Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast: Recent Episodes
Eric Hurlock, Digital Editor
On this week's Hemp Show we are focusing on recent news stories and upcoming hemp events, including the Farm-to-Fabric Hemp Textile Symposium in New York City, September 18-20. See the full list of events below.
Plus a healthy helping of Hemp News Nuggets from HempToday.net:
Ireland confronts hemp bottlenecks as Parliament weighs reforms to restart industry
hemptoday.net/ireland-confronts-hemp-bottlenecks-as-parliament-weighs-reforms-to-restart-industry/
Botswana clears path to commercial hemp production after successful government trials
hemptoday.net/botswana-clears-path-to-commercial-hemp-production-after-successful-government-trials/
Proposed EU carbon market update could boost business case for hemp starting in 2030
hemptoday.net/proposed-eu-carbon-market-update-could-boost-business-case-for-hemp-starting-in-2030/
South Korea puts $21 million behind minor cannabinoids for medical hemp products
hemptoday.net/south-korea-puts-21-million-behind-minor-cannabinoids-for-medical-hemp-products/
'Australia has the potential to become world leader' if government will support hemp
hemptoday.net/australia-has-the-potential-to-become-world-leader-if-government-will-support-hemp/
Upcoming Hemp Events Discover NC Textile Hemp — Raleigh, NC, August 6–7
discovernctextilehemp.textiles.ncsu.edu/
HempBLOCK USA Training — Alma, CO, August 7–9
us.hempblockinternational.com/installer-training/
Fibre for Our Future: Unlocking Hemp & Flax — Cobden, ON, August 13
instagram.com/p/DbGWIkNgm0e/
Cornell Fiber & Grain Hemp Field Day — Geneva, NY, September 15
cals.cornell.edu/cornell-agritech
NIHC Global Industrial Hemp Fiber Summit — New York, NY (FIT), September 16–18
hempindustrial.com/
Farm to Fabric Hemp Textile Symposium — Brooklyn / Governors Island, NY, September 18–20
fluidforms.co/f/cyc
Southern Illinois Hemp Symposium — Carbondale, IL, September 18
conferenceservices.siu.edu/conferences/southern-illinois-hemp-symposium.php
Thanks to Our Sponsors Condor Seed
condorseed.com/
IND Hemp
indhemp.com/
The Goodness of Hemp
thegoodnessofhemp.org/
Kings AgriSeeds
kingsagriseeds.com/
This week's Hemp Show takes us once more back to Poland, where Maciej Kowalski gives us a tour of his vertically integrated hemp textile company in Elbląg, a small town in Northern Poland, not too far from the Baltic Sea.
Today we'll let Kowalski guide us as we tour the Kombinat Konopny facility.
His approach to business is straightforward: Make things people need.
"What do they need? They need socks. They need beanies, they need pants, they need blouses, they need shirts, everything," Kowalski said. "The sock became like the symbol of what we're trying to achieve seven, eight years ago when we started."
This episode follows Kowalski as he takes us from blending, carding, and spinning, to decortication and breaking up the bales, giving us a backwards journey from sock, to yarn, to fiber, to bale.
Learn More Kombinat Konopny
https://kombinatkonopny.pl
Kombinat USA
https://kombinatusa.com
European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA)
https://eiha.org
Natural Materials Unlimited
https://naturalmaterials.eu
European Hemp Hub
https://www.pole-europeen-chanvre.eu/en/
Thanks to Our Sponsors Americhanvre Cast Hemp
americhanvre.com
IND HEMP
indhemp.com
Bish Enterprises
bishenterprises.com
1937 International
1937international.com
Condor Seed
condorseed.com
HEMI — Hemp Education and Marketing Initiative
thegoodnessofhemp.org/
We have an outbuilding at home — we call it the Little House.
It's a small old barn that sits out in our back yard, maybe 25 feet from the back door. It was a barn for animals at one point, then a garage, then an apartment. There's a lot of interesting energy in the Little House. It's been many things over the years: an art studio, a bakery, a jewelry-making place. By 2018 the Little House had given birth to this very podcast. The Little House has been an epicenter of entrepreneurial spirit and love for a long time.
When I got home from my recent trip to Poland, I found out there was a water leak in the Little House, which sent me on a mission of ripping and tearing — rugs, floors, decking and drywall. And before I knew it, I needed a new wall on the west end. And of course, it was going to be a hempcrete wall, right?
Hempcrete is hemp hurd — the woody inner core of the hemp stalk — mixed with a lime-based binder and water and packed around a wood frame like insulation. It's breathable, naturally resistant to pests and fire, and because hemp pulls carbon out of the air as it grows, a hempcrete wall can be carbon-negative. It's about as close as you can get to building a wall out of a farm field.
After years and years of following the industry, reporting on builders like Cameron McIntosh, Micaela Machado, Danny Desjarlais and Matt Marino, these people are my heroes. And now, after having made seven batches of hempcrete by hand, anyone who has ever built something out of hempcrete is my hero.
Luck favors the prepared, so I sought knowledge. I drove down to the Ice House in Ellicott City, Maryland, to learn from Gayle Killen. She taught me how to mix by hand, how to pack the edges better than the middle, and how to stay safe — PPE always, and a jar of vinegar handy to neutralize the lime.
Cameron McIntosh, up at his shop in Bally, confirmed the numbers and sent me home with hurd, buckets, tampers and a saw. Drew Oberholzer and Ana Konopitskaya of Coexist Build donated nine bags of lime binder. Acts of kindness bind us all together.
So I mixed and packed and mixed again, all through the Fourth of July weekend, sweating it out in the backyard, covered in lime burns, until a hempcrete wall stood where the old one used to be.
My kids tell me it smells like corn. But whatever it smells like, it looks like agriculture. Imagine if we could build our houses with locally sourced, annually renewable resources so we can survive, so our children can survive, so our children's children can survive. That's what this is about: the future, and learning how to do things so we can face it together. This hempcrete wall is emblematic of the changes you'll see coming. We're building, growing, making and doing.
Learn More LimeWorks.us – EcoLogic HempCrete Binder Platinum
https://www.limeworks.us/product/ecologic-hempcrete-binder-platinum/
Americhanvre
https://americhanvre.com/
Hemp Building Institute
https://www.hempbuildinginstitute.org/
HempBuild Magazine
https://www.hempbuildmag.com/
US Hemp Building Association (USHBA)
https://www.ushba.org/resources
International Hemp Building Association (IHBA)
https://internationalhempbuilding.org/
Thanks to Our Sponsors HEMI Take Action: https://thegoodnessofhemp.org
Condor Seed
https://condorseed.com
Forever Green – KP4 Hemp Cutter
https://hempcutter.com
This is a special encore edition of an interview we published on YouTube two years ago. This is my conversation with Michael Klepacz, an Ohio native and Air Force veteran who moved to Poland in 2012 and founded Natural Materials Unlimited, a company that makes textiles and products from hemp, linen and other bast fibers.
In this bonus episode, he talks about how the business grew from hemp wick to guitar straps, pet accessories and custom fiber products for clients around the world.
The conversation digs into long fiber versus short fiber hemp: why long fiber produces stronger, higher-quality textiles, why Europe's processing equipment wasn't built for it, and why China's demand for European long fiber has scrambled the supply chain. Klepacz also traces hemp's textile history (including its role in old ship sails and painters' canvases), and shares his frustrations with U.S. and Polish hemp policy, ignorant regulators and platforms like Google and Facebook that still block hemp marketing.
This episode is being republished alongside a new interview host Eric Hurlock recorded with Klepacz in Poland, revisiting the conversation as the two catch up in person.
Learn More Natural Material Unlimited
naturalmaterials.eu
Sponsors HEMI (Hemp Education & Marketing Initiative)
hempinitiatives.org/
The Goodness of HEMP
thegoodnessofhemp.org/
This week on the Hemp Show, we continue our hemp adventure in Poland, catching up with American expat Michael Klepacz, owner of Natural Materials Unlimited. Klepacz sits near the end of the hemp supply chain — he doesn't grow or process raw fiber himself. Instead, he sources hemp and other natural fibers from regional mills and turns them into finished goods, from hemp wick to dog leashes, as a contract manufacturer for brands worldwide.
Klepacz gives us a walking tour of his factory — beeswax, waxing lines and a dynamometer that tests twine strength — and makes the case for hemp as Europe's best fiber.
We're also re-releasing his first appearance on the show, a 2024 conversation that never made it to the podcast feed, so you can get the full picture of an American entrepreneur building a hemp business from scratch in Poland.
Learn More Natural Materials Unlimited
https://naturalmaterials.eu
RAW Hemp Wick (10ft)
https://rawthentic.com/prawducts/smoking-gear/lighters-matches-wicks/raw-hemp-wick-10ft/
Libeco Belgian Linen
https://www.libeco.com
EIHA (European Industrial Hemp Association)
https://eiha.org
Thanks to Our Sponsors HEMI — The Goodness of Hemp https://goodnessofhemp.org
Bish Enterprises — FiberCut https://bishenterprise.com/fibercut
1937 International https://1937international.com
Condor Seed https://condorseed.com
IND Hemp https://indhemp.com
This is part eight of a ten-part podcast series documenting the European Industrial Hemp Association's 23rd Annual Conference in Poznan, Poland, at the Institute of Fiber Plants and Medicinal Medicine, June 10-12.
Caroline Matthews represents Tatham, a fiber processing machinery company based in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. Tatham is a 200-year-old, fifth-generation family business that started in wool processing — carding and spinning — and has moved into hemp over the last decade or so as interest in the crop has grown.
Today the company manufactures hemp decortication and cleaning machinery. One of the things drawing the most attention at the conference is Tatham's smaller, compact line that processes about one ton an hour, rather than the four-ton systems that can feel daunting to newcomers.
"There's been a lot of interest in our small system, which is good, because I also think that means that farmers can club together and maybe think how they can invest in a system that's more achievable, really," Matthews said.
Learn More Learn More Tatham
tatham-uk.com
Institute of Natural Fibers and Medicinal Plants (IWNIRZ)
iwnirz.pl
European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA)
eiha.org
EIHA Conference
eiha-conference.org
Thanks to Our Sponsors Condor Seed
condorseed.com
HEMI — The Hemp Education and Marketing Initiative
thegoodnessofhemp.org
Bish Enterprises — FiberCut Hemp Harvesting
bishenterprise.com/fibercut
1937 International
1937international.com
This is part six of a ten-part podcast series documenting the European Industrial Hemp Association's 23rd Annual Conference in Poznan, Poland, at the Institute of Fiber Plants and Medicinal Medicine, June 10-12.
Julia Bialecka is CEO and co-founder of S-Lab, short for Sustainable Laboratory. The company uses hemp and mycelium to make packaging that replaces expanded polystyrene. Based in Spain, S-Lab has already piloted its material with L'Oréal, Nespresso and JTI.
"Every polystyrene Styrofoam packaging unit that was ever produced still remains somewhere on the landfills because it's 500 years there," she said.
The material performs like polystyrene but fully biodegrades in 30 days and is certified home-compostable. Hemp makes up about 90% of the product, and mycelium is the other 10%, acting as a glue that binds the hemp shives together as it grows.
S-Lab is closing a €2.5 million seed round and preparing to move from startup to scale-up.
"My dream is that one day I go to the grocery shop, to the cosmetics shop, and I see most of the products packed into our material," Bialecka said.
Learn More S-Lab (Sustainable Laboratory)
s-lab.bio
Institute of Natural Fibers and Medicinal Plants (IWNIRZ)
iwnirz.pl
European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA)
eiha.org
EIHA Conference
eiha-conference.org
Thanks to Our Sponsors Condor Seed
condorseed.com
HEMI — The Hemp Education and Marketing Initiative
thegoodnessofhemp.org
Bish Enterprises — FiberCut Hemp Harvesting
bishenterprise.com/fibercut
1937 International
1937international.com
This is part seven of a ten-part podcast series documenting the European Industrial Hemp Association's 23rd Annual Conference in Poznan, Poland, at the Institute of Fiber Plants and Medicinal Medicine, June 10-12.
Beau Whitney is the founder of Whitney Economics, based in Portland, Oregon. He has tracked the economics of hemp and cannabis since 2014, and his data is a fixture at industry events around the world. But he found that the numbers alone didn't always land with audiences.
"When I would start talking about hemp as an automobile part or as a substitute for lithium EV batteries, I would lose the crowd," he said.
So Whitney had a hemp-based spoon made and started handing it to skeptics during talks to show that hemp isn't a drug but a real material. That grew into a second venture, the Everyday Hemp Company, which now makes hemp cutlery, straws, plant tags and a plant-based pallet wrap he calls "planet wrap."
Between the data and the products, Whitney's message is the same on both sides: hemp is a real economy, not a novelty.
Learn More Whitney Economics whitneyeconomics.com Everyday Hemp Company everydayhempcompany.com
Institute of Natural Fibers and Medicinal Plants (IWNIRZ) iwnirz.pl
European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA) eiha.org
Thanks to Our Sponsors Condor Seed
condorseed.com
HEMI — The Hemp Education and Marketing Initiative
thegoodnessofhemp.org
Bish Enterprises — FiberCut Hemp Harvesting
bishenterprise.com/fibercut
1937 International
1937international.com
This is part ten of a ten-part podcast series documenting the European Industrial Hemp Association's 23rd Annual Conference in Poznan, Poland, at the Institute of Fiber Plants and Medicinal Medicine, June 10-12.
Bob Hoban is an attorney and consultant in the international cannabis and hemp space, based in Denver, Colorado. He has advised governments, companies and trade organizations across multiple continents, and in this Hemp in Poland series finale, he turns his attention to a deadline looming over the U.S. industry.
"So we've got what I've kind of come to refer to as the hemp cliff happening in November of 2026," he said.
Hoban explains that a wide range of products — from intoxicating cannabinoids to CBD — could become federally illegal at that point, along with a DEA opinion that effectively classified cannabis seeds as hemp. He traces it to a political reaction from Senator McConnell's office, but doesn't expect the cliff to actually arrive, pointing to heavy lobbying, an invested alcohol and distribution sector, and a lawsuit with a legal team ready to seek an injunction. Even if it does take effect, he argues, state programs will keep operating and the industry will absorb the hit.
"I think that it will impact the economics of the industry, but it doesn't kill the industry," Hoban said.
Learn More Hoban Law Group hobanlaw.com
Institute of Natural Fibers and Medicinal Plants (IWNIRZ) iwnirz.pl
European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA) eiha.org
EIHA Conference eiha-conference.org
Thanks to Our Sponsors Condor Seed condorseed.com
HEMI — The Hemp Education and Marketing Initiative thegoodnessofhemp.org
Bish Enterprises — FiberCut Hemp Harvesting bishenterprise.com/fibercut
1937 International 1937international.com
This is part nine of a ten-part podcast series documenting the European Industrial Hemp Association's 23rd Annual Conference in Poznan, Poland, at the Institute of Fiber Plants and Medicinal Medicine, June 10-12. View the whole series here.
Lorenza Romanese is Secretary General of European Bioplastics, the Brussels-based trade association representing bio-based and biodegradable plastics across Europe. She came up through the European hemp industry, and while her day job is now bioplastics, she says her heart stays with hemp — which she argues is a building block of the European bioeconomy, not a niche crop.
Her core message is that the technology already exists; what's missing is scale, and only regulation can force it.
"We are not talking about innovation anymore. We have the technology, we have the ideas, we know how. We need to scale up. This is the game," she said.
The barrier is cost. Bioplastics still make up just 0.5% of all plastic on the planet, and while consumers say they want to help the environment, they hesitate at the price. Romanese points to 2026 as a pivotal year, with several EU regulations on the table — including the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation — that could set binding targets and finally push bioplastics to scale.
Learn More European Bioplastics
european-bioplastics.org
Institute of Natural Fibers and Medicinal Plants (IWNIRZ)
iwnirz.pl
European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA)
eiha.org
EIHA Conference
eiha-conference.org
Thanks to Our Sponsors Condor Seed
condorseed.com
HEMI — The Hemp Education and Marketing Initiative
thegoodnessofhemp.org
Bish Enterprises — FiberCut Hemp Harvesting
bishenterprise.com/fibercut
1937 International
1937international.com
This is part one of a ten-part podcast series documenting the European Industrial Hemp Association's 23rd Annual Conference in Poznan, Poland, at the Institute of Fiber Plants and Medicinal Medicine, June 10-12.
The series starts with a casual conversation with Ken Elliott and Rusty Peterson from IND HEMP in Montana about the conference itself and how it compares to hemp events back home.
"The professionalism that they bring, the fact that they've been doing things instead of talking about things in Europe is a big difference," Elliott said.
Both Elliott and Peterson spoke at the conference on topics ranging from the state of hemp in the U.S. to how carbon and carbon markets will shape the future of hemp farming, processing and manufacturing.
Learn More IND Hemp
indhemp.com
European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA)
eiha.org/
EIHA Conference
eiha-conference.org/
Institute of Natural Fibers and Medicinal Plants (IWNIRZ)
iwnirz.pl
Thanks to Our Sponsors! HEMI — The Hemp Education and Marketing Initiative
thegoodnessofhemp.org
Bish Enterprises — FiberCut Hemp Harvesting
bishenterprise.com/fibercut
1937 International
1937international.com
Condor Seed
condorseed.com
This is part five of a ten-part podcast series documenting the European Industrial Hemp Association's 23rd Annual Conference in Poznan, Poland, at the Institute of Fiber Plants and Medicinal Medicine, June 10-12.
Colin Steddy is a grassroots farmer from Western Australia who got into hemp in 2005 after selling his farm following two droughts and a divorce. He's a no-till advocate, a carbon thinker and someone who speaks from the heart about soil biology and systems thinking.
"Everything affects something else. So you gotta understand when you make one decision what around it gets affected because it's not a single thing that makes things work," Steddy said.
Steddy grew up on a sheep farm south of Perth, learned to shear, and spent decades in cropping and controlled traffic farming. He's been knocked down three times by deals worth five million dollars or more that fell through — each time he picked himself up.
At 42, he lost his farm and had to start over. Hemp gave him that second chance. What draws Steddy to the Poznań conference isn't theory. It's reality.
"They're not talking about s*** and they're not talking about the warm and fuzzies, they're talking about the things that happen and the obstacles they're faced," he said.
He points to a Ukrainian hemp processor whose buildings were bombed, who lost power for three months, but kept moving forward. Real people doing real things — not scientists studying irrelevant data.
On carbon credits, Steddy is clear: they're icing on the cake, not the foundation. Carbon credit schemes are political and can disappear overnight. The real work is building soil organic matter through farming practices you should be doing anyway.
His advice to farmers: find a partner who covers baseline costs and shares credit returns. Get your baseline established early, before you start your regenerative journey, so you capture the financial benefit. And remember biochar isn't just a home for soil biology — it's a condominium. But you have to stock it with food: minerals, nutrients and plants. Everything affects something else.
Learn More Hemp Inside
https://hempinside.com.au
The Hemp Corporation
http://thehempcorp.com.au
iHemp NSW
https://ihempnsw.org.au
Institute of Natural Fibers and Medicinal Plants (IWNIRZ)
https://iwnirz.pl
Institute of Natural Fibers and Medicinal Plants (IWNIRZ)
iwnirz.pl
European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA)
eiha.org/
EIHA Conference
eiha-conference.org/
Thanks to Our Sponsors Condor Seed
condorseed.com
HEMI — The Hemp Education and Marketing Initiative
thegoodnessofhemp.org
Bish Enterprises — FiberCut Hemp Harvesting
bishenterprise.com/fibercut
1937 International
1937international.com
This is part four of a ten-part podcast series documenting the European Industrial Hemp Association's 23rd Annual Conference in Poznan, Poland, at the Institute of Fiber Plants and Medicinal Medicine, June 10-12.
Jan Slaski, hemp researcher and plant breeder at InnoTech Alberta, has spent nearly a quarter-century developing industrial hemp on the Canadian prairies. He came to Canada from Poland in 1993 and started hemp research in 2001, testing nearly 90 varieties from around the world to find what worked on the Canadian prairies. His team at InnoTech Alberta addresses the entire value chain — from seed to final product — across genetics, agronomy, processing and engineering.
But Slaski's real battle has been cultural, not agronomic. People conflate industrial hemp (low-THC fiber crops) with cannabis (high-THC intoxicating plants). Even at trade shows, visitors holding hemp seeds ask if they'll get high.
"This thing between hemp and cannabis, because you know, just like a word matters, how people perceive reality, you know they perceive through words, right?" he said.
For 25 years, Slaski has been destigmatizing industrial hemp — fighting regulatory confusion and consumer misunderstanding.
His current focus is artificial intelligence applied to hemp breeding. Using drone technology and computer vision, his team is developing tools to automatically identify male plants in seed production — work currently done by hand.
