with the university plots, those growing the crop as cooperators are looking at different aspects of industrial hemp such as seed production and fiber production.
 

But, while hemp may be in the ground, it is still on the Controlled Substances list, something the DEA would have to rectify in order for full production to begin.
 

“Hemp has an historical production history in Kentucky so we’re not surprised that the crop is growing well,” said Watson. “Obviously, we are still evaluating specific varieties to find out which ones are the most productive for Kentucky, and that will be a two-year process at least.”
 

Finding just the right varieties to use is important with Kentucky’s variable weather patterns.
 

“When we look at research (for other agronomic crops) you’ll find that varieties are evaluated over several years,” said Watson. “It’s always the hope that you’ll have a dry year, a wet year and some average years so you can see what varieties are the best average performers.”
 

He added that with this type of research and the state’s history of the crop, it’s almost a certainty that a reliable performing variety will be found.
 

“It’s just going to take some time to see those varieties develop and see which ones are the best for Kentucky,” Watson said.
 

As with other crops, tobacco in particular, the industrial hemp is almost ready to harvest although because of some of the delays in planting this year, Watson said the effect on yields will be something to look at.
 

“Realistically, we do expect the yields to be down,” he said. “But that being said, we do have good reports from the various projects that we did have very good growth.”

Those projections have to be based on numbers from other parts of the world where production is allowed. Watson said he hasn’t come across historic documentation of hemp yields from the days when it was grown as a production crop in Kentucky, and even if the data did exist, varieties today have progressed so much from that time period that a comparison would not be accurate.
 

“We’re hopeful with our improved genetics and the improved methodology we have for modern agriculture, that we’ll actually see yields exceeding the era of World War II, in much the same manner we see yields in every other crop from this era that are definitely higher,” he said.
 

Watson said even though there is a history of industrial hemp in the state, it is essentially being looked at as a new crop.
 

“We know we have a crop that grows well. Now we have to find a way to most efficiently produce it and we’re beginning to answer those questions this season,” he said.
 

David Williams is one of the two University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment agronomists working with the hemp project. He said it was a good growing season for hemp and most other crops, as well.
 

“There was plenty of moisture, definitely warm enough for good growth, so even with the late planting date on May 27, the crop has turned out pretty darn well,” he said.
 

Normally that planting date would have been around the first week of May and, in theory, that could have affected yields.
 

But Williams said this year was one of the wettest Augusts on record, which could have made up for the late planting date by encouraging additional growth.
 

“Next year, if it’s closer to average in precipitation we would expect to see far less rain and that would have an effect on growth, too,” he said.
 

Williams also said overall there were no surprises this season although some of the crop had to be irrigated at first because of low moisture levels in the soil at the time of planting.
 

“Beyond that, it’s been a pretty worry-free season with no fungal disease problems, no insect problems, some slight competition from weeds, but nothing we weren’t able to react to and fix,” he said. “We’re very excited and anxious to continue the work next year.”

Why All Cannabis Advocates Should Support Hemp Legislation

Source: ladybud.com

There are quite a few cannabis-related bills in Congress. In fact, a quick search showed more than 10. My favorite is HR 499, the Ending Federal Marijuana Prohibition Act. But according to Govtrack.us, HR 499 has a zero percent chance of passing. Why? Because it was assigned to the Judiciary Committee, which is focused on crime and is stacked with staunch opponents to cannabis, medicinal or recreational.

Current hemp legislation, on the other hand, has been assigned to the Energy and Commerce Committee. Hemp has different supporters such as farmers and industry lobbyists. Cannabis is a therapeutic plant, yes, but let’s not forget that it is also used for textiles, cosmetics, rope, even construction. Americans can legally buy imported hemp products such as hemp oil, hemp fabrics, etc, provided that the hemp is grown outside the U.S. But federal law prohibits farmers in the U.S. from legally producing or selling hemp products across state lines.

Two bills would change that: HR 525, the Industrial Hemp Farming Act, andHR 5226, the Charlottes Web Medical Hemp Act. Both bills remove hemp from the DEA Schedule by excluding it from the definition of marijuana, and both do not interfere with state laws regarding production and use of marijuana. HR 525 has 49 co-sponsors and a companion bill in the senate.HR 5226 has 10 co-sponsors. Both of these bills were introduced by Republicans, the majority party, a positive step in the right direction for Congress. And at least 6 of the co-sponsors serve on the Energy and Commerce Committee, a refreshing departure from the Judiciary Committee.

These hemp bills put United States hemp farmers and sellers in a better, more competitive position against international producers. In fact, it opens a door for U.S. hemp farmers to compete at all. 22 states allow hemp production, but they can’t sell the product across state lines. And the DEA intercepted Kentucky’s hemp seeds, which shows the hurdles the hemp industry is facing.

