Ex-Flyer, Pa. State Senators host a hemp building clinic

Cannabis can be used as a construction material, and it won't catch afire.

By Chris Goldstein
Source: philly.com

A construction worker pours blocks of hempcrete. Credit: Tiny Hemp Houses. 



Not only can you smoke cannabis, you can build with it.

A workshop on building with hempcrete, a cannabis-reinforced concrete, will take place this Saturday, June 6th, in Berks County.

The event will feature talks from former Philadelphia Flyer Riley Cote, Pa. State Sen. Judy Schwank (D., Berks), St. Sen. Mike Folmer (R., Lebanon), St. Rep. Russ Diamond (R., Lebanon) and author/activist Les Stark of the Keystone Cannabis Coalition. A bill to allow industrial hemp farming is making its way through the legislative process in Harrisburg.

The gathering is part of a national series of events called Hemp History Week, with dozens planned across Pennsylvania though Sunday.

John Patterson, a career carpenter of Tiny Hemp Houses in Colorado, will be leading the workshop.

Hemp, when mixed with a lime binder, becomes a lightweight building material that can be shaped into a form similar to a cinder block. When fully cured, it floats in water. Hempcrete structures up to 10 stories tall reportedly have been built with it in Europe.

On Saturday, participants will learn the basics of design and framing along with a history of hemp building materials. The core lessons will focus on hempcrete recipes and the proper mixing techniques. Attendees will go home with their own block of hempcrete.

Senators Schwank and Folmer are the lead sponsors of the hemp farming bill SB50.

“From paper to fuel, clothing to biodegradable plastics, the return of industrial hemp would give Pennsylvania’s farmers the opportunity to grow an in-demand crop that benefits tens of millions of people all over the world,” said Schwank.

During a hearing before the Senate Agricultural and Rural Affairs Committee in May, the measure received the support of the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau and the state Dept. of Agriculture. Rep. Diamond has sponsored a companion bill in the House.

Cote has been holding the Hemp Heals Music Festival at Penn's Landing since 2013 to raise awareness for the multiplicity of uses for the plant. The concert takes place this year on July 31st and features Sublime with Rome, Rebelution, Pepper and Mickey Avalon.

"The Hemp Heals Foundation is helping people reconnect to the natural world through education and innovation," said Cote.

William Penn saw hemp as a core crop and it had a rich history in the Commonwealth. Long used for rope and fiber, hemp has found a resurgence today in food products, beauty care products and sustainable building materials. Early European settlers to the area even used hemp as legal tender.

Hemp is in the cannabis family but it's a very different plant. Growing in tall stalks, like bamboo, hemp contains only trace amounts of THC and other cannabinoids compared to its smokeable cousin. So don't pack your hemp t-shirt into a pipe. Inhaling a field of the stuff would not get you high. (And, for that matter, neither would trying to burn down a structure built of hempcrete. Its fireproof.)

But it was marijuana prohibition that maligned the crop and stamped out hemp farming across the United States.

Today, 13 states have passed modern hemp farming laws. The federal U.S. Farm Act of 2014 officially allowed these states to proceed.

Les Stark, who spearheaded the effort for the Pa. bill, helped to organize the building workshop.

"As a historian who studied the old Pennsylvania hemp industry for the past 20 years I am thrilled to see hemp coming back," said Stark.

"It's an exciting opportunity,” Stark said. “Over the next few years we are going to lay the foundation of a great industry and it feels good to be a part of it."

The Hempcrete workshop takes place June 6th at 9 a.m., 631 West Penn Avenue (422 West) in Robesonia, Pa. Information and registration can be found here.

Chris Goldstein is associate editor of Freedom Leaf magazine and co-chair of PhillyNorml. Contact him at chris@freedomisgreen.com.

Ecovative sees potential in New York's industrial hemp industry

By Chelsea Diana
Source: bizjournals.com




Ecovative Design, which makes mushroom materials, wants to be a part of New York's budding industrial hemp industry.

The state is starting a pilot program to test production of industrial hemp at Cornell University, SUNY Environmental Science and Forestry and other schools.

Legislators are in the final stages of authorizing how much can be grown and who can grow it. Once approved, institutions will be able to apply for test plots and could start growing by spring of 2016.
The industrial hemp industry could mean big business for New York companies.

Katie Malysa is material supply manager at Ecovative Design in Green Island. Part of Malysa's job is to find and source new materials for Ecovative to use in its packaging products. She said hemp could be used in everything from food and automotive parts to Ecovative's own mushroom packaging materials.