Beyond genetics, Slaski emphasizes that reliable feedstock matters most. In Canada, hemp breaks disease cycles that devastate canola. Farmers generate income while improving soil health. The conference message: industrial hemp has moved from abstract "world-saving" rhetoric to practical business.
Learn More InnoTech Alberta
https://www.inotechalberta.ca
International Seed Standards Global Congress
https://www.worldseed.org
Institute of Natural Fibers and Medicinal Plants (IWNIRZ)
https://iwnirz.pl
Institute of Natural Fibers and Medicinal Plants (IWNIRZ)
iwnirz.pl
European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA)
eiha.org/
EIHA Conference
eiha-conference.org/
Thanks to Our Sponsors Condor Seed
condorseed.com
HEMI — The Hemp Education and Marketing Initiative
thegoodnessofhemp.org
Bish Enterprises — FiberCut Hemp Harvesting
bishenterprise.com/fibercut
1937 International
1937international.com
This is part three of a ten-part podcast series documenting the European Industrial Hemp Association's 23rd Annual Conference in Poznan, Poland, at the Institute of Fiber Plants and Medicinal Medicine, June 10-12.
Estelle Delangle, director of the Hemp European Hub in Troyes, France, frames the hemp challenge differently than most: The material isn't the problem, the world is.
"The world is not ready for hemp. Today, when you use hemp in textile, for example, you have to make it look like something else. You have to make it look like cotton. You have to make it look like wool. You have to make it look like linen or flax," she said.
Delangle has spent six years building the Hemp European Hub — a cooperative company that coordinates complex, cross-sector projects across Europe and beyond. The Hub isn't a traditional industry cluster or a government agency. It's a working laboratory for what Delangle calls "cooperative bioeconomy applied to hemp."
The European hemp model, she explains, rests on three pillars: farmers who built their own markets and machines; price stability that makes the sector resilient; and whole-plant utilization — fiber for textiles, grain for food, hurd for bedding and leaves for extraction. No waste.
"We are trying to do at the hub is to act stone by stone on those socio-technical obstacles," Delangle said, describing her approach to regulatory change, consumer perception and cross-sector cooperation. "Time is key. You don't change the world overnight."
The Hub hosts the World Hemp Forum every two years in Troyes, drawing 300 participants from around the world. The next edition is November 24–26, 2026.
Learn More Hemp European Hub (Pôle Européen du Chanvre)
https://www.pole-europeen-chanvre.eu
World Hemp Forum 2026
https://www.pole-europeen-chanvre.eu/world-hemp-forum
La Chanvrière — Hemp Cooperative
https://www.lachanvriere.com
InterChanvre — French Hemp Industry Organization
https://www.interchanvre.org
Institute of Natural Fibers and Medicinal Plants (IWNIRZ)
iwnirz.pl
European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA)
eiha.org/
EIHA Conference
eiha-conference.org/
Thanks to Our Sponsors Condor Seed
condorseed.com
HEMI — The Hemp Education and Marketing Initiative
thegoodnessofhemp.org
Bish Enterprises — FiberCut Hemp Harvesting
bishenterprise.com/fibercut
1937 International
1937international.com
This is part two of a ten-part podcast series documenting the European Industrial Hemp Association's 23rd Annual Conference in Poznan, Poland, at the Institute of Fiber Plants and Medicinal Medicine, June 10-12.
Witold Czeszak, co-founder and head of the Polish Hemp Program at the Institute of Natural Fibers and Medical Plants, talks about Polish hemp genetics, the importance of IP protection and why he fought hard to bring the European Industrial Hemp Conference to the Institute.
"I brought to the table new blood. I brought here representatives of huge companies because in general my idea is to professionalize the sector so to scale it up, keeping of course quality on the highest level," he said.
Poland has been at the epicenter of hemp in Europe for decades, and with genetics like Hanola and Białobrzeskie coming out of Czesak's breeding program, Polish varieties have become standard fiber genetics around the world.
Learn More Institute of Natural Fibers and Medicinal Plants (IWNIRZ)
iwnirz.pl
European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA)
eiha.org/
EIHA Conference
eiha-conference.org/
Thanks to Our Sponsors HEMI — The Hemp Education and Marketing Initiative
thegoodnessofhemp.org
Bish Enterprises — FiberCut Hemp Harvesting
bishenterprise.com/fibercut
1937 International
1937international.com
Condor Seed
condorseed.com
This week on the Hemp Show, Larry Smart returns to talk about Ursa Alta, the new low-THC hemp variety that Cornell AgriTech has released for commercial production. The variety has been seven years in the making.
"We had come up with a new cultivar that was distinct, uniform and stable. That's our definition of a cultivar," Smart said.
Ursa Alta, which means tall bear and is named for the Cornell mascot, is a fiber variety with low THC and a high hurd ratio. While bred for conditions in New York state, Smart said the variety excels in southern latitudes as well.
"This variety does grow very well in Texas," Smart said. "My collaborator, Calvin Trostel, is based in Lubbock, at about the same latitude as where they're growing for Panda Biotech. So we think it will grow quite well in that area and yield quite well for them."
Panda Biotech, owner of the second largest hemp processing facility in the world, is based in Wichita Falls, TX.
Cornell has licensed seed multiplication to Condor Seed Production in Yuma, Arizona. Condor has a deep history of vegetable seed production — onions, artichokes, brassicas — and brings more than 40 years of experience to the work.
Smart provided Condor with 110 pounds of breeder seed to start the multiplication process, with an ambitious target ahead: "to scale up the seed from 110 pounds of breeder seed to hopefully by next year, somewhere between three and 400,000 pounds of seed. And then they can start really selling it," Smart said.
Listen to show to learn more.
Learn More
Condor Seed Production
https://condorseed.com
Cornell AgriTech Hemp Breeding Program
https://cuaes.cals.cornell.edu/stations/cornell-agritech/
AOSCA — Association of Official Seed Certifying Agencies
https://www.aosca.org
USDA Plant Variety Protection Office
https://www.ams.usda.gov/plant-variety-protection
HempWood
https://hempwood.com
Sponsor Links
IND Hemp — Fort Benton, Montana. Fiber, food, feed.
https://indhemp.com
Forever Green — Distributors of the KP4 Hemp Cutter.
https://hempcutter.com
Summary:
In this episode of the Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast, host Eric Hurlock speaks with Dr. Larry Smart, plant geneticist and director of hemp breeding at Cornell AgriTech in Geneva, New York, about the official release of Ursa Alta, a certified low-THC industrial fiber hemp cultivar developed over seven years of research and field trials. The conversation covers the cultivar development process, AOSCA seed certification, Plant Variety Protection, and the URSA trademark, offering growers and industry professionals a detailed look at what it means to release a new hemp variety in today's regulatory environment.
Larry Smart explains the seed multiplication process that took Ursa Alta from 110 pounds of breeder seed to a projected 300,000 to 400,000 pounds of certified planting seed, with Condor Seed Production in Yuma, Arizona playing a central role. The episode details the agronomic challenges of desert hemp seed production, including heat-related pollen failure, photoperiod complications, and extreme weather events, and explains why the September-to-January growing window in Arizona emerged as the viable solution for large-scale seed multiplication.
The episode also addresses hemp cultivar intellectual property, seed licensing, and the contrast between open-source wheat breeding culture and the more restricted IP environment in hemp. Larry Smart discusses end markets for Ursa Alta fiber including hempcrete construction, textile applications, and industrial fiber processing, with growers in Montana, Texas, and South Dakota identified as early adoption targets. Additional topics include the Farm Bill's certified seed provisions, zero-cannabinoid hemp variety development, and the role of AOSCA-certified seed in navigating hemp's evolving federal regulatory landscape.
The episode opens with a tribute to Dr. Bob Pierce of the University of Kentucky, a pioneer in American hemp agronomy, and closes with a seven-year callback to Larry Smart's first appearance on the show in 2019, when the vision for what would become Ursa Alta was first discussed publicly. This episode is essential listening for hemp farmers, seed producers, plant breeders, fiber processors, and anyone tracking the development of industrial hemp as a certified, scalable agricultural commodity in the United States.
This week Morgan Tweet returns to the Hemp Show to talk about the Goodness of Hemp Act, a draft legislation she's confident will set the broader hemp industry on the path toward sensible regulation.
She was on the show last November, about a week after the November surprise that we now know as the McConnell language was slipped into the appropriations bill in the eleventh hour.
Tweet is the interim executive director of HEMI, the Hemp Education and Marketing Initiative. The McConnell language got everyone's attention, not only because it seemed to answer the questions around intoxicating cannabinoids once and for all, but by doing so, the bill wipes out most of the hemp cannabinoid industry, intoxicating or otherwise.
"For most folks that are in the floral cannabinoid sector," Tweet said, "this has been basically an extinction event."
The clock is ticking. November is on its way. Tweet is back with a draft piece of legislation called the Goodness of Hemp Act, a campaign and a call to build community.
Can the Goodness of Hemp save the day? Listen to the episode and find out.
Learn More The Goodness of Hemp Campaign
https://thegoodnessofhemp.org
HEMI — Hemp Education Marketing Initiatives
https://hempinitiatives.org
IND Hemp
https://indhemp.com
National Hemp Association
https://nationalhempassociation.org
Thanks to Our Sponsors Americhanvre
https://americhanvre.com
Forever Green
https://hempcutter.com
The Goodness of Hemp Act is a 2026 draft hemp legislation proposal developed by HEMI, the Hemp Education Marketing Initiatives, in coordination with stakeholders across the hemp industry including grain and fiber producers, hemp beverage companies, cannabinoid processors, and hemp farming advocates. The bill proposes a comprehensive federal regulatory framework for hemp that addresses cultivation, food products, dietary supplements, and intoxicating hemp-derived beverages under three separate federal agencies — the USDA, the FDA, and the TTB, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. The Goodness of Hemp Act has been presented to congressional staffers and reviewed by FDA as part of ongoing hemp policy negotiations ahead of a critical November 2026 legislative deadline created by the McConnell appropriations language enacted in late 2024.
The 3.7 milligram THC per serving interim limit proposed in the Goodness of Hemp Act is drawn from Johns Hopkins University research on THC impairment thresholds and is referenced in White House hemp policy discussions led by Heidi Overton, director of White House drug policy. The 3.7 mg per serving limit is designed to distinguish responsible hemp-derived consumer products from intoxicating products that the bill's authors argue should be regulated like alcohol under the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. The interim limit would defer final rulemaking to the FDA while establishing a workable and scientifically grounded starting point for Congress, hemp farmers, hemp processors, hemp beverage producers, and CBD product manufacturers navigating the post-McConnell regulatory landscape.
Morgan Tweet is the CEO of IND Hemp, a grain and fiber hemp company based in Fort Benton, Montana, and serves as interim executive director of HEMI, the Hemp Education Marketing Initiatives. Tweet has been a leading voice in hemp policy advocacy since the 2018 Farm Bill and has worked with the National Hemp Association, the Hemp Feed Coalition, and other industry organizations on hemp regulation, hemp marketing, hemp farmer support, and federal regulatory frameworks for hemp cultivation and hemp-derived products. The Goodness of Hemp Act also includes language allowing hemp seed ingredients as approved feed for companion animals and horses, a provision developed in coordination with the Hemp Feed Coalition, and directs a portion of federal excise tax revenue back into hemp farmers, hemp research, and hemp supply chain infrastructure.
The Goodness of Hemp awareness campaign is a grassroots marketing and education initiative launched by HEMI in 2026 to build public and legislative support for responsible hemp regulation ahead of the November 2026 federal deadline. The campaign is designed to educate consumers, retailers, policymakers, and agricultural stakeholders about the broad value of hemp across food, fiber, wellness, construction, animal care, and emerging product categories including hemp-derived beverages. The Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast has covered hemp policy, hemp farming, hempcrete, hemp fiber, hemp grain, hemp seed, and hemp-derived cannabinoid products since 2018, making it one of the longest-running editorial hemp podcasts in the United States. Farmers, hemp businesses, hemp advocates, and hemp consumers are encouraged to share their goodness of hemp story at thegoodnessofhemp.org.
This week on the Hemp Show we meet Sully Sullivan. He's the new executive director at the National Hemp Association — and what a time to be taking the helm of a hemp association.
So much is up in the air right now. What about the November federal deadline that will ban most hemp-derived THC products, from gummies and beverages to most full-spectrum CBD?
Yeah, it's just sort of hanging out there, flapping in the breeze.
What's going to happen? Will there be an extension? Will there be new legislation? How will all this play out?
No one knows just yet.
Sully Sullivan is aware he has his work cut out for him as the new director of the NHA.
"I feel like we're at a precipice right now, or a crossroads perhaps, where we are, as a country, getting the regulations right," he said.
He sees what he calls "fracturedness" in the industry and the cacophony of voices in the advocacy space.
"There's a lot of voices and some are saying the same thing. Some are saying different things. Some things don't match up at all," he said.
For over a decade, Sullivan has been active in hemp policy in his home state of Arizona as a leader of the Hemp Industry Trade Association of Arizona, so he's no stranger to conflict, hard conversations and compromise.
"I feel all of my work over the last 10 years is coalescing right now," he said. "Like this is what it was all for. This all has manifested for this moment. So I take it very seriously, and it's almost spiritual in a sense. I am in the right place at the right time. I'm the person to fill these shoes and help push this industry forward."
Listen to the whole show to hear what else Sully Sullivan has to say.
Learn More National Hemp Association
https://nationalhempassociation.org
Hemp Industry Trade Association of Arizona
https://www.hita-az.org/
News Nugget: 3 US House Republicans Attempt to Thwart Intoxicating Hemp Product Ban
https://www.cannabisbusinesstimes.com/hemp/news/15826349/3-us-house-republicans-attempt-to-thwart-intoxicating-hemp-product-ban
Thanks to Our Sponsors King's AgriSeeds
https://kingsagriseeds.com
IND Hemp
https://indhemp.com
Forever Green
https://hempcutter.com
This week on the Hemp Show, Claire Crunk returns. She is the founder of Trace Femcare, the worlds first hemp fiber tampon.
Her first appearance on the podcast was in 2023. Her company was just a few weeks away from their initial product launch. All they were waiting for was final approval from the FDA. She assumed then that things would be easier than they ultimately turned out to be.
On this episode we find out what happened with the FDA and how the agency's request for an additional study was a major setback for Trace.
What the FDA wanted from Trace was an exhaustive extraction study and mass spectrometry analysis, which would take 12 months and cost 150 thousand dollars.
"So that's 12 additional months of operating expenses of runway added to the company as well. So it's not just a hundred and fifty thousand dollars. It becomes, you know, four hundred thousand dollars," Crunk said.
Ultimately, the company could not overcome the burden and Trace was forced to sell its assets.
The story of Trace and Claire's battle with FDA is one of the story lines in the documentary film One Plant, which has finished production and is seeking a distribution channel now.
But when the film ends, the Trace story remains unresolved.
"But the story never actually ends. It just melts and changes," said Crunk.
"There's just been a lot of reckoning in my life and I've changed in different ways and, you know, understand now what it means to have grace through failure and to figure out what to take forward from that."
There was great interest in the company's assets among in the feminine hygiene space.
"There were these big entities that are on shelf at every retailer that you could ever go to who were very interested in picking us up and did some due diligence on it," Crunk said.
This was at the time when the new Trump administration was imposing tariffs all around the world.
"There was a lot of uncertainty in the absorbent hygiene world because it is a globalized supply chain."
A Blessing in Disguise
Because of how the sale of the assets was structured, Crunk had no say in who bought the company.
She was pleasantly surprised when 1937 International showed interest and ultimately made the acquisition.
"1937 International is a fairly new US entity that is working very diligently in a joint venture with groups in Pakistan to set up hemp fiber ecosystems in Pakistan. And you know, Pakistan is globally renowned for textile production, fiber knowledge, fiber production. Fiber agronomy," she said.
Ryan Zaczynski, co-founder of 1937 International, was a guest on the Hemp Show this past March, and his fellow co-founder Nick Furlong was featured on our episode from the Industrial Hemp International conference.
Crunk said that part of 1937 International's vision "is to have hemp fiber win across categories and across the world."
This development was more than Crunk could hope for.
"It turned it from a grief process and what felt like something being taken away from me to I am so excited to take Trace from my hands and put it in somebody else's hands because of these people," she said.
"I feel really lucky and also I feel really lucky that they want me to be along for the ride. So, you know, there's a lot of things to be thankful for."
All that and more.
Learn More Trace Femcare
traceyourtampon.com
1937 International
linkedin.com/company/1937-international-corp
One Plant (documentary)
oneplant.film
Heavy Metals in Tampons Study (Columbia / UC Berkeley)
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38964170
News Nuggets Panda Biotech and Culturewell Partner to Bring US Hemp Fibre to India's Textile Industry
hempgazette.com/news/panda-biotech-culturewell-us-hemp-fibre-india-textiles
New Low-THC Hemp Fiber Cultivar Flourishes in NYS Climate
news.cornell.edu/stories/2026/05/new-low-thc-hemp-fiber-cultivar-flourishes-nys-climate
Nepal Hemp Builder's Largest Project Yet Marks a Highly Personal 10-Year Milestone
hemptoday.net/nepal-hemp-builders-largest-project-yet-marks-a-highly-personal-10-year-milestone
Sponsors IND Hemp
indhemp.com
Forever Green / KP4 Hemp Cutter
hempcutter.com
In this episode of the Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast, host Eric Hurlock welcomes back Claire Crunk, founder of Trace Femcare, the company behind the world's first hemp fiber tampon. Claire first appeared on the show in 2023, just weeks before launch. In the years since, Trace has weathered a grueling FDA battle, a funding crisis, and ultimately a distressed sale — a story captured in the new documentary film One Plant, in which both Claire and Eric appear. This conversation picks up where the film leaves off, tracing what happened after the cameras stopped rolling.
Claire walks through the regulatory fight at the heart of Trace's story: how the FDA initially flagged cannabinoids as its only concern, then reversed course months later and demanded an exhaustive chemical extraction study and mass spectrometry analysis — a $150,000, year-long process on par with the testing required for implants and high-risk medical devices. She describes the double standard she felt when the FDA later ran its own lower-standard tampon study following a Columbia and UC Berkeley report that found heavy metals in dozens of tampon brands already on the market. The result, Claire notes, is that Trace became "the most tested tampon in history" — a product more rigorously vetted than the tampons people have used for generations.
The conversation also explores the surprising shape of Trace's earliest customer base, the role of consumer consent and transparency in period care, and Claire's personal journey through business failure, healing, and reinvention. She explains how Trace's assets were acquired by 1937 International, a US company building hemp fiber supply chains in Pakistan in partnership with Dr. Zafar Riaz, and how Trace's original vision of regionalized, traceable "farm to flow" supply chains can scale to a global stage. Listeners who heard the earlier episode with 1937 International's Ryan Zaczynski will recognize the connection.
Looking ahead, Claire describes a roadmap that extends far beyond tampons — pads, wellness products, wound care, bandages, kinesiology tape, pet products, and even hemp fiber geotextiles for construction sites. The episode also features three news nuggets covering Panda Biotech's hemp fiber partnership in India, Cornell AgriTech's new low-THC fiber cultivar Ursa Alta, and Shah Hemp Inno-Ventures' large-scale hempcrete care home project in Meerut, India. It's a wide-ranging look at hemp fiber's expanding role across textiles, medicine, construction, and sustainable manufacturing — and Claire's remarkable story of grace through failure and reinvention.
This week on the show we talk with Ken Meyer of Complete Hemp Processing in Winfred, South Dakota. As of last week, Meyer is also a co-founder of Renewabuild Great Plains — the first U.S.-licensed manufacturer of structural hempcrete blocks.
We've been telling the story of these structural blocks for a long time on the podcast. We first encountered them back in 2019 — they look like giant Lego blocks and work much the same way — at the Pennsylvania Farm Show, where the Pennsylvania Hemp Industry Council had them on display.
Back then, the blocks were made by a Canadian company called Just BioFiber in Alberta. Today, the technology is licensed and administered by another Canadian company, Renewabuild Field to Form, which has made improvements to the original design of the block.
The structural hemp blocks differ from traditional hempcrete construction because their internal frame makes them load-bearing in a way that spray-applied or cast-in-place hempcrete cannot offer.
"It has a frame inside it. It's a glass-filled biocarbonate frame ... and then the hempcrete is pressed around it," Meyer said. "And that frame provides a structure in the wall. So that makes the block a structural block, and the block itself in a wall system replaces the sheet rock, the insulation and the timber."
The story of the blocks continues now, as the first U.S. company prepares to manufacture them at a plant in Rock Valley, Iowa.
"At Complete Hemp Processing in Winfred, South Dakota, we decorticate hemp stocks. And we need a place to sell the hemp hurd. And our farmers need us to have a place to sell hemp hurd so they can put hemp in rotation with corn and soybeans," he said.
This is how an industry scales. Dedicated, passionate people working tirelessly to build a supply chain.