Anyone who has bought high cannabidiol (CBD) hemp oil is painfully aware of the prices. It’s expensive, because most of it is imported from Canada and overseas, but in states where it’s legal it sells for as much as two-thirds less. Allowing U.S. hemp producers to sell nationally will improve competition and innovation.

Hemp legislation is not going to prevent or usurp any cannabis legislation. In fact, it will open a door on Capitol Hill that leads to removing stigma about the cannabis sativa plant. It’s not an either-or situation; if a person says, “I support cannabis and THC, so therefore, I’m against hemp”, it sounds ridiculous, petulant and closed-minded. Congress moves very slowly.

There is only a short time left in Congress this year for anything to happen. But a historic victory could be made for hemp this year if people act. Please contact your congressional representative and urge them to co-sponsor HR 525 and/or HR 5226. Call your representative, tell them your personal story, and request to do a press release standing with them when they co-sponsor these

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Industrial Hemp Is Poised For A Comeback, But Hemp Seeds Hard To Come By

By Jon Kalish
Source: hereandnow.wbur.org


Hemp can be refined into products including foods, rope, cloth, paper and fuel. (Jon Kalish)

For the first time in decades, industrial hemp crops were planted in Kentucky, Colorado and Vermont this spring. A dozen other states have passed legislation in support of hemp farming, and the latest farm bill eased restrictions on cultivation in some states.

Industrial hemp could be poised for a comeback in the U.S., but there are a couple of roadblocks. Hemp remains a controlled substance, according to the federal government, which says it is illegal to grow it or import viable hemp seeds for planting.

Still, some farmers are willing to take the risk. Reporter Jon Kalish visited some new hemp patches sprouting in Vermont and has this report.

Listen to the story here: hereandnow.wbur.org

Murray State Hemp Crop Ready for Harvest in October

By Whitney Jones
Source: wkms.org

Murray State University School of Agriculture Dean Tony Brannon says the school’s first industrial hemp crop should be ready for harvest in mid-October.

He says they have begun bringing in seed, some of it for research purposes, and that the agriculture school already has plans for the harvested crop.

“We’re going to utilize some of it internally,” Brannon said. “We’re actually now going to heat our equine building with biomass crops, so we’ll use some of it just as biomass.

“I’m excited about the opportunity for equine bedding because we have an outstanding equine program and we’re having to give more and more for wood shavings. Straw has a 100 percent absorbency. Wood shavings has 200 percent, and we understand hemp has 400 percent of its weight absorbency, and that’s what you want with a good bedding so why not try it.”

Brannon says the school doesn’t yet have equipment for the fiber harvest but they are working with a company to get the right machinery.

“They say they have a biomass header that will harvest it,” he said. “So hopefully we’ll be able to demonstrate some of that also and work along that angle. You know, we used to it in the 30s and 40s by hand and we wanna do things a little bit more mechanical and a little bit more easier now.”

Brannon says the crop was planted late but is still doing well.

Harvesting the hemp

By Evie Andreou
Source: cyprus-mail.com


Hemp pickers in Akaki harvesting the crop

IT WAS simple curiosity that got me out of bed at 5.30am on a very hot August Sunday morning to go and check out the hype surrounding the first industrial hemp harvest on the island since the 1930s.

The organisers had invited the public to help harvest the crop and arranged a convoy of cars from Nicosia to Akaki. Hemp is a variety of the cannabis plant, containing negligible amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the stuff that gets you high. Without it, the plant, which used to be widely grown around the world, including Cyprus, has a host of other uses from bricks, to textiles to paper and even as food.

We had been told to bring pruning shears, long pants, closed shoes and water. The meeting point was Makarios Stadium at 7am. I was early and half thought I’d be stood up but by 6.50am people began to arrive.

“Are you here for the harvest?” was the question everyone was asking.

Soon, Maria (she wanted to keep her surname private), arrived and introduced herself as the woman behind the hemp field and everyone – around 30 people in all – headed off.

At Akaki we were soon greeted by the sight of the only green field around.

“It’s cannabis,” exclaimed someone, not believing how similar the plants looked to the smokeable variety. Everyone seemed both baffled and fascinated at being in the middle of a field of cannabis plants, the first one to be harvested on the island for almost 80 years.

“Come on in, have a look at the plants, you can even eat the seeds,” said Maria.

They were crunchy and tasteless but apparently with a high nutritional value.

Then came the hard part – having to actually harvest the plants.

“Try to cut it as low as possible, the cane is very useful,” Maria said.

By 9am the sun was already high in the sky but we kept going. People were cutting hemp, carrying them to the net, chatting and getting to know each other, stopping to catch a breath and drink some water.

I learned how when one farmer, Solon Grigoriou, went to retrieve his hemp seeds from the post office, he brought Greens MP Giorgos Perdikis with him so he wouldn’t get in trouble with the law.