Ecovative uses corn stalks and leaves to grow eco-friendly alternatives to foam, plastic and engineered-wood products. A mushroom material called mycelium is used as glue to hold the stalks and leaves together in a mold. The molds range from packaging used to protect Dell laptops to the backs of office chairs.

Malysa said Ecovative wants to be part of the research process to help develop material processing and finished product markets that will use New York-grown industrial hemp.

"I'm always interested in products that can be grown closer to home," Malysa said. "This is a great opportunity for us to engage in the local community. It's a great crop because its an alternative agricultural material and can create a processing business to translate that hemp into our own products."

It is currently illegal to grow industrial hemp in the United States because of its association with marijuana, despite having different properties. Industrial hemp's THC content is less than 0.3 percent. The hemp comes from the stalk and the seed of the cannabis plant.

From January 2014 to January 2015, Malysa said that $77 million worth of hemp products have been imported through New York.

"That's a significant market," Malysa said. "A lot of it comes from Europe for fiber and the seeds come from Canada, it's a pretty big industry in Canada."

Malysa said localizing that supply chain has benefits including minimizing the risk for importing, dealing with shorter times and keeping money local.

"The product has to be grown as a crop and processed, so those components can be separated as well as the third part, which is the product market," Malysa said. "A place like Ecovative would make it into a material and sell our products."

Other local industries that could take advantage of it include farmers and the Saratoga Springs thoroughbred race track. Industrial hemp is used in horse bedding and can be used in bedding for chickens and other livestock.

Emergent hemp industry muddled by uncertainties

It's too soon to tell whether hemp will be a boon for farmers or stay in mostly boutique products.

BY KRISTEN WYATT
Source: pressherald.com


Chemists test methods for efficiently turning raw hemp, left, into pulp which can be 
used for paper and other products, at Pure Vision Technology, a biomass factory in 
Ft. Lupton, Colo. The Associated Press

FORT LUPTON, Colo. — The newly legal hemp industry is entering its second growing season with some big questions for producers experimenting with marijuana’s non-intoxicating cousin.

The federal government has allowed limited imports of hemp seed – in Colorado’s case, this month – for research and development purposes. Companies trying to create a U.S. hemp industry are seeking investors not only for unproven products but for a plant that is still classified under the federal Controlled Substances Act with marijuana and thus cannot be patented.

As a result, it’s too soon to tell whether hemp will become a boon for farmers or stay in mostly boutique products that use imported hemp.

At least 22 states allow hemp cultivation, though most are limited to experimental testing, not commercial industry.

Two hemp facilities in northern Colorado underscore the crop’s uncertainty.

A biomass factory about an hour’s drive north of Denver is processing hemp into pulp, sugars and lignin. PureVision Technology CEO Ed Lehburger is also experimenting with hemp stalks, sensing potential for a broad array of industrial uses but unable to secure enough to see whether it could replace wheat, corn and wood as raw materials for use in things like plastics, fuels and packaging.

“We don’t have enough hemp to process,” said Lehrburger, who created a subsidiary, PureHemp Technology, but concedes the hemp business is a few years from taking off. He’s paying $500 a ton for the scarce commodity, compared to $65 for a ton of corn stalks.

But Lehrberger is bullish on hemp’s industrial potential. Pointing to a room-sized machine that processes the biomass into pulp, Lehrburger explained that hemp stalks become pulp faster than other raw materials and require less water.

Just down the road, a greenhouse contains a more tantalizing prospect. The company CBDRx is growing several hundred hemp plants in order to extract cannabidiol – frequently shortened to CBD – a non-intoxicating part of hemp that some believe has a variety of medical applications, from alleviating pain and inflammation to managing seizures.

CBDRx’s owners believe hemp’s therapeutic potential far exceeds any other commercial use. The company, created in January, plans to expand to 200 or more employees within a year, thanks to a large investment of venture capital.

“We see this as a very huge market, much bigger than the marijuana market,” said Alejandro Bergad, CBDRx’s chief agricultural officer for the company. “We’re poised for national expansion.”

But CBDRx must first to develop a product they can’t yet patent and make sure their plants don’t contain too much of the plant’s more popular chemical, THC, which produces a high.

The federal Controlled Substances Act makes no difference between hemp as a plant and marijuana as a drug.

Plants containing more than 0.3 percent THC are considered marijuana and must be destroyed by law, though licensed hemp growers aren’t subject to criminal prosecution if their plants are too strong. Last year, the first in which Colorado licensed hemp growers, agriculture authorities ordered the destruction of about an acre’s worth of plants after spot inspections, out of 1,811 total licensed acres.