Learn More Renewabuild Great Plains
Complete Hemp Processing
Dakota Hemp
South Dakota Industrial Hemp Association
Renewabuild Field to Form
The Harmless Home
Sponsors HEMI - The Hemp Education and Marketing Inititive
hempinitiatives.org
Forever Green
hempcutter.com
The Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast returns this week with an interview featuring Ken Meyer, owner of Complete Hemp Processing in Winfred, South Dakota, and one of three co-founders of Renewabuild Great Plains — the first U.S.-licensed manufacturer of structural hempcrete blocks. Host Eric Hurlock sits down with Meyer to discuss the new hempcrete block factory being built in Rock Valley, Iowa, the long journey of the structural hemp block from Canada to the United States, and what this milestone means for the American industrial hemp industry, hempcrete construction, and the future of sustainable building materials.
Renewabuild Great Plains is the first U.S. company to license the structural hempcrete block technology developed by Just BioFiber of Alberta, Canada, and now administered by Renewabuild Field to Form. Unlike traditional hempcrete construction methods — including spray-applied hempcrete and cast-in-place hempcrete — the Renewabuild block features an internal glass-filled biocarbonate frame, making it a load-bearing structural wall component. A single block replaces sheetrock, insulation, and timber framing in one product, offering builders, architects, and engineers a scalable, lower-carbon alternative to conventional wall systems with improved fire resistance, durability, and building-envelope performance.
The new Rock Valley, Iowa hempcrete block factory is scheduled to receive its equipment in December 2026 or January 2027, with the capacity to produce two blocks a minute, more than 900,000 structural hempcrete blocks per year running three shifts. At full production, the facility will manufacture enough wall material for roughly 500 perimeter walls of 2,000-square-foot homes annually. The factory's entire production equipment fits inside two shipping containers, making the model regionally scalable across the United States — a key part of Renewabuild's strategy to support local farmers, local hemp processors, and local hempcrete construction supply chains. Meyer is joined as co-founder by John Peterson of Dakota Hemp and Bill Brehmer of Renewabuild Great Plains, alongside a group of Iowa farmers who have invested in the project.
This episode of the Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast also revisits archival audio from January 2019, when Pennsylvania hemp historian Les Stark first introduced the Just BioFiber structural hempcrete block at the Pennsylvania Farm Show, alongside the original podcast interview with Just BioFiber co-founder Michael D. Champlain. Listeners will also hear from David Geertz of Renewabuild, recorded at the International Hemp Building Symposium at Kansayapi in Minnesota. Plus, host Eric Hurlock follows up on last week's interview with Pennsylvania farmer Steve Groff with a statement from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture regarding agricultural innovation grant reimbursements. Subscribe to the Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast for in-depth coverage of industrial hemp, hemp farming, hempcrete construction, hemp processing, and the people building the American hemp supply chain.
HOLTWOOD, Pa. — This week on the Hemp Podcast we take a short road trip to southern Lancaster County to catch up with farmer Steve Groff.
"What we're looking at here, Eric, is a metaphor for the hemp industry. We're looking broken promises and contracts that didn't come to be," Groff said, leaning against a stack of round bales of hemp at his farm in Holtwood.
Twelve hundred round bales. Four bales wide. Three bales high. It extends into the field for about two tenths of a mile. It's covered in black tarps and you can see it from the road.
You can probably see it from space too.
Steve Groff's Great Wall of Hemp.
This is his 2025 hemp crop, roughly 80 acres of fiber hemp, cut and baled last fall.
His 2024 crop of 60 acres sits in silage bags, on the north side of the Great Wall like sleeping giants.
"You know, you add it all up, it's a million, little over a million pounds," Groff said.
And so the hemp sits.
Waiting for the processing infrastructure to be built in Pennsylvania.
Meanwhile, one of the silage bags was torn open by some birds, so Groff is using the hemp from that bag as mulch for his tomato operation.
"I grow heirloom tomatoes in high tunnels, I have over 12,000 tomato plants, it's like, well, let's use up some of this hemp mulch here."
Hemp makes a great mulch, but certainly there are better uses for a million pounds of Pennsylvania-grown fiber hemp than mulch. Denim. Houses. Paper.
8 years after the 2018 Farm Bill and we're still talking about building processing infrastructure, instead of manufacturing products.
But Groff is an optimist with an eye on the future.
"I still believe in the plant and hemp and what it can do. And it looks like for the fiber and grain guys, it looks we might have a decent Farm Bill coming along here."
Learn More * Steve Groff * Pennsylvania Flax Project * PA Department of Agriculture Agricultural Innovation Grant * Rodale Institute — Mulching Guide
News Nuggets * Farm bill draft eases some rules, imposes others on hemp fiber and grain, squeezes CBD * House Approves Farm Bill Without Controversial Pesticide Rules * Republicans Raise Objections to Pennsylvania's Ag Innovation Fund
Sponsors * IND Hemp * Americhanvre * Forever Green
A field visit with Lancaster County hemp farmer Steve Groff at Cedar Meadow Farm, where more than a million pounds of unsold hemp fiber, a four-acre seed treatment trial, and a four-inch precision planter under construction tell the story of an industry waiting on infrastructure that hasn't arrived.
This episode of the Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast features a field visit with Lancaster County hemp farmer and innovator Steve Groff at Cedar Meadow Farm in Holtwood, Pennsylvania. The conversation centers on more than a million pounds of unsold hemp fiber stacked along the farm lane — what Groff calls a metaphor for the broken promises and stalled contracts that have defined the U.S. industrial hemp industry in recent years. Across the road, blueprints for a 16,000-square-foot processing facility sit fully permitted, awaiting funding that hasn't materialized.
The visit walks through a four-acre research plot where Groff is testing five biological seed treatments against a control, replicated four times, with 2,000 colored flags tracking individual hemp seedlings from emergence to harvest. The experiment targets a long-standing mystery in industrial hemp agronomy: the gap between expected and harvested plant populations, sometimes called phantom yield loss. The episode also covers Groff's heirloom tomato operation, where unsold hemp from the 2024 crop is being used as mulch on more than 12,000 plants under high tunnels.
Additional topics include a four-inch precision hemp planter under construction with farmer-inventor Charlie Martin, designed to singulate seeds and produce uniform stands at a row spacing already standard in China and Europe but rare in the United States. The project came out of a Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture innovation grant. The episode also visits 30 acres of flax — Groff's first cash crop foray as part of the Pennsylvania Flax Project — and provides an update on the Green Decorticator, which has reached the CAD-drawing stage and is headed for commercial testing this summer, targeting plant-length long fiber for high-end textile markets.
The episode opens with a cold open from the host's backyard garden in southeastern Pennsylvania, where a truckload of hemp mulch from Groff's farm sets up the show's central question: why is a million pounds of hemp fiber being spread on tomato beds instead of woven into denim, processed into cardboard, or manufactured into bioplastics? A news segment covers the U.S. House passage of the 2026 Farm Bill, which formally separates industrial hemp from cannabinoid hemp and tightens regulation on intoxicating products, with the Senate version still pending.
This week on the Hemp Show, we talk to Kehrt Reyher, CEO and publisher of HempToday, a leading source of global hemp news.
An American expat from Indiana who has lived in Poland for more than 30 years, Reyher cut his teeth in journalism at U.S. newspapers like the Providence Journal and USA Today before moving overseas and launching a successful media company in Warsaw.
Since founding HempToday in 2015, he has become a trusted voice covering industrial hemp policy, international markets, CBD regulation and the ongoing fight to define what "true hemp" really means.
In this episode, we dig into the Lawful Hemp Protection Act introduced by Kentucky congressman Andy Barr, the future of CBD regulation in both the U.S. and Europe and why intoxicating hemp products have done lasting damage to the broader hemp industry.
We discuss Poland's Institute of Natural Fibers and Medicinal Plants, the upcoming European Industrial Hemp Association conference in Poznań, Australia and New Zealand's more practical hemp policies, hemp construction materials, micro-decorticators and why hemp must find its place inside larger natural fiber and biobased building markets.
As Kehrt puts it: true hemp is about fiber, food, and real industrial systems — not gas-station gummies.
This episode is a wide-ranging conversation about journalism, policy, construction, agriculture and the long unfinished work of building a real hemp economy.
Learn More HempToday
hemptoday.net
European Industrial Hemp Association Conference
eiha-conference.org
Institute of Natural Fibers and Medicinal Plants
iwnirz.pl
News Nuggets Draft bill in U.S. would wipe out intoxicants, rescue CBD, but what about 'true hemp'?
hemptoday.net/draft-bill-in-u-s-would-wipe-out-intoxicants-rescue-cbd-but-what-about-true-hemp
Sponsor Links IND HEMP
indhemp.com
King's Agriseeds
kingsagriseeds.com
Robot Food:
In this episode of the Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast, host Eric Hurlock sits down with Kehrt Reyher, publisher of HempToday and a longtime journalist covering the global industrial hemp industry. An American expat living in Poland for more than 30 years, Kehrt brings decades of experience from U.S. newspapers like the Providence Journal, Detroit News, and USA Today, along with deep international knowledge of hemp policy, CBD regulation, and industrial hemp supply chains across Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States.
The conversation focuses on the growing divide between "true hemp" and the intoxicating hemp market. Eric and Kehrt discuss the Lawful Hemp Protection Act introduced by Kentucky Congressman Andy Barr, which aims to regulate synthetic intoxicating hemp products while preserving a legal path for wellness CBD. They examine how gas-station THC products and unregulated intoxicants have damaged the hemp brand and distracted policymakers from the original promise of the 2018 Farm Bill: building markets for hemp fiber, hemp grain, animal feed, and industrial hemp processing infrastructure.
Kehrt explains why he defines true hemp as the stalk and the seed—fiber, food, and industrial applications rather than cannabinoids alone. The episode explores the future of hemp construction materials, hempcrete, prefab building systems, and hemp-based bricks, along with broader conversations about biobased building materials and sustainable agriculture. They also discuss small-scale decortication systems, modular hemp processing, and why industrial hemp must compete within the larger natural fiber economy alongside flax, jute, and other bast fibers.
The episode also highlights the upcoming European Industrial Hemp Association conference in Poznań, Poland, hosted at the historic Institute of Natural Fibers and Medicinal Plants. Kehrt shares why he believes Australia and New Zealand are currently leading the world in sensible hemp policy and why Europe continues to offer stronger support for bio-based materials and industrial hemp development. This is a wide-ranging conversation about journalism, regulation, sustainability, and the long-term future of industrial hemp as a serious agricultural and manufacturing sector.
This week on the Hemp Show we talk to Maciej Kowalski, founder and CEO of Kombinat Konopni, a hemp company in Northern Poland.
We hear how he built a vertically integrated company — from planting, harvesting, processing, all the way to manufacturing finished goods — and why he would rather control the system rather than rely on supply chains that don't fully exist.
"Everyone is saying about the need to build a supply chain. Yeah, that's one approach. The other is be your own supply chain," Kowaski said.
His pragmatism is often guided by a healthy skepticism.
"If you have a dozen intermediaries between you and the manufacturer of raw materials, there is a geometrically raising probability of someone in this chain being not honest."
We talk about his farming practices and why his farmers do not need anything more than a rake and a baler to harvest the hemp stalks, because they practice "winter retting" where the hemp is left standing throughout the winter.
By spring the stalks are brittle enough they can be knocked down and windrowed with a standard rake and then baled like any other crop.
"Just leave the plants throughout the winter in the field — they're just going to separate on their own. If it sounds magical, it's because it is." Kowalski said.
How does this affect the finished fiber in terms of strength and durability?
He said winter retted hemp is slightly over-retted, so it is weaker but softer, which to Kowalski is a feature not a bug.
"The biggest difficulty of introducing or reintroducing hemp as an apparel grade textile is its stiffness. So if you make it slightly weaker, but softer at the same time — that's good."
We also talk about his company's recent listing on the Warsaw Stock Exchange — and why it wasn't about raising money.
"We made a promise to our investors, six, five, four years ago when we were raising money, that one day you will be able to buy or sell those shares on a stock exchange," he said.
"So even if I am not having anything out of it right now, it's like an essential part of keeping your word, which has two parts of it. One is just being a decent man. And the other part is being a businessperson and keeping your promises is good for business long term."
Learn More kombinatkonopny.pl
Maciej Kowalski on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/maciejkowalskihemp/
News Nuggets U.S. judge lets Medicare hemp pilot program proceed as critics escalate opposition
hemptoday.net/u-s-judge-lets-medicare-hemp-pilot-program-proceed-as-critics-escalate-opposition
USDA National Hemp Report (April 16, 2026)
https://www.lancasterfarming.com/usda-hempreport2026-pdf/pdf_0d5fa8a7-4e7a-4150-87cd-af77968557a1.html
NHA + HEMI Leadership Announcement
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/04/21/3277845/0/en/national-hemp-association-and-hemp-education-and-marketing-initiative-announce-leadership-appointments-and-national-initiative-to-advance-u-s-hemp-industry.html
NIHC USDA Export Funding Announcement
nihcoa.com/national-industrial-hemp-council-secures-usda-award-to-expand-global-market-opportunities-for-u-s-hemp
Sponsors IND HEMP
indhemp.com
Forever Green
hempcutter.com
This episode of the Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast features a long-form interview with Maciej Kowalski, founder of Kombinat Konopny, a vertically integrated hemp company based near Elbląg, Poland. The conversation explores industrial hemp supply chains, fiber processing, textile manufacturing, and cannabinoid product development within a single operational system.
Kowalski describes a "seed to shelf" model in which hemp is grown, processed, decorticated, cottonized, spun into yarn, and manufactured into finished goods such as socks, garments, and home textiles. The discussion highlights the challenges of building hemp infrastructure in emerging markets and the limitations of fragmented supply chains in the global hemp industry.
The episode also examines winter retting, a low-input fiber processing method that relies on natural field exposure over winter months to break down plant material. Kowalski explains how this approach reduces capital requirements, simplifies harvesting through "rake and bale" systems, and produces fiber suitable for textile applications.
Additional topics include the Warsaw Stock Exchange listing of Kombinat Konopny, the economics of hemp textiles versus synthetic fibers like polyester, and the broader role of industrial hemp in global agriculture, manufacturing, and sustainable materials markets.
This week on the Hemp Show, we're talking to the guys from Dakota Hemp in Wakonda, South Dakota.
John Peterson and Karll Lecher are running a HempTrain decortication system, taking in bales from local farmers and turning them into fiber and hurd. We get into how the facility works, what they're producing, and what it takes to actually run a processing plant in the Midwest.
We talk about how they brought farmers in, what those early meetings looked like, and how the conversation has shifted over time — from skepticism to real agronomic questions. Once farmers got over the novelty of hemp, they started asking questions about row spacing, fertility, yields, etc. Then suddenly it started to look like farming.
We also talk about where the processed hemp is going right now — animal bedding, early fiber markets — and what still needs to be built downstream to make this thing work at scale.
Plus, a quick look at how U.S.-grown hemp fiber is moving into global textile systems, and why new processing capacity is coming online even in places where acreage is still small.
Learn More: Dakota Hemp
dakotahemp.com
South Dakota Industrial Hemp Association
sd-hemp.com
Horizon Specialty Seeds
horizonhempseeds.com
HempAgra
hempagra.com
Complete Hemp Processing
completehempprocessing.com/
Canadian Greenfield Technologies HempTrain
canadiangreenfield.com/hemptrain
News Nuggets IND Hemp partnership with Summit International Trading and Thien Phuoc
Functional Fabric Fair Portland
$1 million federal loan supports Iowa hemp processor as state production remains limited
Thanks to Our Sponsors! IND Hemp
indhemp.com
Forever Green / KP4 Hemp Cutter
hempcutter.com
On this week's hemp show, we talk to a couple of hemp policy advocates who recently traveled to the swamps of D.C. in hopes of affecting change.
This week we're joined by Geoff Whaling, chair of the National Hemp Association, and Andrew Bish, president of the Hemp Feed Coalition. Together they represent HEMI — the Hemp Education and Marketing Initiative — which recently released its "Pushing Progress" framework, an industry-led effort to bring some structure to federal hemp policy.
The Pushing Progress framework attempts to do several things — not the least of which is to impose order on an industry that's been a swirl of chaos since its inception.
First, clear lanes must be established. Fiber and grain over here, cannabinoids over there — with their own rules.
Next, make it easier for agriculture to adopt this crop by removing regulatory tensions and creating real access to markets — so a farmer can plant hemp with some confidence about where it's going and how it's going to get paid.
As Bish puts it, "We're coming at it from the industrial aspect, trying to figure out how we make sure that we have farmers that can successfully grow industrial hemp products and that hemp products can be in the marketplace without a tremendous amount of restriction."
Then, put some guardrails around the cannabinoid side. Not to shut it down, but to bring it out of this gray area where anything goes and everything gets called hemp.
And maybe most importantly, get the federal agencies on the same page — USDA, FDA, the whole alphabet — so we're not dealing with this split-screen reality where one arm of government tolerates something and another one ignores it.
Because right now, we don't have a system. We have fragments.
And what they're trying to do — whether you agree with every piece of it or not — is build something that actually functions like an industry.
And part of that — this is important — is money.
They're asking for roughly $600 million in federal funding to help stand up the infrastructure this industry still doesn't have — processing, research, supply chains.
That's a lot of money.
But their argument is pretty straightforward: Every major crop we take for granted today had decades of public investment behind it. Hemp didn't.
So if hemp is going to become a real agricultural commodity — not just an idea — we have to decide whether we're willing to build it, or just keep talking about it.
Plus, we've got a handful of news nuggets this week, including a slightly head-scratching, maybe-kind-of-important move from the FDA on CBD and a letter from seed guy Terry Moran, who read my Argentina episode and basically said, "Hold on a second…" and brought the whole conversation back down to earth.
Listen up, y'all.
Learn More National Hemp Association
nationalhempassociation.org
Hemp Feed Coalition
hempfeedcoalition.org
Pushing Progress Framework (PDF)
https://www.lancasterfarming.com/farming-news/hemp/pushing-progress-framework/pdf_b36257bd-ea94-4edf-b0c4-7bf88272f557.html
News Nuggets FDA MEMO: Hemp-Derived Cannabidiol Products in Medical Research Models
https://www.lancasterfarming.com/fda-decision-memo-cbd-enforcement-discretion-memo-04012026-pdf/pdf_cf01bcc8-7753-4fc8-970c-52bcdfe807af.html
HempToday: Anti-cannabis groups sue over U.S. plan allowing hemp products in healthcare programs
hemptoday.net/anti-cannabis-groups-sue-over-u-s-plan-allowing-hemp-products-in-healthcare-programs/
HempToday: Polish hemp textile maker draws heavy demand in public offering on Warsaw exchange
hemptoday.net/polish-hemp-textile-maker-draws-heavy-demand-in-public-offering-on-warsaw-exchange/
Thanks to our Sponsors IND Hemp
indhemp.com
Americhanvre
Americhanvre.com
On this week's hemp show we're headed out to Colorado for the Industrial Hemp International Conference where hempsters from all across the value chain gathered to share ideas, make deals and be in community with one another.
As a hemp podcaster, I had the unique opportunity to work in community with a couple of storytellers while I was there — Blaire Johnson and Jordan Berger — two independent filmmakers who teamed up for this special event.
And what you'll hear on this episode is the result of that collaboration.
First we talk about their respective work — including Berger's long awaited documentary film One Plant, which will premier this spring.
Then we hear an audio essay — a sound collage of voices from the industry, including Winona LaDuke, Nick Furlong, Micaela Machado, Jeremy Klettke, Morris Beegle and more.
This is a critical time not only for the hemp industry but for the world. As Winona LaDuke puts it, "You have a choice between a scorched path and a green path."
The people building the hemp industry are choosing the green path, but it takes longer than you might think. Hemp industry veteran Joe Hickey compares it to a dance, "two step forward and then one step back."
1937 International's Nick Furlong brings new energy to the dance of hemp this year. Furlong is a multi-platinum songwriter and producer whose work spans global hits and major-label rock records. He said he has been bitten by the "hemp bug" and has focused his energy on building out the supply chain and developing opportunities for business.
He said he wants to help shape the story of hemp so it intersects with pop culture — and intersects with culture in general.
We also hear from Larry Serbin from Pure Fiber Innovations who talks about his much anticipated green decorticator, which he says will increase farmer's per acre income on hemp.
"Currently they're earning about $800 per acre. With our machine, they're going to earn about $2,000 per acre," said Serbin.
Listen to the whole show for maximum goodness.
This episode features the reporting work of Blaire Johnson and Jordan Berger.