Adamos Christoforou, a computer scientist and researcher on industrial hemp and medical cannabis, who was in Akaki told me of the many uses of hemp and how easy it was to grow as no fertiliser was needed.

“This plant is our planet’s salvation,” said Christoforou. It takes 60 years for a tree to grow in order to be cut and used, but hemp can be grown in eight months, and can be used for the same purposes.

“You can make furniture, paper, plastic, ethanol, even build houses with it,” Christoforou said, referring to hempcrete, a happier version of concrete.

“Hempcrete is a very healthy alternative to the brick, it is breathable, absorbs moisture; prevents development of fungi, it lasts longer than concrete, and if you throw it in the garden becomes fertiliser for your plants,” he said.

Christoforou said that until 1936, when it was prohibited, industrial cannabis was cultivated in Cyprus and that he had found in archives a list with the names of 186 hemp cultivators, mainly from Paphos.

Clement Ryan at work on the hemp harvest

A young couple, Caroline and Clement Ryan, came all the way from Pano Akourdalia in Paphos in order to participate in the harvest. They said the name Akourdalia came from the French word ‘corde’, which means rope, as a lot of hemp used to grow therein the past.

“We are excited to be part of this, because hopefully hemp is a way forward in the 21st century. Ecological solutions can solve so many issues in the world, from making cars to making all sorts of things really,” Clement Ryan said.

“It just makes sense for the ecological, biodegradable future of our planet to grow things like this, that don’t take from the soil, but they give and they give a lot to us, on many levels. I’m a health practitioner and I find the medicinal benefits of hemp are astronomical,” said Caroline.

Another couple, also from Paphos, Irini and Douglas McIntyre, were considering planting not only hemp, but other plants and trees which had disappeared from their area.

“It is important that products like this are grown and marketed locally, it’s an important product. It’s been demonised and part of the process has to be to un-demonise it,” Douglas McIntyre said.

Hemp has proven to be an important source of income in other EU countries and there is demand from the EU, which is currently importing hemp fibre from China, he said.

Christoforou said that Cyprus had missed out on 10 years of subsidies for not harmonising agricultural legislation.

“Other EU countries have been utilising the subsidies for ten years now and have built infrastructure for the process of hemp; Cyprus could have been among them” Christoforou said.

He said that as a first step, Cypriots could invest in machines that make hempcrete or extract fibre from the plant and sell it abroad, until infrastructure is made on the island. “We can take one step at a time,” he said.

Hemp farmers at work

First step to towards medical marijuana 
GROWING industrial hemp is part of the first step in a campaign to raise awareness, not only of the industrial and nutritious uses of the plant, but ultimately to pave the way for the legalisation of medical marijuana.

“I have been maintaining the medical cannabis Facebook page for a year now because there are many cancer patients in Cyprus in need of the cannabis oil,” said hemp boss Maria.

“We planted the hemp as a first step in our campaign aiming to raise awareness for the need to legalise medical marijuana.”

“We want to start a public debate,” added Adamos Christoforou, who was an independent candidate at the Euro-elections last May. He said it was time for the propaganda to end and for both sides to openly discuss the issue so that people can be properly informed.

“Tell me why you think it should be illegal and I will tell you why I believe the opposite,” Christoforou said.

Maria said she was preparing a documentary aiming to educate Cypriots on the uses of hemp and on medical marijuana. The documentary will tell the story of hemp cultivation in Cyprus, then and now.

“We will also have personal testimonies from cancer patients in Cyprus,” said Maria.

“A little while ago I said that I would legally plant hemp and I did, and in the near future I will legally plant medical marijuana,” she added.

Planting hemp is allowed under EU law but is in violation of national legislation.

The health ministry says it’s illegal but the Cyprus Agricultural Payments Organisation (CAPO) – the body responsible for authorising plants and seeds for cultivation – had included hemp in its list of subsidised products, with a €42-per-donum subsidy. Agriculture Minister Nicos Kouyialis said that the process was underway for a decree to be approved with a set of criteria that would allow the cultivation of industrial cannabis.

Some 20 US states have legalised cannabis for medical use. Medical marijuana is also currently legal or decriminalised in the Czech Republic, Finland, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain.

Hemp, Inc. Ramps Up Move to Its New Decorticating Plant

Press Release
Source: virtual-strategy.com



Hemp, Inc. (OTC:HEMP) has just ramped up the move of its decortication line of equipment, in North Carolina, after weeks of prepping. According to executives, the company purchased semi trucks, trailers, forklifts and all other necessary equipment needed to facilitate the move to the new plant.

A photo accompanying this release is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=27389

Hemp, Inc.'s new decorticating plant is located just forty (40) miles east of Raleigh, North Carolina. The signing of the closing documents is scheduled for Tuesday, September 2, 2014.