Colorado agriculture authorities say the state’s hemp industry is still very much in its infancy, even though the state’s industry is thought to be the nation’s most mature.

Becky Dunnet of Mendip Ropemakers Ltd learns the ropes to keep church bells ringing

By West Country Life
Source: westerndailypress.co.uk


Bell rope maker Becky Dunnett of Mendip Ropemakers Ltd. 

Dreaming of turning your hobby into a career? Tina Rowe meets Becky Dunnet who did just that after she mastered traditional techniques and founded a firm making church bell ropes

Becky Dunnett's rare skills have helped President Obama's inauguration go with a swing, and an African cathedral find its voice again.

There is no end to the celebrations in which you can play a part when you are the founder of Mendip Ropemakers one of only two companies in the world making church bell ropes.

The sound of "change-ringing" drifting over fields and rooftops is the essence of England. It is very different from the simpler style of church bell ringing found in Europe, and requires special skill.

Bell rope maker Peter Dunnett of Mendip Ropemakers Ltd

In the village of Kingsbury Episcopi, near Yeovil, some 17 years ago, it was natural for local children to literally learn the ropes. Becky was among them.

She recalls: "I started church bell ringing when I was 10. There was nothing else to do in the village when I was young, so that's what kids used to do. There was a big group of us. Then I went off to Southampton University and did a degree in psychology, and after that I was teaching autistic children and was still involved in ringing. I was aware that churches had to wait a long time for new ropes and had to think about replacing them a good way ahead, so I realised there was a niche in the market.

"At that time a friend of mine and I decided to teach ourselves how to do it. I was teaching in the day and discovering how ropes were made in the evenings. I found it fascinating. People found out that we were doing it and started to order ropes. As word got around I felt I had to decide whether it was a hobby or a business.

"I took a risk, quit my job, and established the business and its gone really well in quite a short space of time. I was probably messing around with ropes as early as 2010, and we established as a limited company in 2012.

"There is only one other company in the world that makes church bell ropes, and that is in Loughborough. The ones we make are specifically for English church bells. In Europe they don't ring bells the same way."

And so Becky established a "ropewalk" the long workspace needed for winding long strands of hemp or flax into strong, durable ropes that will last for years. At first her business was based at Radstock, because the workspace was available, but now she is based at Isle Brewers on the Somerset Levels, on a little rural business park set among trees.

"It's lovely little place, and much closer to home," she says.

Back in Napoleonic times the South West had many ropewalks, and ropes for many a Royal Navy ship were made here. A rare survivor, at West Coker, near Yeovil, has been given a rare Grade II* listing by English Heritage.

In the airy space at Isle Brewers Becky is sometimes aided by her father, Peter. Together they have made ropes for churches and cathedrals across the world.

"All our ropes are handmade using traditional and established techniques," she says.

"We always ensure we use the best materials. We have strong relationships with flax and hemp mills in Eastern Europe, ensure our stretched polyester has the minimum stretch, and are skilled in the use of Dyneema, a zero-stretch alternative to polyester.

Flax has become the most widely used natural fibre for church bell ropes. It is hard wearing and soft to handle but its quality can vary according to a wet or dry harvest. Hemp is the traditional material, is superior in quality but a little hard until it softens with use.

Both hemp and flax absorb moisture and stiffen in damp conditions, so pre-stretched polyester rope is often spliced into the top end of a bell rope where it is under most pressure, and where it is most exposed to the weather high up in a tower. Becky is skilled in the procedure.

Bells move full circle during change ringing, the ringer needs great control and the rope has to be comfortable to hold.

The thick woollen grip of a bell rope is known as the "sally". At Mendip Ropemakers it is made of 100 per cent Marino wool for maximum softness, pre-dyed in Italy and supplied by a firm in Leicester.

"We tried lots of suppliers before we found the right product," says Becky.

The sally is made on the same principle as the woolly bobble of a hat. Precisely cut strands of wool are fed into the rope as it is wound, held fast and twisted into place. The long caterpillar of colour is then trimmed back to a neat finish with sheep or horse shears.

A sally is traditionally red white and blue, but these days churches ring the changes, if you'll forgive the expression, with many other colours.

When I call to watch Becky and her father at work they are making ropes with brilliant blue and gold sallies.

"We did a set for Rochester in New York last week and the were purple, lilac and cream," she says.

"And we did a set for Miami Cathedral that was blue green and pink. The blue was for the sea, the green for the palm trees and the pink for the flamingos."

The story of Harare Cathedral's bell ropes is quite extraordinary. In Zimbabwe, that troubled country the cathedral bell ringers were suspected of being a secret agency simply because their methods were so English.