Learn More One Plant
oneplant.film
Industrial Hemp International Conference
industrialhempinternational.com
Blaire Johnson
blairejohnson.com
Sunflower Films (Jordan Berger)
sunflower.film
Old Pueblo Hemp Co.
oldpueblohemp.com
1937 International
1937international.com
Pure Fiber Innovations
purefiberinnovations.com
Sponsors IND Hemp
indhemp.com
King's Agriseeds
kingsagriseeds.com
Forever Green (KP4 Hemp Cutter)
hempcutter.com
This episode of the Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast features an on-the-ground audio collage from the Industrial Hemp International Conference (IHI) in Aurora, Colorado, bringing together voices from across the global hemp industry. Through interviews with farmers, builders, supply chain developers, and advocates, the episode explores the current state of industrial hemp, with a focus on fiber, grain, construction materials, and scalable infrastructure.
Key themes include the challenge of building reliable supply chains, the need for processing infrastructure such as decortication, and the importance of aligning farmers, manufacturers, and markets. Speakers discuss innovations in hemp-based construction, textile production, and biocomposites, alongside emerging global supply chain efforts in regions like Pakistan. The episode highlights both optimism and realism, with industry leaders acknowledging slow but steady progress.
The episode also emphasizes the role of storytelling and collaboration in advancing the hemp industry. Filmmakers Blaire Johnson and Jordan Berger contributed field interviews and visual documentation as part of their broader documentary project, One Plant. Their work captures the cultural and economic momentum behind hemp as a regenerative agricultural commodity and industrial material.
Overall, the episode positions industrial hemp as a critical component of future sustainable materials systems, with applications in housing, textiles, and manufacturing. It underscores the need for policy clarity, investment in infrastructure, and coordinated industry efforts to move hemp from niche crop to mainstream agricultural and industrial commodity.
We've been covering industrial hemp on the podcast for eight years now, and the story of farmers getting bad seed is so common it barely feels like news anymore. It's just accepted — low germination rates, inconsistent genetics and fields that never quite come in the way they should.
But this is not OK. This is not how you grow an industry. If hemp is going to scale as a commodity crop, then it must behave like one and right now, it doesn't.
So when I was invited to Argentina to see a company building the SOPs for large-scale seed multiplication alongside one of the world's top hemp geneticists—working in the same regions where companies like Syngenta and Bayer produce their seed, alongside one of the world's top hemp geneticists — I went. This is an effort to solve the problem at its root.
And it's happening in a place with a much deeper story than we expected. Because once you start to understand what was built there before, the future of hemp starts to look very different.
See Photos From Eric Hurlock's Trip to Argentina https://www.lancasterfarming.com/hemp-podcast-cries-for-me-argentina-photos/collection_4268a512-f387-4542-9c6c-09adf37df93f.html
Learn More Ananda Pampa
anandapampa.com
Davis Hemp Farms
davishempfarms.com/about/
Parque Steverlynck
https://parquesteverlynck.com.ar/
Thanks to Our Sponsors! Commonwealth Denim
commonwealthdenim.com
Tuscarora Mills
tuscaroramills.com
Canna Markets Group
cannamarketsgroup.com
This week on the Hemp Show, we talk with Ryan Zaczynski, co-founder of 1937 International, a company working to build global supply chains for industrial hemp.
In this episode, Zaczynski talks about what it takes to move hemp beyond niche markets and into real products that people use every day — by building supply chains that connect farms, textile mills and manufacturers around the world.
At the center of that effort is Pakistan, where 1937 International is working in partnership with Dr. Zafar Riaz and his team to develop hemp production and tap into one of the world's largest textile economies.
We also talk about the upcoming Industrial Hemp International Conference in Denver, where 1937 International is the lead sponsor and what it means to bring new partners, new materials and new supply chains into the hemp industry.
Learn More 1937 International
linkedin.com/company/1937-international-corp
Industrial Hemp International Conference
industrialhempinternational.com
News Nuggets U.S. Farm Bill revisions would modestly reshape rules for fiber and grain growers
hemptoday.net/u-s-farm-bill-revisions-would-modestly-reshape-rules-for-fiber-and-grain-growers/
UK grant backs development of hemp varieties tailored for British farming
hemptoday.net/uk-grant-backs-development-of-hemp-varieties-tailored-for-british-farming/
Sponsors IND Hemp
indhemp.com
Forever Green
hempcutter.com
Industrial hemp has been developing quietly in New Zealand for more than two decades.
In this episode, we're talking with Richard Barge, treasurer of the New Zealand Hemp Industries Association, about how the sector has evolved — from early government trials in the early 2000s to a growing network of farmers, seed processors, fiber decortication facilities and researchers exploring hemp's role in the bio-economy.
Barge explains how New Zealand's hemp industry has taken a deliberate approach to growth, scaling carefully as markets develop rather than chasing acreage without demand. The conversation explores the country's regulatory framework, including the long-standing Industrial Hemp Regulations under the Misuse of Drugs Act and the policy changes now underway that could allow farmers to grow industrial hemp without a license.
Other topics discussed:
• Hemp seed foods and New Zealand's export-oriented agriculture
• The emergence of fiber processing and hempcrete construction
• Challenges around feeding hemp by-products to livestock
• The role of research institutions and universities in developing new hemp materials
• Opportunities for international collaboration and seed production across hemispheres
Barge also describes the current supply chain in New Zealand, including seed processing, decortication capacity and companies working to introduce hemp into textiles, building materials and consumer products.
Learn More: New Zealand Hemp Industries Association
https://www.linkedin.com/company/nzhia/
Midlands Seed
HempNZ
Hemp Central
Hemp Connect
Kathmandu
Zespri
Oregon State University Global Hemp Innovation Center
Hemp Today
Thanks to Our Sponsors! IND Hemp
Americhanvre Cast Hemp
Long before we talked about hemp as a commodity crop with profound industrial potential, hemp was something simpler: a plant grown in soil, worked by human hands and shaped into useful things.
This week on the Hemp Show our guest is Laura Sullivan — hemp farmer, Extension educator at the University of Vermont and fiber artist whose work explores hemp not as a commodity but as a material with cultural and ecological meaning.
Laura recently completed her Master of Fine Arts, using hemp fiber grown on the research farm to create garments and installations that blur the boundary between agriculture and art.
"I've been working in science for over five years now and I have seen a lot of really great data come out that has changed absolutely nothing about how we operate in our world where we have so many solutions at our fingertips and yet no way to implement them," Sullivan said.
"So I thought that art could reach people in a way that white papers and data and graphs and science don't always seem to."
In one of Sullivan's pieces, hemp garments embedded with seeds were watered until they sprouted, making visible the idea that clothing, like food, begins in the field. Sullivan notes that synthetic fiber now dominates the global textile system, and that most of it originates not from farms but from fossil fuels.
"Synthetic fiber currently makes up about 70% of textiles globally," she said. "Synthetic fiber is any fiber that is made of plastic, which is derived from oil. Alternatively, we have this other group of fibers — derived from the soil… and to the soil they can return."
Her work also draws on mythology, ancestry and traditional fiber practices, using hemp and wool to create large-scale symbolic pieces that connect ancient textile traditions with modern agricultural realities.
Plus, News Nuggets and a very special visit from everyone's favorite Kentucky hemp flooring guy, Greg Wilson, who looks at hemp like this: "You gotta grow it, you gotta make it and you gotta sell it. And I look at our business model and I always say, if you've got two hands, you can't carry three buckets."
See Laura's Work: https://www.lancasterfarming.com/view-photos-of-laura-sullivans-hemp-fiber-fashion-collection/collection_67508afa-178d-4d69-845b-3cc412aec702.html Learn More University of Vermont Extension Hemp Program www.uvm.edu/extension/nwcrops/hemp
Vermont College of Fine Arts https://vcfa.edu/
News Nuggets European hemp stalwart HempFlax Group is departing Romania after historic 14-year run https://hemptoday.net/european-hemp-stalwart-hempflax-group-is-departing-romania-after-historic-14-year-run/
Sask Polytechnic and EnviroWay develop biodegradable plastics from hemp and flax fiber waste https://www.packaginginsights.com/news/sask-polytech-enviroway-biodegradable-plastics.html
Time for a little home hemp? https://www.echo.net.au/2026/02/time-for-a-little-home-hemp/
Sponsors HEMI www.hempinitiatives.org/
King's Agriseeds https://kingsagriseeds.com/
Forever Green Equipment – KP4 Hemp Cutter https://hempcutter.com/
HempWood https://hempwood.com/
On this week's Hemp Podcast, we talk to August Cook, Joseph Carringer and Dave Cook of Commonwealth Denim and Tuscarora Mills about their effort to weave, cut and sew 100% hemp selvedge jeans in Pennsylvania — and what it will take to rebuild a regional textile supply chain from farm to finished garment.
Pennsylvania has a long history with textiles, from homespun hemp and linen in colonial times to the grandeur of Philadelphia's textile mills in the early 20th century. But by the end of the 20th century, the industry had pretty much collapsed, held together by specialty manufacturers and legacy family businesses.
Now, there is new hope on the horizon. Commonwealth Denim is weaving, cutting and sewing 100% hemp selvedge jeans in Pennsylvania while working to rebuild a fully Pennsylvania-based textile supply chain.
Learn More: Commonwealth Denim pre-orders and company information:
https://commonwealthdenim.com/
Tuscarora Mills heritage textile weaving in York County, Pennsylvania:
https://tuscaroramills.com/
News Nuggets Dutch hemp fiber variety Carmanecta approved for EU catalog
hemptoday.net/newly-listed-dutch-variety-shows-potential-to-challenge-europes-fiber-hemp-incumbents/
European Food Safety Authority sets restrictive daily intake level for CBD
hemptoday.net/european-food-safety-panel-sets-ultra-low-daily-limit-for-cbd-tightening-approvals/
Australia's first dedicated hemp masonry hub opens in Nimbin
arr.news/2026/02/18/australias-first-one-stop-hemp-masonry-hub/
Daily Inter Lake reporting on the Benton hemp work shirt and domestic textile supply chain
dailyinterlake.com/news/2026/feb/22/american-made-hemp-shirt-experiment-two-montana-companies-led-creation-of-a-domestically-made-shirt-from-hemp/
Thanks to our Sponsor
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
This week on the Hemp Show, we widen the lens. Hemp is more than a crop — it's part of a larger material system that connects farms, forests, manufacturers, builders and cities.
Architect and urban researcher Kaja Kühl joins the podcast to explain why she calls hemp and straw "indicator species" — materials that signal the health of a regional building ecosystem. Through her Bio-Based Materials & Construction Resources Map, she has been documenting the farms, processors and builders already working across the Northeast.
In this conversation, we explore what it would take to scale regenerative construction from rural landscapes into dense urban markets — and why regional supply chains may matter more than centralized industrial models.
We discuss:
• Hempcrete as a carbon-storing wall system
• Why moisture regulation and indoor air quality may be hemp's most overlooked strengths
• Straw panel manufacturing and collaborative scaling models
• The advantages — and challenges — of building in a dense Northeastern region
• Housing as long-term carbon storage infrastructure
Kühl also reflects on building two carbon-zero hemp homes in New York's Hudson Valley and what she learned working alongside early-stage material startups.
As federal climate policy shifts, atmospheric carbon does not. If emissions oversight weakens, land-based carbon strategies — including fiber crops like hemp — only grow more consequential.
This episode situates hemp inside a broader conversation about how we build, where materials come from and how regional economies can store carbon in the walls around us.
News Nuggets Farm Bill / Hemp Language
U.S. House Agriculture Committee – Farm, Food and National Security Act of 2026 (Draft Bill Information)
National Hemp Association – Industry Response & Policy Updates
USDA Hemp Production Program
EPA Endangerment Finding
EPA 2009 Endangerment Finding (Clean Air Act)
Clean Air Act Overview (EPA)
Learn More You Are the City – Kaja Kühl's Practice
Bio-Based Materials & Construction Resources Map
City College of New York – Architecture
Columbia University GSAPP
Bio-Based Materials Collective
https://biobasedcollective.org
Thanks to our Sponsor
IND HEMP
This week on the Hemp Podcast, we have a long conversation about hemp-derived intoxicating cannabinoids with Chris Fontes, president of the U.S. Hemp Authority and founder of Trojan Horse Cannabis and High Spirits Beverages.
Trojan Horse Cannabis was the first company to bring so-called intoxicating hemp derivatives to market, changing the hemp space forever.
For decades, hemp advocates said hemp was different from marijuana because hemp couldn't get you high.
But the 2018 Farm Bill created the perfect conditions for the birth of a whole new chapter in the story of hemp.
Fontes said when he read the hemp language in the 2018 Farm Bill, "My first thought was: We have uncontrolled THC. There is now a version of THC that is not controlled. Something could be done with this."
THC is the chemical compound produced in the cannabis flower known for its psychoactive properties.
Applying basic principles of math, Fontes realized that this legal THC "can be put into a product at a 10 milligram standard dose and could be shipped through the mail to anyone in the country at the time as there was no state by state blocking and interstate transport was explicitly protected," he said.
Thus, the intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoid market was born.
And that's where this conversation gets interesting.
This isn't your typical fiber and grain hemp discussion. But if you want to understand why lawmakers are reacting, why definitions are shifting, and why the word hemp feels contested right now — you have to understand where this market came from.
That's what we have in store for you in this episode. Enjoy.
Learn More High Spirits Beverages
drinkhighspirits.com
U.S. Hemp Authority
ushempauthority.org
USDA Hemp Overview
usda.gov/farming-and-ranching/plants-and-crops/plant-breeding/hemp
HEMP Act of 2025 (Bill Text)
congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/2112/text
Hemp Planting Predictability Act (Bill Text)
congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/7024/text
CRS Report: The 2018 Farm Bill's Hemp Definition and Legal Framework
congress.gov/crs-product/R48637
News Nuggets Italy's Industrial Hemp Seed Lines Surpass EU Germination Standards
hemptoday.net/leading-italian-hemp-varieties-post-2025-germination-bounceback-after-years-of-doubts/
Hemp and Marijuana Are the Same Species — So Why the Different Laws?
lpm.org/news/2026-02-03/hemp-and-marijuana-are-the-same-species-so-why-all-the-different-laws
Federal Hemp Definition Shift Could Impact Fiber and Grain Markets
rfdtv.com/hemp-definition-shift-threatens-fiber-and-grain-expansion
Washington Still Hasn't Decided What CBD Is
hemptoday.net/washington-still-hasnt-decided-what-cbd-is-as-markets-linger-in-legal-uncertainty/
Thanks to our Sponsors IND Hemp
indhemp.com
Americhanvre Cast Hemp
americhanvre.com
This week on the Industrial Hemp Podcast, host Eric Hurlock is joined by Lancaster Farming staff reporter Dan Sullivan to talk about one Pennsylvania farmer's decision that's captured national attention.
Farmer Mervin Raudabaugh Jr. turned down millions of dollars in development money to preserve his Cumberland County farm for future generations.
Sullivan explains how he found the story, why it resonated with people in and out of agriculture and what it says about the challenges farmers face regarding preserving their land.
From there the show turns to upcoming events for the hemp community in the next few months, with a focus on education and connection.
Listeners hear from Maylin Murdoch about Cornell's 2026 hemp webinar series that will be focused on how hemp is measured and evaluated in the field and in the lab.
Andrew Bish, president of the Hemp Feed Coalition, joins us to talk about a monthly webinar series that highlights research into hemp as an animal feed ingredient.
Fiber artist, hemp farmer and extension educator Laura Sullivan gives us a preview of a four-week online short course at the University of Vermont that will be focused on growing fiber hemp for textiles and building materials.
The webinar series are free. See registration links below.
And finally, we talk hemp with Morris Beegle, who introduces Industrial Hemp International, a new Denver-based conference that has evolved from the former NoCo Hemp Expo. The new show has an emphasis on fiber, grain and international supply chains.
Learn More Dan Sullivan's story — Data center developers offered farmer $60k per acre; He preserved the land instead
lancasterfarming.com/farming-news/conservation/data-center-developers-offered-farmer-60k-per-acre-he-preserved-the-land-instead/article_a4c0fc64-53ca-45cf-9f3e-d323515b2555.html
Cornell Hemp Webinar Series
January 28 – May 6, 2026 | Every other Wednesday (1–2 p.m. ET). A free, biweekly webinar series from Cornell AgriTech focused on how hemp is measured — from field data and lab standards to fiber testing, post-harvest practices, and life-cycle assessment.
hemp.cals.cornell.edu/2025/12/24/2026-cornell-hemp-webinar-series-register-now/
Hemp Feed Coalition Webinar Series
Ongoing throughout 2026 | Monthly, third Thursday. A free, monthly research-focused webinar series examining hemp as animal feed, featuring researchers working on poultry, dairy, companion animals, and cannabinoid measurement.
hempfeedcoalition.org/webinar-series/
University of Vermont Fiber Hemp Short Course
February 24 – March 17, 2026 | Tuesdays (4 weeks). A free, four-week online short course from UVM Extension focused on growing fiber hemp for textiles and building materials, with sessions on agronomy, harvesting, and regional manufacturing.
events.uvm.edu/event/fiber-hemp-production-short-course
Industrial Hemp International (IHI)
March 25–27, 2026 | Denver, Colorado. A two-day conference (plus opening night) focused on industrial hemp fiber, grain, and international supply chains, evolving out of the former NoCo Hemp Expo.
industrialhempinternational.com/
Sponsored By IND HEMP
indhemp.com
Americhanvre Cast Hemp
americhanvre.com
King's Agriseeds
kingsagriseeds.com
Hemp Cutter
hempcutter.com
We're back. Season 9 of the Hemp Show is here.
In this season opener of the Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast, we'll take you inside a hearing organized by the Center for Rural Pennsylvania that was meant to explain the hemp industry to state lawmakers — and ended up revealing something else entirely.
The original intent of hemp in the Farm Bill was about agriculture and manufacturing, but the conversation has been dominated by intoxicating cannabinoids, chemical definitions and law enforcement concerns.
This episode weaves together testimony from regulators, business owners and legislators and ultimately asks a simple but important question: When "hemp" is used to describe everything, what does the word actually mean anymore?
Will farmers who want to grow fiber and grain get the short end of the stick again?
Listen to what the hearing revealed and why clear definitions may be the key to Pennsylvania's hemp future. SUBSCRIBE to Lancaster Farming Newspaper https://www.lancasterfarming.com/subscribe/
Learn More: Pennsylvania Hemp Program (PA Dept. of Agriculture)
https://www.agriculture.pa.gov/Plants_Land_Water/industrial_hemp
Video of the Hemp Industry Hearing (Pennsylvania Farm Show)
https://vimeo.com/1154816396/314acd404f
Center for Rural Pennsylvania (Hearing Organizer)
https://www.rural.pa.gov
2018 Farm Bill – Hemp Definition (USDA)
https://www.usda.gov/farmbill
Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast Archive
https://www.lancasterfarming.com/podcasts/hemp
Thanks to our Sponsors: IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com
Americhanvre
https://americhanvre.com
King's AgriSeeds
https://kingsagriseeds.com
Hempcutter.com
https://hempcutter.com
HEMI
hempinitiatives.org/
2025 was a year of uncertainty, contradiction and recalibration for the hemp industry.
In this year-end episode of the Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast, host Eric Hurlock looks back on a season defined by policy whiplash, shifting definitions and hard conversations about what hemp is — and what it is not.
From rumors of executive action and the collapse of intoxicating hemp loopholes to the rescheduling of marijuana and its ripple effects across agriculture, the year ended with more questions than answers.
The episode revisits key voices from across the hemp landscape — policy advocates, farmers, processors, builders and researchers — and reflects on what the USDA data, federal decisions and on-the-ground realities revealed about the fiber, grain and building sectors.
It's also a personal moment of reflection: Nearly 50 episodes, roughly 160 guests and a year spent listening closely to the people doing the slow work of building real hemp infrastructure. As the show heads into 2026, this episode pauses long enough to take stock — and to set the stage for what comes next. Get the Benton Shirt: https://smithandrogue.com/blog/the-benton-shirt-grown-and-sewn-in-usa
Voices You Will Hear in This Episode Morris Beegle
NoCo Hemp Expo
Joy Beckerman
Hemp Industries Association
Chris Fontes
High Spirits
Cameron McIntosh
Americhanvre Cast Hemp
Morgan Tweet
IND HEMP
Jeremy Klettke
Davis Hemp Farms
Lynda Mugglestone
University of Oxford
Guy Carpenter
Bear Fiber
Andre West
NC State Wilson College of Textiles
Larry Smart
Cornell University
Trey Riddle
IND HEMP
Sandra Marquardt
On the Mark Consulting
Coleman Beale
BastCore
Satish Hodage
YUJ Labs
Ding Hongliang
Hemp Fortex
Maciej Kowalski
Kombinat Konopny
Dave Cook
Tuscarora Mills
Mark D'Sa
Panda Biotech
Joseph Carringer
Canna Markets Group
Micaela Machado
Old Pueblo Hemp Co.