According to Hemp, Inc. executives, the Temafa manufacturing team from Germany that was retained to reassemble the decortication line in its new facility is scheduled to arrive on Monday, September 8, 2014 and will remain on-site for approximately 60 days… until the decortication line is fully operational.

Edwards, Inc., a full-service industrial contractor serving the Southeastern part of the United States, has also been on site for the last 60 days assisting with the removal and transportation of the processing machinery.

David Schmitt, COO of Hemp, Inc.'s wholly owned subsidiary, Industrial Hemp Manufacturing, LLC, said, "The move is way ahead of schedule and I anticipate it being in full production in the first quarter of 2015. I've contacted a number potential customers and there's a great amount of interest in the products we'll be manufacturing."

The Temafa decortication equipment is designed to separate the fiber from the core of the hemp plant through a process known as decortication, the first of this magnitude in the United States. The Temafa decortication line of equipment will now enable the company to process raw hemp for American farmers, when it becomes legal, into two valuable base products (fiber and hurd) that can both yield hundreds of products.

Bruce Perlowin, CEO of Hemp, Inc., (OTC:HEMP) said, "We will continue to process and sell the millions of pounds of kenaf we currently have on hand as we wait for North Carolina to follow South Carolina, Kentucky and other states' leads and change their laws on growing hemp. We are also working with another company, which plans to go public in the near future, which was looking for land to grow hemp once North Carolina changed its laws.

"In this case, to be able to generate income in one crop, while we wait for the laws to be changed and the farmers in North Carolina to grow enough hemp to supply our plant, is a perfect migration strategy for us to utilize as we promote the industrial hemp industry."

According to Bruce Perlowin, the purchase of decortication equipment was a critical step in order for Hemp, Inc. to help Americans transition from non-sustainable synthetic solutions to a hemp-based clean, green solution. "These are exciting times for us. Just imagine what we will be able to achieve once our manufacturing facility ramps its hemp production volume up over the next few years," said Perlowin, CEO of Hemp, Inc. (OTC:HEMP).

Delays frustrate hemp growers

By KRYSIA KRAWCZYK
Source: stuff.co.nz

Seed growers are fed up with continued delays limiting them from growing hemp for the 2014/15 season and developing a vibrant industry.

Hemp can be grown and extracted oil sold, but no other products can be made from its seed such as milk or protein powder.

Auckland hemp farmer Dave Jordon said he had sold his entire coming season's crop in advance "because hemp is so damn good".

With a worldwide shortage of hemp seed, Jordon was regularly contacted from people throughout the world wanting a supply of hemp seed. "It is frustrating as an industry, but just as frustrating for so many people out there who want more hemp products." Jordon said the drought resistant crop coped well with strong winds.

Food Standards Australia New Zealand is responsible for approving new food products and in 2002 concluded there were no adverse health effects from adding hemp as a food. Public submissions on allowing hemp to be grown as a food closed in 2012 and its supporters hope a decision by food safety authorities would be reached next year.

Hemp is related to the cannabis plant, but unlike cannabis it contains almost none of the chemical that produces the drug effect.

New Zealand Grain and Seed Trade Association manager Thomas Chin said there was a lot of interest in hemp and the industry was poised to embrace the opportunity.

The crop grew well on marginal land and had a value five times that of linseed, making it a profitable crop for farmers. The benefits were "tremendous" at the national and regional level, he said. Chin said he could not see why it would be illegal here as the United States, Europe and Canada allowed hemp in food.

Oil Seed Extractions sales and marketing manager Nigel Hosking said hemp had been grown in Canterbury for the past 10 years and was an easy crop to grow.

A dispensation was granted to allow hemp oil to be sold as a food, but there was no reason to restrict food products made from the seed to oil alone. Presently a seed in high demand and with great potential both in the domestic market and for export was fed to stock, he said. "We are all hoping that common sense prevails and a decision is made soon."

Earlier this year hemp milk and protein powder was removed from several New Zealand outlets after they were found to be inadvertently selling the unapproved food.

Ceres Organics retail manager Marianne Weber said there was a lot of confusion about which hemp extracts could be sold for human consumption. Although Ceres was set to become one of the larger wholesalers of hemp, they were "totally in the dark" about what was holding up the decision to allow hemp to be sold as a food.

"We have suppliers with labels designed and ready for production, waiting for a decision that just keeps being deferred," she said.

Weber said hemp was increasingly found as an ingredient in food imported from countries such as the US.

Piko Wholefoods' Amanda Hawes said if they were able to sell hemp products they would.

"We get heaps of people asking for it," she said.

The hemp industry hopes a decision will be made at the Australia New Zealand Ministerial Forum on food regulations in late January.