"It was suspected that their ringing was a secret code, so all the ropes were cut off and the bells couldn't be rung for years" says Becky. When the authorities finally relented and new ropes could be ordered they were flown out quietly in a diplomatic bag."

Other countries world-wide which the firm has supplied include South Africa and Canada, all places to which England has exported change ringing.

"The bells are rung in sequence, and learning which one of say eight bells will ring is almost like learning a piece of music," says Becky. The longest rope that she has ever made was a staggering 96 feet.

"On the whole bell ringers don't like change and some came to us for a fully natural fibre flax rope and needed it 65 feet long," she recalls. We hadn't made one that long before so we decided to make it as long as we could. We had the door open and were out across the road, that's how we got to 96 feet.

Another unusual order was a huge rope, more than an inch thick, made at the request of a boxer who wanted to pull a tractor round a field.

And now the firm is also making decorative bathroom light pulls, sweet little mini church bell ropes with their own tiny and colourful 'sally'.

Bell ringing has brought Becky so much: "It's nice when you pass a church where you know you have helped in some way," she says. "The thing about bell ringing is that wherever you are in the world, if you hear bells ringing you can walk up to a tower and you will be welcome."

For more information visit www.mendipropemakers.com

Banking on industrial hemp

by Dan Dickson
Source: bizlex.com

Industrial hemp is getting a lot of ink, air time and social media attention in Kentucky lately.

In the second year of the state’s hemp pilot program, 121 farmers were selected to grow a total of 1,740 acres of the crop in demonstration projects that industry leaders hope will prove the potential of hemp. But is hemp a good investment? Should banks and individual investors be sinking money into it?

“We’re absolutely excited about it,” said Debra Stamper, counsel for the Kentucky Bankers Association. “Any new industry is great for the economy, which means it’s great for the banks.”

Stamper said she’s impressed by the wide range of products produced from hemp, everything from clothing, oils and personal care products to automobile parts and food.
“Kentucky has such a rich history of hemp production for products,” she said. “It could help farmers who used to grow tobacco, especially smaller farms.”

Bank loans for Kentucky agriculture have fallen off in recent years, according to the association.

While hemp might provide a boost, Stamper said she thinks Kentucky bankers need to be reassured that investing in hemp is safe. The federal farm bill allows certain states to operate hemp pilot programs.

“I would argue quite strongly that that allows Kentucky banks, any bank, in states where hemp is legal, to hold money and make loans for hemp projects authorized by the pilot programs,” said Jonathan Miller, of Lexington’s Frost Brown Todd Attorneys and advisor to the Kentucky Hemp Industry Council.

Some Kentucky bankers recently met with hemp industry leaders and Agriculture Commissioner James Comer. They talked about a hemp education curve. Bankers must understand the differences between a legal hemp crop and an illegal marijuana crop. Officials discussed with bankers how to verify the people who approach them for loans for hemp projects, “so they’re not hesitant about getting involved in any of those businesses,” said Stamper.

Still, some bankers worry getting involved in hemp might bring the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to their door or lead to a crackdown from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

“That is something we’re working through right now,” Miller acknowledged.
But, Miller said, from an investment standpoint, now is the time to to get in on the ground floor of the state’s hemp industry.

“Given our history of world leadership in hemp a century ago, our soil and climate and the political support for it today, I would think investing in Kentucky hemp would be a wise bet,” he said.

Large and small banks have shown interest in hemp. Smaller banks might be in the best position to get into the business since they’re experienced with loaning to small farmers and business owners.

“Sometimes products and services make more sense for community banks than for larger banks,” said Stamper. “Sometimes it’s the other way around.”

Michael Lewis, COO of Lexington-based Freedom Seed & Feed, said he has been traveling frequently to New York in recent months to discuss hemp with potential investors. He’ll be growing 45 acres of the crop in this year’s pilot program. Lewis said he thinks hemp can be a moneymaker.

“And a lot of others do too,” said Lewis, who was a featured speaker in late May at
the Markham MicroCap Conference in New York City. It is dedicated to providing a forum for companies with less than $500 million in market capitalization to network with the investment community.

“We’re raising capital to expand our infrastructure,” Lewis said. “We have partnerships with an international pharmaceutical company and an international clothing manufacturer.”

Lewis’ message to bankers is clear. “It’s a valid industry. Look, every other industrial nation in the world is producing hemp — China, Russia, South Korea are leaders. This isn’t a fly-by- night money grab. There are real businesses and real business people in the industry.”

Alice Menendez took a break from planting this year’s corn crop on her Winchester farm to discuss hemp. She’ll be growing 10 acres of it this year. The seeds will be purchased for processing by a company called Dr. Bonner’s Magic Soaps.