Danny Desjarlais
Lower Sioux Indian Community
Matt Marino
Homeland Hempcrete
Steve Allin
International Hemp Building Association
Jacob Waddell
Hemp Building Institute
Thanks to our Sponsors IND HEMP
indhemp.com
Americhanvre Cast Hemp
americhanvre.com
King's AgriSeeds
kingsagriseeds.com
Forever Green
hempcutter.com
Sunray Hemp
Palmer, Alaska
National Hemp Association
nationalhempassociation.org
Hemp Education & Marketing Initiative (HEMI)
hempinitiatives.org
We have a special in-studio guest this week on the Industrial Hemp Show.
Steve Groff, third-generation Lancaster County farmer and hemp innovator from Holtwood, Pennsylvania, stopped by the Hemp Studio at the Lancaster Farming Office in Ephrata.
We talked about machinery, long fiber, seed spacing, planter design and why farmer economics need to make sense if this industry is ever going to scale.
"Farmers are gonna have to get 10 or 20% more profit per acre for this hemp out the gate," he said.
We also talked about the green decorticator he's been working on.
And when we got back from lunch at Tacos El Gordo in Ephrata, we talked about the recent changes to the federal definition of hemp and what it will mean for the industry.
Steve Groff https://stevegroff.com
Tacos El Gordo A special thank-you to Tacos El Gordo for fueling our in-studio conversation during this episode.
https://lancastertacos.com/
News Nuggets Intoxicating hemp ban deepens uncertainty at some publicly traded cannabis firms
HempToday reports that the federal crackdown on intoxicating hemp-derived THC is reshaping financial forecasts for Curaleaf, Tilray and CBD-only companies, exposing fragile balance sheets across the sector.
Chinese study shows novel pre-treatment could cut energy use in hemp-fiber processing
A research team at Qingdao University has developed a low-temperature, chemical-free fiber pre-treatment that may reduce energy use by up to 60% while improving fiber quality — an encouraging development for textile-grade hemp.
Austria's plan to put hemp flowers under tobacco monopoly is called unconstitutional
Austria is facing a constitutional battle after approving a measure that would place smokable hemp under the national tobacco monopoly, threatening hundreds of hemp shops despite EU rules allowing hemp flower trade below 0.3% THC.
Learn More Curaleaf Holdings
https://curaleaf.com
Tilray Brands
https://www.tilray.com
Charlotte's Web
https://charlottesweb.com
cbdMD
https://www.cbdmd.com
Qingdao University
https://www.qdu.edu.cn
Austrian Cannabis Association (ÖCB)
https://oecb.at
HempToday
https://hemptoday.net
Thanks to our Sponsors IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com
Forever Green / KP4 Hemp Cutter
https://hempcutter.com
Americhanvre Cast Hemp
https://americhanvre.com
As we move into the Thanksgiving holiday here at Lancaster Farming, I am reminded again how fortunate I am for the people in my life. Yes, of course I mean my family, friends and coworkers, but I also mean the people who are in my life because of this hemp podcast.
Over the past nearly 8 years of making this show, I have met truly inspiring people whose wisdom, insight and perspective have shaped my own view.
One of these people is Jeremy Klettke from Davis Hemp Farms. I will periodically call Jeremy for guidance and to help me make sense of the world of hemp and cannabis.
After the recent changes to federal hemp policy, I wanted to hear what Jeremy thought. Is the new definition good for hemp? Is it good for business?
"I think it is an important correction that's happening … I don't think anybody needs to panic," Klettke said.
Learn More Davis Hemp Farms
https://davishempfarms.com
News Nugget Special Report from HempToday: Hemp in Australia & New Zealand
hemptoday.net/product/special-report-hemp-in-australia-new-zealand/
Thanks to our Sponsor IND HEMP
indhemp.com
Eric's Thanksgiving song: https://youtu.be/m5Gy-4-fQ7c?si=5mqNY0gRty5xFcmC
This week on the Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast, we take a close look at the biggest federal hemp policy shift since the 2018 Farm Bill and what it means for the industry.
Our guests on the show are Danielle Bernstein of Laurelcrest and Morgan Tweet of IND HEMP.
Bernstein brings the perspective of a cannabinoid ingredient manufacturer working inside global supply chains, regulatory systems and the emerging non-alcoholic THC beverage and wellness markets.
Tweet represents the fiber and grain sector, where this new language marks the first time the federal government has formally recognized industrial hemp as its own regulated category.
Together, they break down what changed in the new law, what didn't and why the intoxicating-hemp loophole has finally closed. They explain how this marks the start of a 365-day window for Congress to build a permanent national framework that covers cultivation, processing, final-form products and impairment-based standards.
They discuss what the new definition of hemp means for farmers, processors, CBD manufacturers and retailers, and why the era of THCA flower, synthetics and converted cannabinoids is effectively over. They also talk about how grain and fiber stand to benefit from long-needed regulatory clarity, and why a patchwork of state rules has failed to provide stability or safety.
Tweet and Bernstein outline the three-phase federal policy model they're proposing and make the case for unity rather than panic or infighting. They also describe how HEMI — the Hemp Education and Marketing Initiative — will help coordinate industry messaging, gather feedback and drive momentum over the next year.
Their message is simple: the sky is not falling, but the easy part is now behind us. The next twelve months will define what hemp becomes in the United States, and everyone with a stake in the future of the plant should be participating in shaping that framework.
Learn More Policy Framework Article by Danielle Bernstein & Morgan Tweet
HEMI – Hemp Education & Marketing Initiative
LaurelCrest
IND HEMP
News Nugget from HempToday Full News Nugget: Federal Axe Falls on Intoxicating Hemp — Bringing an Uneasy Chapter to an End
Sponsors King's AgriSeeds — kingsagriseeds.com
Forevergreen / KP4 Hemp Cutter — hempcutter.com
HEMI — hempinitiatives.org
Congress changed the definition of hemp this week, clarifying the original intent of the 2018 Farm Bill and closing the intoxicating-hemp loophole that enabled a nationwide market of unregulated semi-synthetic THC products.
The change caps finished hemp products at 0.4 mg total THC per package, bans synthetic cannabinoids, protects legal CBD and fiber/grain hemp, and gives farmers a one-year implementation window.
What does this mean for the hemp industry? How will it affect farmers? How will affect the hemp industry?
On this special episode of The Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast, CBD farmer Ben Davies of Wild Fox Provisions and hemp builder Cameron McIntosh of Americhanvre Cast Hemp break down the biggest hemp policy shift since the 2018 Farm Bill.
Recorded the day the new legislation was signed into law, this episode captures reactions in real time from two people living the consequences from opposite sides of the plant.
Learn More Wildfox Provisions
Americhanvre Cast Hemp
Press Release from Senator McConnell
News Nugget from HempToday Federal axe falls on intoxicating hemp, bringing an uneasy chapter to an end
Thanks to our Sponsor IND HEMP in Fort Benton, Montana
This week on the Hemp Show, we're talking to Jake Waddell from the Hemp Building Institute about the future of hemp construction, building codes and embodied carbon.
Hemp-lime construction has come a long way — from early experiments in a garage to an officially recognized building material in the International Residential Code.
Environmental Product Declarations, or EPDs, are changing how sustainability is measured in construction and what that means for hemp-based materials.
And even when government funding for climate-forward projects gets cut, the people driving this industry keep finding ways to move forward.
"Now we have codes. We've had a lot of progress and movement into making hemp-lime construction more of a realistic prospect rather than just a really good idea," Waddell said.
We also discussed why EPDs are critical if hemp is going to be recognized for what it does best. Waddell explains that when hemp-based materials lock carbon into a building, that carbon stays out of the atmosphere for decades — a measurable climate benefit that current systems often overlook.
"Trapping carbon in a building keeps it out of the atmosphere — and that's a real benefit," he said.
All that and more.
Learn More Hemp Building Institute
hempbuildinginstitute.org
International Code Council – Appendix BL
codes.iccsafe.org
NYSERDA – Energy Research & Development Authority
nyserda.ny.gov
HempToday.net
hemptoday.net
Americhanvre Cast Hemp
americhanvre.com
Hemp Education and Marketing Initiative (HEMI)
hempinitiatives.org
News Nugget from HempToday New Zealand fiber-materials venture shifts processing line to streamline production logistics
hemptoday.net/new-zealand-fiber-materials-venture-shifts-processing-line-to-streamline-production-logistics/
Thanks to Our Sponsors Americhanvre Cast Hemp
americhanvre.com
HEMI – Hemp Education and Marketing Initiative
hempinitiatives.org
This special edition of the Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast celebrates the 70th anniversary of Lancaster Farming Newspaper, which has been reporting on agriculture since 1955.
Recorded at Penn State's Ag Progress Days, this episode is a love letter to farming and to the people who make it possible. Farmers and ag leaders reflect on why they farm, what's changed, and what remains timeless — love of land, faith, family, and devotion.
Here's a quote from Wendell Berry that frames the conversation:
"Why do farmers farm, given their economic adversities on top of the many frustrations and difficulties normal to farming? And always the answer is: "Love. They must do it for love." Farmers farm for the love of farming. They love to watch and nurture the growth of plants. They love to live in the presence of animals. They love to work outdoors. They love the weather, maybe even when it is making them miserable. They love to live where they work and to work where they live. If the scale of their farming is small enough, they like to work in the company of their children and with the help of their children. They love the measure of independence that farm life can still provide. I have an idea that a lot of farmers have gone to a lot of trouble merely to be self-employed to live at least a part of their lives without a boss."
― Wendell Berry, "Bringing it to the Table: On Farming and Food"
Learn More Ag Progress Days
Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture
Wendell Berry – The Berry Center
Sponsors IND HEMP — Believing in the goodness of hemp.
King's AgriSeeds — High-quality seed for over three decades.
Forever Green — Distributor of the KP4 Hemp Cutter.
Welcome to part three of our Cansayapi Trilogy in which we explore the 13th International Hemp Building Symposium, held Oct. 3-5, 2025, at the Lower Sioux Indian Community in Southwestern Minnesota.
Part Three opens where part two left off, with the sounds of a waterfall that melts into the rhythms of the Red Tree Singers as they chant and pray and lead the way into Day Three of the Hemp Building Symposium.
After a news nugget from HempToday, this episodes opens with a tale of three Minnesota architects — Janneke Schaap, Simona Fischer and Anna Koosmann — who provide a roadmap for getting biobased building materials like hemp-lime and straw bale construction adopted into state building codes.
Then we hear a collection of one-on-one interviews with farmers, builders and advocates.
In order of appearance, you will hear:
Marcus Grignon — Hempstead Project Heart, Menominee Nation
hempsteadprojectheart.org
Ira Vandever — Indigenous Hemp and Cannabis Farmers Cooperative, Navajo Nation
ihcfc.org
Tom Knouss — RootDown Building Collective, Charleston
rootdownbuildingcollective.org
Alex Sparrow — UK Hempcrete, England
ukhempcrete.com/the-hempcrete-book
Gabriel Gauthier — ArtCan Hemp Construction, Quebec
artcan.ca
Guillaume Delannoy — FRD-CODEM, France
frd.fr
Micaela Machado — Old Pueblo Hemp Co., Tucson
oldpueblohemp.com
Steve Allin — International Hemp Building Association (IHBA), Ireland
internationalhempbuilding.org
News nugget from HempToday Bipartisan U.S. group calls for 'Frankenstein' intoxicating hemp market to be curbed
hemptoday.net/bipartisan-u-s-group-calls-for-frankenstein-intoxicating-hemp-market-to-be-curbed/
Be More Pirate bepirate.com — Sam Conniff's Be More Pirate, recommended by Alex Sparrow as a blueprint for creative rebellion and collaboration.
Sponsors indhemp.com — IND HEMP, building a sustainable hemp supply chain in Montana and beyond.
hempinitiatives.org — HEMI, the Hemp Education and Marketing Initiative, connecting businesses with the potential of industrial hemp.
americhanvre.com — Americhanvre Cast Hemp, Pennsylvania-based hemp building specialists advancing circular design and education.
sunrayhemp.com — SunRay Hemp, Alaska-grown innovation and community-driven hemp projects led by Ray DePriest.
On this episode we continue on our journey with host Eric Hurlock to Cansayapi, the place where they paint the trees red, the Lower Sioux Indian community, the home of the Medewakantan Band of Dakota people in Southwestern Minnesota.
You will hear many voices on this episode — people who were there, people who were involved, people who are lighting the Eighth Fire.
You will hear from: Danny Desjarlais — Lower Sioux Hemp Builder
lowersioux.com
Cameron McIntosh — Americhanvre Cast Hemp
americhanvre.com
Steve Allin — International Hemp Building Association
internationalhempbuilding.org
Honovi Coup Trudell — son of John Trudell
johntrudell.com
Samantha & Matt Marino — Homeland Hempcrete
homelandhempcrete.com
John Peterson — Dakota Hemp
Dakotahemp.com
Dave Gertz — Renewabuild / Just Biofiber
renewabuild.ca
Pamela Bosch — Highland Hemp House
highlandhemphouse.com
Clarence Baber — Hawaii hemp advocates
ClaranceBaber.com
Brian Mogli — Industrial hemp advocate
Katie McCormick — Pamunkey Indian Reservation hemp home project
Joni McSpadden — Citizen of Cherokee Nation
Rusty Peterson— IND HEMP
indhemp.com
Jared Sones — Victura Hemp
victurahemp.com
Dallas Goldtooth — Host/MC; actor, writer, activist
The1491s.com
Donate to the New Dakota Language Hemp School Today! Pidamaya (thank you) for considering supporting the new K–4 Dakota Immersion School set to be made with hemp, opening in 2030.
Ways To Contribute By Check:
Write a check to the "Lower Sioux Indian Community" and write in the note: "New School."
Send or give check to:
Lower Sioux Indian Community
39527 Reservation Highway 1
Morton, MN 56270
Online via the "Honor Tax" Website:
Your contribution goes to the Lower Sioux Indian Community. Click "Add note or comment" and type "New School."
Mni Sota Makoce Honor Tax
Ukic̣aġapi kte (Let's grow together),
For questions or more information on the school, please contact:
Vanessa Goodthunder — 507-697-8253
Vanessa.Goodthunder@lowersioux.com
Thanks to Our Sponsors! SunRay Hemp (Ray DePriest) — 62° North
IND HEMP
indhemp.com
King's AgriSeeds
kingsagriseeds.com
Americhanvre Cast Hemp
americhanvre.com
This week on the Hemp Show, you are stowing away with me as I retell the tale of my trip to the 13th International Hemp Building Symposium, which was held for the first time ever in the United States — and specifically on sovereign Dakota land in what is now called Minnesota.
We're going to Cansayapi, the place where they paint the trees red.
We will hear Dakota drums, chants and prayers from the Red Tree Singers.
We will hear the voices of Vannessa Goodthunder, Tammy Desjarlais and Danny Desjarlais as they open the symposium with a vision for the future we all can share.
The Dakota people of the Lower Sioux, gracious and humble hosts of this event, gave us a shining example of community, circularity and reciprocity by welcoming the world to their reservation.
This is only the beginning of my tale. This story is so much bigger than me and I returned from this tripped changed by the experience and changed by the wind that is growing increasingly stronger.
Now is the time to face the wind, and Danny and the Dakota are leading the way.
So buckle up and join my jolly hemp crew as we listen to the wind cry for change.
International Hemp Building Association
internationalhempbuilding.org
Lower Sioux Hemp Program & Housing Project
lowersioux.com/hemp-program-and-housing-project/
News Nugget/Opinion Nugget from HempToday Hijacking hemp: U.S. trade group plays loose with facts in a whining letter to Trump
hemptoday.net/hijacking-hemp-u-s-trade-group-plays-loose-with-facts-in-a-whining-letter-to-trump/
Thanks to Ray at SunRay Hemp at in Palmer, Alaska!
This week on the Hemp Show, we're talking to Brad Truman, a data analyst with CannaMarkets Group, about his recent deep dive into USDA’s hemp import data.
His report, published in HempToday under the title When the Numbers Don’t Add Up: USDA’s Hemp Data Problem, raises serious questions about how hemp is being measured—and what those flawed numbers mean for farmers, investors, and policymakers.
Truman walks us through the painstaking process of pulling USDA hemp data out of PDFs, analyzing inconsistencies, and uncovering outright anomalies—like the infamous April 17th, 2024 report, which he calls a “hallucination.”
We discuss how sloppy reporting erodes trust, the risks of “garbage in, garbage out” when big decisions rely on bad data, and why even simple errors like mixing up Austria and Australia can undermine credibility.
This conversation shines a light on the critical importance of accurate, dependable data as hemp emerges as an agricultural commodity. Truman not only identifies the problems but also offers practical fixes and a call for accountability.
For anyone who cares about hemp’s future—from farmers and processors to policymakers and investors—this episode is a reminder that numbers matter.
Learn More Get the Report: When the Numbers Don’t Add Up: USDA’s Hemp Data Problem
https://hemptoday.net/flawed-data-in-usda-hemp-reports-is-warping-policy-investment-and-market-signals/
News Nuggets Two Ukrainian hemp companies win EU-backed innovation grants for green tech
https://hemptoday.net/two-ukrainian-hemp-companies-win-eu-backed-innovation-grants-for-green-tech/
Popular UK design show gives hempcrete a major global platform in season debut
https://hemptoday.net/popular-uk-design-show-gives-hempcrete-a-major-global-platform-in-season-debut/
CBD’s inclusion in U.S. system that tracks health risks is double-edged sword
https://hemptoday.net/cbds-inclusion-in-u-s-system-that-tracks-health-risks-is-double-edged-sword/
Brazil hemp ruling delayed again as health agency puts off decision on cultivation
https://hemptoday.net/brazil-hemp-ruling-delayed-again-as-health-agency-puts-off-decision-on-cultivation/
Thanks to our sponsor SunRay Hemp!
https://sunrayhemp.com
On this week’s Hemp Show, we’re back at Cornell Agritech for part three of my Cornell trilogy.
In this episode I visit plant pathologist Jane Hamilton, who’s testing UVC light as a non-chemical tool against powdery mildew, and Luis Monserrate from Larry Smart’s breeding program, where seed size, yield and chemotype drive decisions for grain and fiber growers.
Next, we walk through Jane’s UV cabinet and the powdery mildew chamber, talking dose windows and why powdery mildew (unlike some fungi) doesn’t have melanin to block UV.
Then it's over to Luis for small-plot yield math, why bigger seeds can jump-start canopy closure and how chemotype IV lines can keep hempseed meal within ultra-low cannabinoid limits.
Learn More Cornell Agritech https://cals.cornell.edu/cornell-agritech Cornell Hemp Research https://hemp.cals.cornell.edu/ Ultraviolet light kills fire blight in apple blossoms without antibiotics https://cals.cornell.edu/news/2023/10/ultraviolet-light-kills-fire-blight-apple-blossoms-without-antibiotics What Is Powdery Mildew? https://extension.psu.edu/powdery-mildew AOSCA – Variety Certification https://www.aosca.org/ News Nuggets Flawed USDA Hemp Data Is Warping Market Signals https://hemptoday.net/flawed-data-in-usda-hemp-reports-is-warping-policy-investment-and-market-signals/ Trump Pushes Medicare Coverage for Hemp-Derived CBD https://www.cannabisbusinesstimes.com/cannabis-rescheduling/news/15768113/trump-promotes-hempderived-cbd-for-senior-health-care-in-shared-video Thanks to Our Sponsors HEMI – Hemp Education & Marketing Initiative / Goodness of Hemp https://hempinitiatives.org/ KP4 Hempcutter – Forever Green https://hempcutter.com/
On this week’s podcast, we continue our trip to Geneva, New York, for part two of the Cornell story. I spend some time with Christine Smart, director of Cornell AgriTech, and her husband Larry Smart, professor of plant breeding and genetics and head of Cornell’s hemp program.
Christine takes me through the history of the Agritech campus — from its 1882 founding to its living plant libraries and cutting-edge robotics labs. We talk Liberty Hyde Bailey, the USDA germplasm repository, and a future where UV light replaces pesticides and robots roam the fields.
Then Larry brings us inside Cornell’s hemp research: from gene editing for disease resistance to the painstaking process of seed multiplication. He shares his work on a CBG-only hemp line with zero THC and CBD, designed to open animal feed markets, and explains why F1 hybrids could unlock hemp’s yield potential the same way they did for corn.
And stay tuned, because next week in part three we’ll hear from two of the rising stars in Cornell’s hemp program — PhD students Jane Hamilton and Luis Monserrate.
Learn More Cornell University – Hemp Program
https://hemp.cals.cornell.edu
Cornell AgriTech
https://cals.cornell.edu/cornell-agritech
USDA National Clonal Germplasm Repository
https://www.ars.usda.gov/northeast-area/geneva-ny/plant-genetic-resources-unit-pgru/
Yu Jiang Lab – Agricultural Robotics & Sensing
https://cals.cornell.edu/yu-jiang
Liberty Hyde Bailey Museum
https://www.libertyhydebailey.org
News Nuggets, from HempToday Emergency rules take effect in Texas, restricting hemp intoxicant sales to adults over 21
https://hemptoday.net/emergency-rules-take-effect-in-texas-restricting-hemp-intoxicant-sales-to-adults-over-21/
French co-op, leading European supplier of hemp planting seed, has a new director
https://hemptoday.net/french-co-op-leading-european-supplier-of-hemp-planting-seed-has-a-new-director/
Kazakh government backs China deal as foreign investors eye neighbor’s hemp sector
https://hemptoday.net/kazakh-government-backs-china-deal-as-foreign-investors-eye-neighbors-hemp-sector/
Thanks to our Sponsors Kings AgriSeeds
https://www.kingsagriseeds.com
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com
On this week’s podcast, host Eric Hurlock travels to Geneva, New York, on the top of Seneca Lake to take part in Cornell’s Hemp Field day, held Thursday, Sept. 11.
This episode covers both the morning and afternoon sessions for the field day.
The day started in Jordan Hall on Cornell’s Agritech Campus, where hemp program director Larry Smart got things started with a reminder why we were there in the first place.
“Hemp is an interesting crop, has a lot of potential, but there are some things that we just don’t understand about this crop,” he said.
The morning session was focused mostly on hemp grain as a livestock feed. Cornell scientists presented their research on broiler chickens, dairy cows and horses.
Andrew Bish from the Hemp Feed Coalition talked about the opportunity that hemp seed meal presents for farmers.
“If 5% of the chickens are eating 20% of their diet in hemp seed meal, you need almost 275,000 acres of hemp grain produced in the United States,” he said.
The morning session ended with Pennsylvania farmer Herb Grove from Brush Mountain Bison in Centre County, where he grows hemp grain and operates a bison feed lot and finishing operation.
“We started the bison industry in 2011, and we started raising hemp in 2019. 2011, we had six head of bison. At the end of last year, we had 300 animals on feed."
The afternoon session of the field day shifted from science to practice.
Bob Pearce from the University of Kentucky talked about the S-1084 multistate trials, which bring together universities from Louisiana to Vermont to test hemp cultivars across latitudinal differences and growing conditions.
"That’s the ultimate goal, making sure that a grower in New York knows which cultivars to pick for that location, and a grower in Kentucky or Tennessee has the opportunity to choose a cultivar that is well adapted to their conditions,” he said.
There were equipment demonstrations, discussions with seed suppliers, and a very interesting talk from Lynn Sosnoskie, weed science specialist at Cornell, who, because of the lack of chemistry labeled for hemp, stressed the importance of non-herbicide methods of weed management, especially equipment clean-out.
“We have to be focused on the weed seeds that we are moving from field to field, especially because we have Palmer amaranth in New York state now. We have waterhemp in New York state. These are two pigweed species. They are exceptionally competitive with our crops. They are spreading. You do not want to have one of these weeds get established in the fields where we have very few options of weed control,” she said.
The day ended with a demonstration of the mobile decorticator.
On this episode you will hear the voices of:
Larry Smart, Cornell University
Chuck Schmitt, New York Department of Agriculture & Markets
Luis Monserrate, Cornell University
Andrew Bish, Hemp Feed Coalition, Bish Enterprises
Raj Kasula, Wenger Group
Natalie Trottier, Cornell University
Morgan Tweet, IND HEMP
Xuedan Zhu, Cornell University
Tom Overton, Cornell University
Herb Grove, Brush Mountain Bison
Lynn Sosnoskie, Cornell University
Bob Pearce, University of Kentucky
Jacob Bish, Cornell University
Terry Moran, Kanda Hemp
Robin Destiche, KonopiUS
Corbett Mitteff, KonopiUS
Reuben Stone, UniSeeds
The trip to Cornell continues on the next episode with one-on-one interviews with Christine Smart, director of Cornell’s Agritech campus; Larry Smart, plant geneticist and head of Cornell's Hemp program; Luis Monserrate, doctoral candidate studying hemp fiber yields; and Jane Hamilton, a doctoral student studying the effects of UV light on powdery mildew on hemp.
Learn More:
Cornell University – Hemp Program https://hemp.cals.cornell.edu
New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets https://agriculture.ny.gov
New York State Office of Cannabis Management https://cannabis.ny.gov
Hemp Feed Coalition https://hempfeedcoalition.org
Kreider Farms / Kreider Feeds https://www.kreiderfarms.com
University of Kentucky https://hemp.ca.uky.edu
Kanda Hemp https://kandahemp.com
UniSeeds https://uniseeds.ca
KonopiUS https://konopius.com
HempIT https://hempit.fr
IND HEMP https://indhemp.com
Bish Enterprises https://bishenterprise.com
Hemp Harvest Works https://hempharvestworks.com
Brush Mountain Bison https://brushmountainbison.com
News Nuggets from HempToday.net
U.S. Democrats sign off on framework to rein in hemp intoxicants while protecting CBD https://hemptoday.net/u-s-democrats-sign-off-on-framework-to-rein-in-hemp-intoxicants-while-protecting-cbd/
Trump administration push to trim red tape leaves hemp industry still tangled in rules https://hemptoday.net/trump-administration-push-to-trim-red-tape-leaves-hemp-industry-still-tangled-in-rules/
Texas agencies directed to tighten oversight of hemp THC products under new order https://hemptoday.net/texas-agencies-directed-to-tighten-oversight-of-hemp-thc-products-under-new-order/
Thanks to our Sponsors
IND HEMP https://indhemp.com
Forever Green, distributors of the KP-4 Hemp Cutterhttps://www.hempcutter.com/
National Hemp Association (NHA) https://nationalhempassociation.org
This week on the Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast, we continue our focus on the 13th International Hemp Building Symposium, happening October 3–5 at the Lower Sioux Indian Community in Morton, Minnesota.
First we talk to Matt Marino from Homeland Hempcrete, who shares how his North Dakota company is scaling with structural hemp insulated panels and why he’s excited to be a sponsor and participant in this year’s symposium.
Then we talk with Steve Allin, founder of the International Hemp Building Association and widely regarded as one of the godfathers of hempcrete. Speaking from his home in western Ireland, Steve reflects on decades of work building with hemp, his role in bringing the symposium to the United States, and why this year’s event is a critical gathering for the global hemp building community.
Learn More
International Hemp Building Symposium
https://internationalhempbuilding.org/13th-international-hemp-building-symposium-registration/
Lower Sioux Indian Community
https://www.lowersioux.com/
Homeland Hempcrete
https://www.homelandhempcrete.com/
Stems Logic (Steve Allin’s company)
https://stemslogic.com/
HempToday global news
https://hemptoday.net/
Thanks to ours sponsor:
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
This week on the Hemp Show we’re looking ahead to the 13th Annual International Hemp Building Symposium being held October 3–5 at the Lower Sioux Indian Community in Minnesota. It’s the first time this global event has ever been held in the United States, and it promises to be a gathering that blends culture, sovereignty and sustainability with hands-on demonstrations and international expertise.
First we hear from Danny Desjarlais, Hemp Project Manager at Lower Sioux, about what this symposium means for his community and how a portion of the proceeds will support the building of a Dakota Language Immersion School. Then we call up Dallas Goldtooth — actor, activist, comedian and emcee of the Saturday night dinner — to talk about hemp, land, language and returning to traditional relationships with the natural world.
Learn More
International Hemp Building Association & Event Registration
https://internationalhempbuilding.org/13th-international-hemp-building-symposium-registration/
Lower Sioux Indian Community
https://lowersioux.com/
Reservation Dogs (FX/Hulu)
https://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/reservation-dogs
The 1491s on YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/user/the1491s
HempToday — global hemp industry news
https://hemptoday.net/
Angel Food Bakery — MSP Airport Donuts
https://angelfoodmn.com/
Thanks to Our Sponsors
IND HEMP — family owned and mission driven, IND HEMP is working with farmers to grow hemp at scale and building a supply chain for raw materials to feed industry demand.
Americhanvre — leaders in hempcrete construction across the United States and proud supporters of the 13th Annual International Hemp Building Symposium.
Forever Green, distributors of the KP4 Hemp Cutter — introducing a revolution in hemp harvesting, setting a new standard for harvesting quality, speed and efficiency.
This week on the Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast, we’re chasing down the beginnings of a Pennsylvania hemp fiber supply chain.
We start the day in southern Lancaster County at Steve Groff’s farm, standing in the middle of what he calls his “hemp canyon,” with towering stalks over fifteen feet tall.
Groff has about 60 acres of the Australian hemp variety MS-77, which seems to do well on Groff's farm.
He's also working on a green decorticator. If the machine works as planned, it could change the way fiber hemp is harvested — cleaner, faster and without the need for retting.
From there we cross the Susquehanna River into York County to visit Dave Cook at Tuscarora Mills in Red Lion. Dave and his partner Heidi Custer are working to turn Pennsylvania-grown hemp into yarn and fabric.
Their mill is full of antique looms and their goal is simple but ambitious: To revive textile production here in the Keystone State using local hemp fiber.
It’s still early days for a Pennsylvania supply chain, but the work Groff and Cook are doing points toward a future where hemp textiles are grown, processed and woven right here at home.
Learn More:
Steve Groff: https://stevegroff.com/
Dave Cook and Tuscarora Mills: https://tuscaroramills.com/
News Nuggets, from HempToday.net Peru opens draft hemp rules for consultation as industry eyes long-awaited start https://hemptoday.net/peru-opens-draft-hemp-rules-for-consultation-as-industry-eyes-long-awaited-start/
Draft hemp bill would regulate intoxicating products instead of imposing a ban https://hemptoday.net/draft-hemp-bill-would-regulate-intoxicating-products-instead-of-imposing-a-ban/
Stakeholders fear Brazil hemp rules may be restricted as Sept. 30 deadline nears https://hemptoday.net/stakeholders-fear-brazil-hemp-rules-may-be-restricted-as-sept-30-deadline-nears/
Brazil’s CBD price war, a boon for patients, signals maturing medical market https://hemptoday.net/brazils-cbd-price-war-a-boon-for-patients-signals-maturing-medical-market/
Thanks to Our Sponsors!
IND HEMP https://indhemp.com/
Forever Green http://hempcutter.com/
National Hemp Association https://nationalhempassociation.org/
This week on the hemp show we’re going to a field day at Pocono Organics. Not just any field day, but a hemp field day, which in my opinion, is the best kind of field.
The Hemp Field Day at Pocono Organics was hosted in partnership with the Rodale Institute and Jefferson University, August 21, 2025 in Blakeslee, PA.
One this episode we will talk to Ashley Walsh from Pocono Organics, Tara Caton from the Rodale Institute and Ron Kander from Jefferson University.
ON this episode we will also hear from Larry Smart and Jacob Bish from Cornell University about Cornell’s upcoming hemp field day and 3-day hemp construction work shop.
This episode starts at Americhanvre’s shop in Barto, PA, where Larry Smart just loaded an Ereasy Spray-Applied Hemp System into his truck. Learn more:
Pocono Organics https://www.poconoorganics.com/
Rodale Institute https://rodaleinstitute.org/
Jefferson University https://www.jefferson.edu/index.html
Cornell University Hemp https://hemp.cals.cornell.edu/
Cornell Field Day Registration https://cals.cornell.edu/events/cornell-grain-fiber-hemp-field-day
Cornell Hemp Construction Workshop https://cals.cornell.edu/events/cornell-agritech-hemp-building-workshop-september-16-18-geneva-ny
News Nuggets Whichever path it travels, Texas appears determined to wipe out intoxicating hemp https://hemptoday.net/whichever-path-it-travels-texas-appears-determined-to-wipe-out-intoxicating-hemp/
Australian inquiry spotlights hemp’s promise for housing, farming and climate goals https://hemptoday.net/australian-inquiry-spotlights-hemps-promise-for-housing-farming-and-climate-goals/
Hemp is but one victim in Trump’s gutting of Biden-era environmental programs https://hemptoday.net/hemp-is-but-one-victim-in-trumps-gutting-of-biden-era-environmental-programs/
Thanks to our sponsors Americhanvre https://americhanvre.com/
King’s AgriSeeds https://kingsagriseeds.com/
This week on the Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast we’re looking at hemp’s environmental promise. We’ve all heard the claim the hemp can save the planet—but what does the science really say?
I talk with environmental scientist Lorelei Alvarez and strategist Joseph Carringer, co-authors of the brand-new Hemp and Sustainability Report, published by HempToday and CannaMarkets Group. Together, we dig into the evidence, the hype, and the responsibility that comes with hemp’s potential.
The report breaks down hemp’s impact on carbon, soil, water, and lifecycle assessments, pulling from peer-reviewed research to separate fact from fantasy.
Lorelei and Joseph challenge legacy claims like “one acre of hemp equals four acres of trees,” while also highlighting real opportunities where hemp can reduce emissions, improve soil health, and support sustainable supply chains.
The message is clear: hemp won’t single-handedly solve our environmental problems, but when grown and processed responsibly, it can be part of the solution.
One of the things I like about this report is that it raises the standard for how we talk about hemp. It asks us to back up our stories with evidence, to tell the accurate version of hemp’s potential rather than the inflated one.
That honesty gives the industry a stronger foundation to grow from, and it gives farmers, processors, and entrepreneurs the tools to make smarter choices.
Check out the Hemp and Sustainability Report for yourself, and see what the data has to say. Hemp’s future is still being written—and we all have a role to play in shaping it.
Special Report: Hemp & Sustainability - HempToday
https://hemptoday.net/product/special-report-hemp-sustainability/
Special Reports Combo Package
https://hemptoday.net/product/special-reports-combo-package/
Hemp News Nuggets, August 20, 2025
Powered by HempToday
Hemp seed meal for laying hens clears key hurdle in U.S. but faces state bottlenecks
https://hemptoday.net/hemp-seed-meal-for-laying-hens-clears-key-hurdle-but-faces-state-by-state-bottlenecks
Cannabinoid firm’s takedown another ‘wake-up call’ in Italy’s treacherous hemp market
https://hemptoday.net/cannabinoid-firms-takedown-another-wake-up-call-in-italys-treacherous-hemp-market
Florida’s debate over ‘intoxicating hemp’ packaging masks deeper flaws in state rules
https://hemptoday.net/floridas-debate-over-intoxicating-hemp-packaging-masks-deeper-flaws-in-state-rules
Thanks to our sponsors:
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com
Forever Green, distributors of the KP4 Hemp Cutter
https://hempcutter.com
This is the final installment of our special Global Hemp Fiber Summit Box Set. Sides 5 and 6 wrap up our coverage from Raleigh 2025, featuring voices from across the fiber hemp industry—from seasoned pioneers to fresh perspectives. Hear updates from long-time advocates, emerging researchers, farmers, processors, and policy influencers shaping the future of American hemp textiles.
Side 5:
Robert Jungman Jungmaven jungmaven.com
Joe Hickey – longtime hemp advocate
Gabriela Fioravanti – Thomas Jefferson University – https://www.jefferson.edu/
Eric Singular – INCERT / Responsible Hemp Standard https://www.responsiblehempstandard.com
Heidi Barr – PA Flax Project – https://paflaxproject.com/
Sandra Marquardt – On the Mark Consulting https://www.onthemark.info/
Aaron Baldwin – South Bend Industrial Hemp – southbendindustrialhemp.com
Side 6:
Mark D’Sa – Panda Biotech pandabiotech.com
Peter Dushop – Forever Green hempcutter.com
Andre West – NC State Wilson College of Textiles textiles.ncsu.edu
Arlo Estill – Hempsmith Clothing hempsmithclothing.com
Amy Schwest – Go Go Hemp
Miles Cathrigh – BoardWurks Biocomposites – https://boardwurks.com/
Derrick Muhamed – Bossville Farms https://www.bossvillefarms.com/
Guy Carpenter – Bear Fiber bearfiber.com
Thanks to our sponsor: King's AgriSeeds https://kingsagriseeds.com/
Thanks for tuning in to the Hemp Show. This week we’re spinning sides 3 and 4 of our special box set recorded at the 2025 Global Industrial Hemp Fiber Summit in Raleigh, North Carolina, July 15 – 17, 2025.
Side Three:
Glen Kayll – CEO, The Hemp Plastic Company [00:00:51]
https://www.hempplastic.com
Joseph Carringer – HempToday / CannaMarkets Group [00:06:42]
https://hemptoday.net
Eric Henry – TS Designs [00:18:43]
https://www.tsdesigns.com
Andrew Bish – Bish Enterprises [00:25:08]
https://www.bishenterprise.com
Coleman Beale – CEO, BastCore [00:28:12]
https://www.bastcore.com
David Camby – BioPhil Natural Fibers [00:30:07]
https://www.biophilnaturalfibers.com
Side Four:
Dave Cook – Tuscarora Mills [00:36:49]
https://www.tuscaroramills.com
Satish Hodage – YUJ Labs [00:45:38]
https://www.yujlabs.com
Patrick Atagi – President, NIHC [00:48:52]
https://www.nihcoa.com
Ding Hongliang – Hemp Fortex, China [00:57:52]
https://www.hempfortex.com
Trey Riddle – IND HEMP [01:01:04]
https://www.indhemp.com
Stay tuned for Sides 5 and 6—coming next week.
Thanks to our Sponsor:
HEMI & The Goodness of Hemp https://hempinitiatives.org/
Special thanks to the National Industrial Hemp Council of America
https://www.nihcoa.com
We’re celebrating big news from western Kentucky — HempWood is opening their new factory on the HempWood Campus in Murray. It’s a big deal and it’s a big day.
On this special HempWood episode, we catch up with Greg Wilson for a freewheeling conversation about flooring, farming, the Fibonacci sequence and the future of sustainable materials. From co-op growing systems and carbon credits to tornadoes, redneck hippies and 12-string guitar jams, this is a true journey through the World of Greg Wilson.
Key Topics:
• New HempWood factory grand opening
• Vertical integration and farmer co-ops in Kentucky
• The golden ratio & carbon sequestration
• Healthy building materials vs. toxic off-gassing
• Government support & bipartisan interest in hemp
• Construction industry insights and tariffs
• HempWood’s role in schools, universities, and brand partnerships (Nike, Patagonia, etc.)
Thanks to our sponsors:
Americhanvre Cast-Hemp
https://americhanvre.com/
Dear listeners,
This week on the Hemp Show, we’re dropping the needle on a very special commemorative box set from the 2025 Global Industrial Hemp Fiber Summit in Raleigh, North Carolina.
In this first installment — Sides 1 and 2 — of a three-episode miniseries, we hear from a wide range of voices building the fiber side of the hemp industry from the ground up: farmers, machine makers, wet processors, entrepreneurs and professors. They’re working in the field and in the lab, bridging research and manufacturing, and helping steer the industrial hemp conversation back to its core: fiber, hurd and regenerative purpose.
NIHC’s Global Fiber Hemp Summit in Raleigh was special. No question about that. And I thought it deserved special treatment here on the podcast. I am hopeful that I was able to capture the energy in the room. I interviewed nearly 40 people during the summit, and they each have a story to tell about their part of the supply chain.
Forty interviews is too long for one show. It’s too long for two shows. but it’s perfect for this three-disc set. I’m calling it a “box set” because that’s how it feels — like a classic record album like "All Things Must Pass," "Joe’s Garage," "Europe ’72," or "The Last Waltz."
Thank you for indulging me.
— eric
Side One — Voices Featured:
• Guy Carpenter – President, Bear Fiber [00:02:25]
• Maciej Kowalski – Founder, Kombinat Konopny, Poland [00:05:06]
• Hardy Sullivan – Managing Director, THIES US [00:12:24]
• Bryan Wilson – Project ELI, Environmental Living Industries, Texas [00:15:56]
• Dan Matthews – Project Manager, Tatham Ltd., U.K. [00:17:52]
• Shira Adler – Founder, EcoSynergy LLC [00:20:18]
• Anjli Kumar – Founder, Inner Bark Heritage [00:23:07]
• Alejandro Diaz – Hemp Fortex [00:25:45]
• Rick Brown – Brown Family Farms & Produce N.C. [00:29:04]
Side Two — Voices Featured:
• Larry Smart – Hemp Geneticist, Cornell University [00:35:25]
• Monique Anderson – Farmer, Orangeburg County, S.C. [00:38:57]
• Morris Beegle – Founder, WAFBA/Let’s Talk Hemp [00:41:39]
• Keith Dunn – East Coast Hemp Supply, Dunn, N.C. [00:42:11]
• David Suchoff – North Carolina State University [00:46:37]
Stay tuned for sides 3 and 4.