“People are really excited about the business potential. There’s a lot of energy among businesses that are profitable [with it] elsewhere. There’s no reason to believe we wouldn’t be profitable here.”

Industrial Hemp Facts
• Industrial hemp is a variety of Cannabis sativa, part of the same plant species as marijuana, but genetically and chemically different.

• More than 25,000 different products can be produced from hemp.

• Products made from hemp include fabrics, paper, carpeting, home furnishings, construction materials, foods and beverages, body care products, cosmetics, automobile parts, industrial oils, nutritional supplements and pharmaceuticals.

• Pioneers in Kentucky first grew hemp in 1775, and the state was once the nation’s leading producer. A federal law passed in 1938 banned the production of cannabis, including hemp. Kentucky is now working with the federal government to regain hemp production status.

Hemp ʻOhana Open House to Showcase Industrial Hempcrete

Source: mauinow.com

The Maui Hemp Institute for Research & Innovation Organizing Committee invites the public to a free open house in Kīhei on Sunday, June 7, showcasing Maui’s first home built with hemp construction materials.

Homeowners Don and Joy Nelson, and Lee McBride will host public viewings of their hemp ʻohana from noon to 2 p.m., and answer questions with the home’s builder and Architect George Rixey.

The open house is one of many events throughout the state being organized by the committee to celebrate the 6th Annual Hemp History Week, a national grassroots education campaign. Hemp week, celebrated from June 1 to 7 this year, is held to help renew strong support for hemp farming in the US.

Local hemp advocates Simon Russell, vice-president of Hawaiʻi Farmers Union United, and Denise Key, director of ihempHI.com, will also be available for interviews and discussion.

Light refreshments provided by Whole Foods Market and Manitoba Harvest will be served, and free hemp product samples from Dr. Bronner’s will be distributed to attendees.

Hemp History Week will feature a national retailer program with over 1,000 participating stores, local events, restaurant participants and hemp product sampling. The campaign will also feature a Take Action petition drive to encourage the Obama Administration and Congress to change federal policy and allow American farmers to once again grow industrial hemp.

The hemp ohana is located next to Sugar Beach Events Villa, 101 N. Kīhei Road.

For more information about Hemp History Week, go online.

For more information about the Hemp Industries Association, go online.

For more information about Vote Hemp, go online.

Hemp History Week Remains Strong In 2015

Source: wholefoodsmagazine.com

With the total retail value of all hemp products sold in the U.S. exceeding $620 million in 2014, the Hemp Industry Association (HIA) and Vote Hemp will look to use the sixth annual Hemp History Week as an opportunity to grow and promote the hemp industry.

Throughout the country on June 1-7, Hemp History Week will be the host to more than 1,100 events that will involve documentary film screenings, cooking demonstrations, retail promotion, educational outreach, spring hemp plantings and hemp home building courses, according to the press release.

One of the biggest events of the week is the S.E. Region Hemp Symposium that is held in Columbia, SC on June 4. The event will inform attendees about hemp legislation, farming techniques, business practices and community involvement. Some of the speakers at the event will be representatives from Tennessee, a hemp farmer from Canada and entrepreneurs from different sections of the hemp market, according to Catherine Hearn, the event coordinator for the Symposium.

“I moved to South Carolina a couple of years ago and found there were a lot of questions being asked about legislation, farming, required infrastructure and market opportunities,” Hearn says. “The goal of the Symposium is to provide answers to as many of those questions as possible.”

Other main events, both educational and entertaining, include: the Chenango Hemp Forum in Morrisville, NY; a Hemp Fashion Show and screening of hemp documentary Bringing It Home in Sacramento, CA; the Charlotte Hempfest in Charlotte, NC; and the Hands-on Hemp Crete & Building Materials Class in Seattle, WA.

Many celebrities and high-profile wellness experts have gone on to endorse Hemp History Week, including Dr. Andrew Weil, Ashley Koff R.D., Alicia Silverstone, Ziggy Marley, Jason Mraz and author Doug Fine.

This is the first Hemp History Week since it was announced in January that the U.S. government has introduced the Hemp Farming Act into both the Senate and House. If passed, according to the press release, “this bill would remove federal restrictions on the cultivation of industrial hemp.”

“It is difficult to look around the globe at all the countries that grow hemp, and have for decades, even centuries, without issue and not be frustrated by the irrational laws in the United States,” says Hearn. “This is business the farmers in the US do not have an opportunity to compete for.”

Published by WholeFoods Magazine Online, 5/28/2015