Sponsors
IND Hemp https://www.indhemp.com
Americhanvre Cast-Hemp https://www.americhanvre.com
King’s AgriSeeds https://www.kingsagriseeds.com
Forever Green – Distributors of the KP4 Hemp Cutter https://www.hempcutter.com
National Hemp Association – Advocating for hemp farmers and the fiber industry https://www.nationalhempassociation.org
Special thanks to the National Industrial Hemp Council of America for sponsoring our travel to the Global Fiber Summit https://www.nihcoa.com
This week on the Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast, we’re listening to a recap of the 2025 Global Industrial Hemp Fiber Summit, hosted by the National Industrial Hemp Council of America at the Wilson College of Textiles at NC State, that took place in Raleigh, NC, July 15-17, 2025.
For three well-planned days, leaders from across the hemp value chain came together—from farmers and geneticists to processors, engineers, and global apparel brands. On this episode we follow the flow of the summit itself, threading together powerful takeaways from the TED-style talks across agriculture, processing, textiles, composites, and branding.
We hear from nearly 40 speakers—some familiar voices from the hemp world, and some new collaborators—sharing what’s working, what’s needed, and how we build a domestic fiber industry that actually works.
Special thanks to the NIHC for sponsoring our travel, and to NC State’s AV team for sharing the audio from the event. And thanks to our show sponsors HEMI – the Hemp Education & Marketing Initiative – and the National Hemp Association.
On this show you will hear (in order of appearance):
Rachel Raineri – Wilson College of Textiles – [00:00:01]
Guy Carpenter – President, Bear Fiber – [00:02:37]
Dr. Andre West – NC State, Textile Innovation Engine – [00:03:11]
Patrick Atagi – President & CEO, NIHC – [00:04:14]
Agriculture
Dr. David Suchoff – NC State Extension – [00:05:41]
Dr. Larry Smart – Cornell University – [00:06:05]
Terry Moran – Kanda Seeds – [00:07:12]
Glenn Kayll – Hemp Plastic Company – [00:07:36]
Melissa Nelson – South Bend Industrial Hemp – [00:09:09]
Rick Brown – Brown Family Farms – [00:10:07]
Steve Groff –Cedar Meadow Farm – [00:10:45]
Processing
Trey Riddle – IND HEMP (moderator) – [00:11:35]
Sandra Marquardt – On the Mark PR – [00:12:18]
Coleman Beale – BastCore – [00:13:43]
Satish Hodage – YUJ Labs – [00:14:42]
Siyan Wang– PhD Researcher, NC State – [00:15:39]
John Peterson – Dakota Hemp – [00:17:24]
John Lupien – Consolidated Carbon – [00:18:52]
Naiden Kremenliev – Argon Fiber / Tryon Finishing – [00:19:57]
David Culp – Andritz / LaRoche – [00:21:29]
Elias Junker – Andritz / LaRoche – [00:21:47]
Textiles
Ding Hongliang – Hemp Fortex – [00:22:44]
Maciej Kowalski – Kombinat Konopny – [00:24:57]
Dave Cook – Tuscarora Mills – [00:26:36]
Dr. Andre West – NC State (follow-up) – [00:28:05]
Arlo Estill – Hempsmith Clothing – [00:28:57]
Composites & Building Materials
Matty Mead – Hempitecture – [00:30:49]
Trey Riddle – IND HEMP – [00:31:59]
Dr. Daniel Walczyk – Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute – [00:33:41]
Katie Coppenhaver – Oak Ridge National Lab (ORNL) – [00:35:12]
Value Chain & Industry Strategy
Patrick Atagi – NIHC (again) – [00:38:59]
Mark D’Sa – Panda Biotech – [00:39:50]
Joseph Carringer – Sound Strategy / Hemp 3.0 – [00:42:23]
Larry Serbin – Hemp Traders – [00:43:52]
Gabriella Fioravanti – Jefferson University – [00:45:15]
Olaf Jezela – Trace Femcare – [00:45:45]
Pierre Berard – HEMI – [00:46:32]
Erica Stark – National Hemp Association – [00:46:57]
This week on the Hemp Show, we’re continuing the conversation around the need to split the industry into two. There is much confusion in the minds of law makers and consumers when it comes to what hemp is.
For years hemp advocates championed the fact that hemp doesn’t get you high, but thanks to a loophole in the 2018 Farm Bill, somebody figured out how to get high from hemp, and so began the era of intoxicating hemp that we find ourselves in now.
But if hemp is getting you high, it’s not hemp — it’s weed. Stop calling it hemp.
And that’s why there needs to be a legislative fix. Erica Stark from the National Hemp Association joins us to discuss the issue and share her ideas on what a potential fix might look like.
Then we talk to Lancaster Country regenerative hemp farmer Steve Groff about the various hemp projects he’s working on down at the farm, where he's got 60 acres of fiber hemp ready to harvest in about three weeks. He talks about the “green decortication” project he’s working on and how he hopes to inspire people at the Global Fiber Hemp Summit in Raleigh next week.
As always Groff sees potential, but he’s not waiting for the next Farm Bill to act. “I’m not checked out,” he said. “I’m checked in.”
Plus, news nuggets from around the hemp world: Kazakhstan is preparing to make passport paper from hemp, Arizona courts are tightening THC rules, and Morris Beegle calls again for clear bifurcation between cannabinoid and industrial markets.
We close with a reminder to check out our new kids podcast, Super Smart Farm Show, launching July 22. Stick around after the credits to hear the trailer. As always, thanks for listening — and until next time, we’ll see you in the newspaper.
This week on the Hemp Show we’re talking about flax, a fiber plant with remarkable similarities to industrial hemp when grown for textiles.
There’s a fair amount of flax growing this year in southeastern Pennsylvania.
The last time this much flax grew here, tractors hadn’t even been invented yet.
By the late 1800s flax production was in rapid decline in the Keystone State, pushed out by cheap cotton and forgotten by a country racing toward synthetic fiber — which makes 2025 a special year in Pennsylvania.
Thanks to the PA Flax Project, spearheaded by Heidi Barr and Emma de Long, there are 30 acres of flax for fiber production in Chester, Montgomery and Lancaster counties this year.
Thirty acres sounds small, but it’s a far cry from the eighth of an acre the organization started with in 2022, or the zero acres for generations before that.
When they harvest their 30 acres of flax next week, de Long said, this will be the first flax for fiber ever mechanically harvested in Pennsylvania.
“When flax became no more in the United States, thanks to cotton and free labor and synthetics, the linen industry was destroyed. And since then, it has mechanized in other parts of the world. So now that we are having a resurgence of growing fiber flax and bringing this industry back, we have imported equipment from Belgium and we’re ready to rock and roll,” she said.
Barr said the Pennsylvanian Department of Agriculture has been instrumental in helping further the nascent flax industry in the state.
“We advocated for and they added fiber flax to Pennsylvania’s specialty crop list, which made us eligible for a specialty crop block grant, which we received,” Barr said.
The organization also received an Organic Market Development Grant through USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service, which they are using to implement their business plan and scale acreage, educate and support farmers, and to develop a plan for a scutching mill, Barr said.
She said the mill will be a worker- and farmer-owned cooperative, based on flax-producing co-ops in Europe.
The podcast this week shares a handful of voices from the PA Flax Project’s Flax Flower Picnic, held June 14 at Lundale Farm in South Coventry Township, Chester County.
In order of appearance on the show, we hear from Emma de Long and Heidi Barr from the PA Flax Project; Natalie Horvath, design director at F. Schumacher and Company, a family-owned textile and interior design powerhouse in New York; Bill Schick, director of agriculture for the PA Flax Project; Mike Roth from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture; Paul Turner, chair of the Department of Theater and Dance at Rowan University; Leslie Davidson from the Pennsylvania Fibershed; and PA Flax Project member Rachel Laramee.
After flax, we check in with Dr. David Suchoff from NC State University in North Carolina about the Global Fiber Hemp Summit in Raleigh later this month.
Learn More:
PA Flax Project
paflaxproject.com
F. Schumacher & Co.
schumacher.com
Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture
www.pa.gov/agencies/pda.html
Pennsylvania Fibershed
pafibershed.org
North American Linen Association (NALA)
northamericanlinen.org
Thanks to our sponsors!
IND HEMP
Indhemp.com
Forever Green, distributors of the KP4 Hemp Cutter
hempcutter.com
Lately on the podcast, I’ve been wrestling with a question of language.
What does the word hemp really mean, where did that meaning come from, how has it shifted over time, and who gets to define the word hemp today?
For a thousand years, hemp was known as the plant or material that you made things from — things like rope, cloth and paper.
But now when people hear the word hemp, they think about weed. And that’s not helpful for a nascent industry trying to raise capital, build infrastructure and develop markets.
To help me sort out the history and meaning of the word hemp, I spoke with Oxford University Professor Lynda Mugglestone, a historian of the English language, a lexicographer and an expert in how words evolve and collide with law, commerce and culture.
“You would be cheered to know that hemp as a plant grown for fiber has history on its side. If we go right back to Old English we can see the very earliest kind of herbals and leech books talking about hemp,” Mugglestone said.
For most of its long life in English, hemp meant the fiber plant grown for ropes, sails and home spun fabrics, and that meaning was stable for centuries. It was a household word, part of daily life, tied to farming and industry.
But language doesn't sit still, and hemp is no exception. Over time, new uses for the word hemp have crept in. First medicinal, then psychoactive, and now commercial forces are pulling hemp in more directions.
While lawmakers try to impose definitions and industries fight for market share, ordinary people just keep using the word however they want.
That's how language works.
But the original meaning hasn’t gone anywhere — the fiber, the grain and the plant with history behind it. That meaning is still there and perhaps more robust today than at any time in the past 80 years.
But the meaning of hemp has been expanded, like it or not, to include these new definitions, including that hemp can be THC-a flower or that hemp can get you high.
Of course, I disagree with this new definition. Hemp that gets you high isn’t hemp. Call it pot, call it weed, call it what you will, just don’t call it hemp.
As Mugglestone, paraphrasing Samuel Johnson, said, “Words, like their author, when they're not gaining strength, they're generally losing it.”
So there you go, fiber and grain folks. You know what to do. Claim the word hemp and make it grow strong. You are hemp’s rightful heir. Be the signal in the noise.
- Books by Lynda Mugglestone, author of a range of books on English words and how they get used and recorded.Recent books include:
Dictionaries. A Very Short Introduction (Oxford University Press, paperback)
Samuel Johnson and the Journey into Words (OUP, paperback)
Writing a War of Words: Andrew Clark and the Search for meaning in World War One (Oxford University Press, hardback)
Thanks to our Sponsors!
IND HEMP
Forever Green
National Hemp Association
Credits: Produced by Eric Hurlock, mixed and mastered by Justin Berger
This week on the Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast, we’re talking about wipes.
And diapers. And makeup pads. And all the other throwaway hygiene products we barely think about — but use every day.
Most of these single-use items are made from plastic.
Why?
Because plastic is cheap, consistent, and engineered to run smoothly on fast-moving machines.
But that convenience comes at a cost: landfill waste, microplastic pollution and a total disconnect from the land.
But what if we could change that? What if the raw material for these essential products didn’t come from oil — but from agriculture? From the hemp fields, even?
This week, we talk to Jason Finnis from Bast Fiber Technologies, a company working to make that shift real — using hemp fiber to replace plastic in nonwoven hygiene products.
Our guest is Jason Finnis, co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer at Bast Fiber Technologies, a clean-tech fiber company with operations in North Carolina and Germany. Jason’s been working to bring hemp fiber into hygiene and personal care products for more than 30 years — not as a novelty, but as a high-performance alternative to synthetic materials.
We talk about:
• The massive and often invisible role of nonwovens in our daily lives
• The hidden microplastics in wipes, pads and tampons — and why it matters
• Why hemp fiber is a smart material for hygiene: absorbent, soft and compostable
• What BFT looks for in hemp fiber: long, clean and consistent
• The importance of regional supply chains and local farm partnerships
• How consumer pressure, brand demand and European policy are aligning to create real momentum
Jason shares his journey from selling hemp out of a VW bus in the ’90s to helping build a future where everyday products are cleaner, greener and made from plants, not petroleum.
Learn More:
Bast Fiber Technologies
https://www.bastfibertech.com
Global Hemp Fiber Summit – July 10–11 at NC State University
https://hempinitiatives.com/fiber-summit
Thanks to our sponsor:
HEMI – The Hemp Education and Marketing Initiative
Learn more at HempInitiatives.org
Produced by Eric Hurlock and Justin Berger
On this episode of the Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast, we take a look at the fight for industrial hemp’s future — from grassroots advocacy to global certification and the ongoing struggles farmers face in the banking system.
Act 1: Virginia Hemp Month – Reclaiming the Word "Hemp"
Joe Domino and Scott McStacy of the Virginia Hemp Coalition join the show to talk about their efforts to officially recognize June as Virginia Hemp Month. With events ranging from hempcrete building workshops and beekeeping demonstrations to film screenings and brewery gatherings, Virginia is building momentum to reclaim the word hemp for fiber, grain, and industrial uses — and to separate it from cannabinoids and cannabis.
Learn more:
Virginia Hemp Month
virginiahempmonth.com
Virginia Hemp Coalition
https://www.vahemp.org/
Act 2: Responsible Hemp Standard – Certification for Fiber Hemp
Eric Singular returns to introduce the Responsible Hemp Standard (RHS) — the first global certification system for the industrial hemp fiber supply chain. RHS brings traceability, transparency, and verified responsible practices to every stage of hemp fiber production, from cultivation to cottonization. This certification gives brands and textile mills the confidence to source truly sustainable hemp fiber for apparel, textiles, and home goods.
Learn more:
Responsible Hemp Standard
responsiblehempstandard.com
Act 3: Banking Headaches on Brush Mountain
In our final segment, we head back to Brush Mountain in Centre County, PA, where bison farmer and hemp grower Herb Grove tells how his local bank abruptly canceled his accounts — simply because he held a legal hemp farming permit. His story is a stark reminder of the outdated financial roadblocks still facing hemp farmers nationwide.
Thanks to our Sponsors!
• IND Hemp — indhemp.com
• King's AgriSeeds — kingsagriseeds.com
• Forever Green / KP4 Hemp Cutter — hempcutter.com
Don’t forget the Global Industrial Hemp Fiber Summit in Raleigh, NC — hosted by NC State and NIHC this July
This week on the show we reconnect with Chad Rosen, founder and CEO of Victory Hemp Foods, who was first on the show back in the summer of ‘21 when I drove the Lancaster Farming National Hemp Tour RV right up to Victory Hemp’s grain bins in Carrollton, Kentucky.
When I was there 4 years ago, Victory was processing batches, roughly 20,000 lbs a month, but they just put in a new processing line that lets them do 120,000 pounds of hemp hearts per month, a sixfold increase.
But that’s not all. The new production line features “patented processing technology” that Rosen said, “delivers cleaner flavor, higher yields for us in the plant, and functional formats that really meet the expectations of major food manufacturers."
“We are a food ingredient manufacturer. That's the core of what we do,” Rosen said.
Hemp heart protein and oil are the core of Victory’s business, but the new processing technology also allowed Victory to launch value-added ingredient formats like puffs, crisps, clusters and textured proteins.
“We’ve evolved beyond hemp hearts,” Rosen said. “The idea is to maximize the economic and nutritional value of the hemp seed.”
Victory’s products appear in a wide range of consumer foods, from gluten-free Texas toast to meal replacement shakes and post-workout smoothies. But you’ll have to read the ingredients to find hemp.
“We see a lot more traction with the customers that don’t advertise hemp on the front of the box,” Rosen said. “What they advertise is transparent supply chains or protein boosts or omega-3 claims.”
This low-key marketing strategy reflects lingering stigma—and regulatory confusion—surrounding hemp-derived products. Rosen is optimistic but realistic about the hurdles still facing U.S. hemp grain farmers.
“We have to do a lot of the heavy lifting up front and on the back end to guarantee farmers are going to be able to compete,” he said.
On this episode you can expect to hear where hemp food ingredients are going, how Victory Hemp Foods is scaling production, and what it will take for U.S. farmers to meet future demand.
Also on the show, we touch on Hemp History Month, the upcoming NIHC Global Hemp Fiber Summit in Raleigh, and how hemp can bring manufacturing back to small-town America.
Learn more about Victory Hemp Foods: https://www.victoryhemp.com
Register for the NIHC Global Industrial Hemp Fiber Summit in Raleigh, NC (July 15–17): https://globalhempfiber.textiles.ncsu.edu
Listen to the National Hemp Tour Interview with Chad Rosen from July 2021:https://www.lancasterfarming.com/farming-news/hemp/podcast/national-hemp-tour-victory-hemp-foods-carrolton-kentucky/article_2fa4d0a4-dff8-11eb-a4cf-039276633421.html
Thanks to our sponsors!
HEMI – The Hemp Education and Marketing Initiative https://hempinitiatives.org
Americhanvre Cast Hemp – Leaders in sustainable hempcrete construction https://americhanvre.com
The hemp event of the summer is taking place in Raleigh, North Carolina, July 15-17.
It's the Global Industrial Hemp Fiber Summit, hosted by the Wilson College of Textiles, in conjunction with the National Industrial Hemp Council.
This week on the Hemp Show, we’ll talk to the lead organizer of the event, Guy Carpenter.
Unlike other events focused on industrial hemp, this summit centers squarely on hemp fiber and the industries that are growing up around fiber: textiles, apparel, denim, upholstery, non-wovens, construction, hempcrete, insulation, acoustic panels, automotive, biocomposites, door panels, dashboards, paper, packaging, bioenergy, bioplastics and more.
Just don’t expect cannabinoids, CBD, Delta-8, hemp-derived intoxicants, or any discussion of the floral side of cannabis.
According to Carpenter, this event is all about building the fiber industry.
"If you have any interest whatsoever in starting a business in our industry and figuring out how to make it work and also figuring out what are the starting points, what are the roadblocks, what are the opportunities … this is the place to be,” he said.
The three-day event will include panel discussions with industry experts, as well as field trips to NC State hemp fields, local manufacturing centers and the largest and newest hemp processing facility on the East Coast, recently opened by Biophil Natural Fibers in Lumberton, North Carolina.
Carpenter said the summit will cover “everything from seed to decortication … whatever type of segment of the fiber you want to use, we're going to have people here who are experts at it."
Carpenter has dedicated his life to natural fibers. He’s worked in fashion and apparel, international textile manufacturing, and policy development. After the Army and the Peace Corps, his professional journey in the apparel industry took him all over the world, eventually studying hemp fiber production in China. His vast industry knowledge is a pivotal resource as his home state of North Carolina ramps up hemp for textiles.
He brings an unmatched experience and credibility as the organizer of the summit.
Carpenter said this event follows in the tradition of the Montana Hemp Summit, hosted by IND Hemp in previous years, which means the summit will be less of a celebration of hemp and more of a working session to move the industry forward, and the people who attend are the people building the industry.
“They're not just out there promoting hemp for its magical powers or its halo of goodness… but figuring out ways to make money from it,” he said. “This is the place to be."
Also this week, we read a few hemp excerpts from USDA's 1913 Yearbook.
Register for the NIHC Global Industrial Hemp Fiber Summit here:
https://www.globalindustrialfibersummit.com
Read the USDA Yearbook of Agriculture, 1913 — Chapter on Hemp by Lyster Dewey:
https://archive.org/details/yearbookofusdept1913unit/page/282/mode/2up
News Nuggets
Texas Legislature Moves to Ban THC Hemp Products
https://www.texastribune.org/2025/05/21/texas-house-thc-hemp-senate-bill-3-ban/
Moldova Plants First Legal Hemp Fields
https://hempgazette.com/news/moldova-hemp-fields-hg2123/
Germany Introduces Hemp Flower Tax Stamps
https://hemptoday.net/german-hemp-flower-stamps/
Texas Poultry Farm Transforms to Hemp Cultivation
https://www.publicnewsservice.org/story/texas-farmers-move-from-poultry-to-hemp/a83734-1
Thanks to our sponsors:
IND HEMP
https://www.indhemp.com
Forever Green – Distributors of the KP4 Hemp Cutter
https://www.hempcutter.com
National Hemp Association
https://nationalhempassociation.org
This week’s episode of the Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast unfolds in three acts, each exploring a different facet of the growing hemp industry — from a café built on hemp-based food, to a hands-on construction training, to a linguistic deep dive into the meaning of the word hemp.
Act 1: A Hemp Café in Mount Pleasant The show begins with a conversation with longtime hemp entrepreneur Cindy Amick, whose new endeavor is the Planet Hemp Café, which opens June 7 in Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania.
The café aims to showcase the full potential of hemp in everyday life —from food and drinks to menus, uniforms and even countertops.
The menu centers on edestin protein derived from hemp hearts and used to create hemp-based meats, cheeses, dressings and baked goods. The café is designed to be a prototype for a future franchise model, with plans to expand into Hempfield Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, using American-grown hemp throughout its operations.
Act 2: Learning Hempcrete, the Hands-On Way In early May, Americhanvre Cast Hemp hosted a hempcrete workshop at its headquarters in Barto, Pennsylvania. Attendees traveled from around the country to train on the Ereasyy spray-applied hempcrete system, an innovation originally developed in France by Damien Baumer, who was the lead instructor at the workshop. The event highlighted both the technical capabilities of the spray system and the growing interest in hemp-based construction solutions nationwide.
Act 3: Reclaiming the Word “Hemp” The final act explores the evolving — and sometimes confusing — definition of the word hemp. Drawing from historical texts like Jack Herer’s "The Emperor Wears No Clothes," the 1913 USDA Yearbook, and a 1938 Popular Mechanics article, the segment makes a compelling case: historically and agriculturally, hemp has always referred to the fiber and grain parts of the cannabis plant, not the flower or its resin.
The episode argues that lumping intoxicating cannabinoids under the hemp banner dilutes its meaning and undermines the emerging fiber and grain sectors.
As host Eric Hurlock puts it: “If everything is hemp, then nothing is hemp.”
Learn more:
Planet Hemp Café http://planethempcafe.com/
Americhanvre
https://americhanvre.com/
USDA Yearbook 1913 – Hemp by Lyster Dewey (PDF)
https://naldc.nal.usda.gov/download/IND43743691/PDF
Jack Herer’s "The Emperor Wears No Clothes"
https://jackherer.com/thebook
Popular Mechanics (1938): “New Billion-Dollar Crop”
https://hempology.org/PM1938Article.html
News Nuggets: Ukraine opens major hemp processing facility
https://www.forbes.com/sites/dariosabaghi/2025/05/19/ukraine-launches-largest-industrial-hemp-processing-plant
University of San Diego study: Hemp vs. cotton
https://digital.sandiego.edu/ksb-sscm/10
Victory Hemp Foods expands Kentucky operations
https://www.foodbusinessnews.net/articles/28149-victory-hemp-foods-adds-processing-capacity
Calendar Events
June 20 – PA Fibershed tour at Buck Mason Mill
https://pafibershed.org/events/buckmasontour
June 26–27 – NIHH Hemp Building Workshop – IL https://nihh.org/
July 15–17 – Global Hemp Fiber Summit – NC
https://globalhempfiber.textiles.ncsu.edu/
Thanks to our Sponsors
HEMI – Hemp Education & Marketing Initiative
https://hempinitiatives.org/
Bish Enterprises – FiberCut Harvester
https://bishenterprise.com/
This week on the Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast, host Eric Hurlock wrestles with a question at the heart of the industry: What is hemp?
The term has become increasingly diluted and controversial — especially in light of smokable flower and intoxicating cannabinoid markets, i.e. THC-a flower, Delta-8, etc.
Lately, Eric has been saying that if you're growing floral hemp, maybe you're not actually a hemp farmer. But he might be wrong and this week he goes on a journey to find out.
On this show, Eric speaks with three trusted voices on the cannabinoid side of the conversation to help untangle the confusion: Joe Ullman of Atlas Seed, Ben Davies of Wild Fox Provisions and Jeremy Klettke of Davis Hemp Farms.
Together, they explore the cultural history, legal definitions and evolving market forces that have transformed how we use — and misuse — the word hemp.
From fiber and grain to cannabinoids and regulation, this episode digs deep into the meaning, the consequences and the potential for redefining the future of the hemp industry.
Learn More: • Joe Ullman – Atlas Seed
• Ben Davies – Wild Fox Provisions
• Jeremy Klettke – Davis Hemp Farms
Topics Covered: • The origin and historical meaning of "hemp"
• How the 2018 Farm Bill broadened the definition
• The rise of THCa flower and "intoxicating hemp"
• The conflict between cannabinoid and fiber/grain sectors
• Regulatory confusion and COA loopholes
• The cultural baggage of the word "hemp"
• The role of education, infrastructure, and language in shaping the industry
Hemp Sponsors: • IND HEMP — Building real infrastructure for American hemp
• King’s AgriSeeds — Call Sarah Mitchell for seasonal seed needs (717-687-6224)
• Forever Green — Distributor of the KP4 hemp cutter
Questions or comments? Email: podcast@lancasterfarming.com
This episode was written, recorded, edited, and produced by Eric Hurlock and Justin Berger.
© 2025 Lancaster Farming Newspaper, part of the Steinman Communications family.
This week’s episode is a little different—just a quick teaser while we finish up next week’s show, which dives into the meaning of the word “hemp” and who gets to claim it. Host Eric Hurlock has been on a journey talking to people in the cannabinoid space—like Jeremy Klettke, Joe Ullman, and Ben Davies—to sort through some big questions about language, identity, and the hemp plant.
In the meantime, we don’t want to leave you empty-handed. So here are a few instrumental tracks that Eric Hurlock has recorded over the years—music you’ve probably heard behind the podcast, but now without all the talking!
Thanks for listening and for your patience.
This week on the Hemp Podcast we’re looking at the 2025 Hemp Report from the USDA. The annual report attempts to provide a snapshot of the hemp industry, which, according to the report, is valued at $445 million — up 40% from last year.
That sounds amazing, but what the numbers actually show is two completely different stories about two completely different industries: industrial hemp, i.e., fiber and grain, and floral hemp, i.e., cannabinoids, medicinal and recreational products and smokable hemp flower.
As usual, the floral side of things takes up a lot of the conversation. After all, 85% of the $445 million industry was on the floral side, and people like to see that kind of growth. But numbers on the fiber and grain side tell a much more interesting and complicated tale.
So we’re digging into the numbers, while also contemplating the existential question: Are you really a hemp farmer?
Host Eric Hurlock offers the hot take that maybe if you're in this for cannabinoid extraction — regardless of the THC content — you are not a hemp farmer. You are a cannabis grower.
Historically, the word “hemp” has meant the crop you grow for industrial purposes. However, the 2018 Farm Bill opened up a legal loophole that has had major consequences for the meaning of the word “hemp,” which has led to confusion in the industry — especially among lawmakers and regulators who continue to think hemp is essentially just low-key weed.
It’s time to reclaim the word hemp for the real hemp industry: fiber and grain. Let's call floral hemp what is is: low-THC cannabis.
Questions or comments? Leave Eric Hurlock a message: 717-721-4462
Read the report yourself: https://data.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Idaho/Publications/Census_Press_Releases/2025/HEMP.pdf
Thanks to our sponsors
IND HEMP
Forever Green, distributors of the KP4 Hemp Cutter
Americhanvre
National Hemp Association
They say hemp has 25,000 uses — but today, we’re focusing on just one: nonwovens.
In this episode, Eric and Sophia dive into a hidden-yet-ubiquitous part of our daily lives with guest Mattie Mead from Hempitecture.
From car door panels to carpet padding, nonwovens are everywhere — and mostly made from petroleum-based plastics. But they don’t have to be.
Mattie explains how Hempitecture is scaling the use of natural fibers, like hemp, to reduce carbon emissions, create American manufacturing jobs and transform the built environment.
This episode is a masterclass in sustainable materials, circular economy thinking and what it really means to make change from the ground up.
Topics Covered:
• What nonwovens are and how they’re made.
• Why nonwovens are a huge opportunity for hemp.
• The story of Hempitecture’s pivot from hempcrete to fiber-based products.
• How American-grown hemp can displace petroleum-based materials.
• What it means to be a manufacturing company rooted in agriculture.
• New tech on the horizon: fiber fortification.
• Investment opportunities in sustainable American manufacturing.
Link to invest in Hempitecture on WeFunder
This show is brought to by HEMI and the Goodness of Hemp
What can industrial hemp do for your business? Find out at hempinitiatives.org
Music by Tin Bird Shadow
This show was written, recorded, edited, and produced by Sophia Kurzius, Justin Berger, and Eric Hurlock
Copyright 2025
The NoCo Hemp Expo wrapped up its eleventh annual event last week in Estes Park, Colorado.
The overall mood was optimistic, according to attendees, but there was an undercurrent of uncertainty and angst.
The industry stands at a crossroads. Is it too dramatic (or melodramatic) to call it the battle for the soul of the industry?
The word hemp means different things to different people, but for over a thousand years, the English word hemp meant one thing: the crop you farm at scale to produce raw materials for industry and food — ropes, sail cloth, paper, animal feed.
But now, a quarter way through the 21st Century, the definition of hemp, some would say, has expanded, leading to new opportunities, while others might say the new definition of hemp has been co-opted and pejorative.
In this episode of the Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast, host Eric Hurlock (with co-host Sophia Kurzius) gathers insights from 12 industry leaders, farmers, processors, advocates and policy experts to examine the defining issue of our time: the meaning of the word “hemp.”
From Joy Beckerman’s impassioned plea to protect the fiber and grain future of hemp, to Chris Fontes’ nuanced defense of the cannabinoid market, this episode captures the friction and common ground shaping hemp’s next chapter.
And what's this we hear about executive orders coming soon that will redefine the hemp space even further?
Plus, why you can’t tell the story of hemp in America without talking about hemp on tribal land. Hemp is a game changer for Indigenous communities.
Hempcrete, for instance, gives the people on reservations almost immediate access to addressing their housing needs in a way that was never available to them.
"Hemp is achievable, it’s circular, and the stories I hear from people in Indigenous communities are incredibly inspiring," said host Eric Hurlock.
On this episode, you’ll hear from: * JJ Johnson – Founder of JJGro * Kelly Burke – Director at Kifcure * Joe Hickey – Co-founder of the Kentucky Hemp Growers Cooperative * Ken Meyer – Founder of Complete Hemp Processing * Morris Beegle – Founder of NoCo Hemp Expo and WAFBA * Joy Beckerman – Principal at Hemp Ace International * Dionne Holmquist – Director at Makoce Agriculture Development * Ken Elliott – Founder of IND HEMP * Jean Lotus – Publisher of Hemp Build Magazine * Chris Fontes – CEO of High Spirits Beverages * U.S. Hemp Authority – Chris Fontes is President * Andrew Bish – President of the Hemp Feed Coalition * Bish Enterprises – COO Andrew Bish * Greg Wilson – Founder of HempWood
Topics Covered in This Episode * Confusion over the definition of "hemp" * Tension between cannabinoid and industrial sectors * Misuse of the word “hemp” for intoxicating products * Historical meaning and etymology of the word hemp * Short-term profit vs. long-term industry building * Cannabinoid products dominating policy conversations * Farmer-focused versus consumer-focused markets * Executive order rumors and Farm Bill delays * Regulatory clarity and safety for consumers * Indigenous sovereignty and tribal hemp regulation * Shifting public perception through language * Need for strong fiber and grain infrastructure * Caution about unchecked cannabinoid products * GRAS status and feed approval for hemp grain * The role of big companies (Ford, Tesla, etc.) in scaling hemp * Climate, soil, and sustainability potential of hemp * Integrity, transparency, and labeling standards * Disagreements within the industry over goals and methods * Shared values across hemp sectors despite conflicts * The importance of unity and focusing on common ground * Joy Beckerman’s public stance against intoxicating derivatives * The idea of a regulatory split between floral and industrial hemp * Hemp’s potential for rural revitalization * Making hemp “boring” again to normalize it as a commodity
Thanks to our sponsors: IND HEMP National Hemp Association Forever Green
Production and audio engineering by Lancaster Farming Audio Team: Sophia Kurzius, Justin Berger and Eric Hurlock.
Music by Tin Bird Shadow
In this episode, regenerative industrial hemp farmer Steve Groff returns for a candid discussion about the current state of hemp farming, innovation and industry challenges in Pennsylvania.
Groff shares insights on the unexpected bureaucratic setbacks he's faced, his pragmatic approach to political and economic changes and exciting developments in precision planting technology aimed at revolutionizing hemp and flax cultivation.
Despite encountering funding hurdles and project delays, Groff remains optimistic, advocating strongly for unity and honest collaboration within the hemp community.
Topics Include:
• The impact of political uncertainty and tariffs on hemp and produce farmers
• Challenges with labor and government bureaucracy
• Innovations in precision planting for fiber quality
• The struggle and reality of securing funding
• Updates on biochar experimentation
• Status of regional hemp processing facilities
• Strategies for moving forward amid industry setbacks
Groff emphasizes a practical mindset and underscores the need for honest communication and cooperation within the hemp industry to achieve shared goals.
Learn More:
Steve Groff
Hemp Katalyst
Thanks to our sponsors:
IND HEMP
King's Agriseeds
Forever Green
Music courtesy of Tin Bird Shadow:
When President Thomas Jefferson sent Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on the original American road trip in 1804, there weren’t many roads, so they took boats. Up the Missouri River and into the great unknown.
One of their tasks was to collect and catalog detailed information about the natural world as they made their way westward.
When the expedition returned in 1806, the American explorers brought with them a collection of over 200 plant samples that Lewis meticulously cataloged and preserved.
The Corps of Discovery expedition ended in 1806, but for this collection of plants, the journey continued on. Through a series of accidents, oversights and plain dumb luck, these 222 plant samples ended up on the other side of the Atlantic for many years and were almost destroyed.
Now the collection, known as the Lewis and Clark Herbarium, is housed at the Academy of Natural Sciences at Drexel University in Philadelphia.
How it got there and why it took nearly 80 years is the topic of today's episode.
We listen to Eric Hurlock’s interview with Dr. Rick McCourt, botanist at the Academy of Natural Sciences and curator of the Herbarium.
What You'll Learn
• How Lewis & Clark’s plant samples survived over two centuries of mishaps.
• The role of Philadelphia as a hub of botanical science in early America.
• Details on plant preservation techniques from the early 1800s.
• The intriguing story of wild tobacco rediscovered after being presumed extinct.
• Future research potential from ancient DNA preserved in plant specimens.
Learn More:
Lewis and Clark Herbarium
Academy of Natural Sciences at Drexel University
See Photos from the Herbarium
Thanks to our Sponsors
IND HEMP
Americhanvre Cast-Hemp Ereasy Training May 7-10
Music by Tin Bird Shadow
This week on the Hemp Show, we talk with global hemp expert and co-founder of the Hemp Plastic Company, Paul Benhaim.
Benhaim takes us on a deep dive into hemp plastics — and why he believes scalability is more important than purity. We'll hear about the company and the process of turning hemp into objects like didgeridoos and car parts.
Benhaim has been in the hemp industry for over 30 years, finding early success with a hemp health bar in Europe in the 1990s before moving to Australia where he founded the largest hemp food company in the Southern Hemisphere.
Benhaim tells us about a trip to the Himalayas that inspired his research into communities, health, diet and — hemp.
"The science says it's the best thing for humanity and it leads to people being vibrant and healthy," Benhaim says.
This experience led Benhaim to write the book "H.E.M.P.: Healthy Eating Made Possible."
Benhaim explains the 'endocannabinoids,' and the endocannabinoid system present in every living mammal.
“Our body is literally made for cannabis, hence the system being called the endocannabinoid system, which until relatively recently was never taught to doctors, never taught in medicine. An entire system was kind of ignored," says Benhaim.
Resources & Links:
✅ Hemp Plastic Company
✅ H.E.M.P.: Healthy Eating Made Possible
✅ Interview with Exlinol's Gabriel Ettenson
✅ Cannabis Psychedelics
Thanks to our sponsors:
✅ IND Hemp – Family-owned hemp feed, food and fiber company bringing new opportunities to farmers and manufacturers across the U.S.
✅ Forever Green – Distributors of the KP4 Hemp Cutter
Music by Tin Bird Shadow
Topics covered in this conversation:
• Paul’s introduction to hemp and his early “aha” moment
• The connection between food, community and vibrant health
• Founding of Hemp Foods Australia and Elixinol
• The story behind his first book: "H.E.M.P.: Healthy Eating Made Possible"
• How hemp led to broader interests in natural living, permaculture and traditional medicine
• The endocannabinoid system: What it is and why it matters
• Paul's thoughts on full-spectrum CBD vs. isolated compounds
• Why he believes CBD is a separate industry from both marijuana and industrial hemp
• Challenges with regulation and intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids (like Delta-8, HHC)
• Global perspectives on hemp vs. the U.S. approach
• Hemp’s historical context and linguistic confusion around the word "hemp"
• The scalability problem in hemp and why it's critical to solve
• The evolution of hemp plastic and the story behind the hemp harmonica
• Paul’s current work with The Hemp Plastic Company
• Technical details of making hemp plastic pellets for industrial use
• Why end markets matter more than farming alone
• Potential for hemp to scale up as a sustainable alternative in global manufacturing
• Circular economies and local empowerment in Africa
• Hemp opportunities in Thailand and Asia
• NIHC and international cooperation in the hemp industry
• Paul’s involvement with the U.S. government and COP (climate talks)
• Cannabis psychedelics: therapeutic uses and his new project
• Meditation, dance and his personal approach to mindfulness
• Reflections on the need for a new, cooperative paradigm in hemp and beyond
This week on the Hemp Show, we catch up with filmmaker Joel Caldwell and hempcrete builder Danny Desjarlais about the film "Green Buffalo."
Coming off of a win for the short documentary category at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, "Green Buffalo" is making waves.
Caldwell shares his experience on making the film within the limitations of the short documentary medium and how he was able to capture the resilience of the Lower Sioux in the film.
"I had the light turned on as far as this massive solution," he says. "We can create carbon banks and live in healthier homes."
Desjarlais explains how his crew is addressing the local housing crisis by rebuilding their community — one hempcrete home at a time.
“I came into this as a conventional builder, trying to find the bad in hempcrete, and I keep getting proven wrong," says Desjarlais.
Resources & Links:
✅ The Lower Sioux Indian Community
✅ Watch the Green Buffalo film from Patagonia
✅ Joel Caldwell’s filmography, including The Issue with Tissue
✅ The International Hemp Building Symposium, October 3 – 5, 2025, at the Lower Sioux Indian Community’s hemp campus
✅ Hemp Clothing at Patagonia
✅ Watch Legacy Regenerated, a Patagonia film about North Carolina hemp farmer Patrick Brown
Thanks to our sponsors:
✅ IND Hemp – Family-owned hemp feed, food, and fiber company bringing new opportunities to farmers and manufacturers across the U.S
✅ Forever Green – Distributors of the KP4 Hemp Cutter.
Music by Tin Bird Shadow
This week on the Hemp Show, we head to Tucson, Arizona, where Micaela Machado of Old Pueblo Hemp Co. is leading a hemp-building revolution.
She said she hopes “Tucson becomes a hub for natural building and specifically hemp. I think Tucson, Arizona, is right for building, for processing. We have all the right weather and lots of land to do it with.”
Machado is a general contractor with a background in sculpture and landscape architecture, and she’s bringing her deep passion for sustainability and natural building to the hemp industry.
Her passion is fueled by a drive to provide healthier housing alternatives for people. New houses are often made from hazardous materials that emit dangerous chemicals into the home, she said.
“Every night we’re sleeping in these Tupperware airtight toxic containers. And so I think that opens people’s eyes” to natural building materials, she said.
We’ll hear how she made the leap from sculpting concrete for zoos and aquariums to pioneering hemp construction in the Southwest. She shares her “aha” moment with hemp and how her work is transforming communities, from feature walls to full-scale commercial projects.
Plus, we’ll get the details on the Hemp Building Fiesta, happening March 28-30 in Tucson — a hands-on workshop featuring some of the biggest names in the industry, including Sergiy “Dr. Hemphouse” Kovalenkov, Danny DeJarlais from Lower Sioux, Mary Jane Oatman from the Indigenous Cannabis Industry Association and more.
Also on the show, host Eric Hurlock gives the show’s new guest host Sophia a crash coarse in building with hemp.
Topics Covered:
✅ Micaela’s journey from sculpture to hemp construction
✅ The origins of Old Pueblo Hemp Co.
✅ The unique challenges and opportunities for hemp building in the desert
✅ Tucson’s first permitted hemp construction project
✅ The upcoming Hemp Building Fiesta — who’s coming, what’s happening, and why you should be there
✅ The future of hemp construction in Arizona
Links & Resources:
✅ Old Pueblo Hemp Co.
✅ Hemp Building Fiesta Registration
Thanks to our sponsors:
✅ IND Hemp – Family-owned hemp feed, food, and fiber company bringing new opportunities to farmers and manufacturers across the U.S.
✅ Americhanvre Cast Hemp – Providing educational resources and hands-on workshops for the hemp building community.
✅ Forever Green – Distributors of the KP4 Hemp Cutter.
Music by Tin Bird Shadow
In this episode of the Lancaster Farming Hemp Podcast, we welcome back Morris Beegle, the founder of NoCo Hemp Expo and a leading advocate in the hemp industry.
The conversation spans the globe as Morris shares insights from his recent travels to Africa, Asia, and South America, discussing the growing industrial hemp movement worldwide.
From the first-ever Kenya Hemp Conference to a 12-story hempcrete hotel in South Africa, Morris provides a firsthand look at the developing hemp sector in Africa.
The 11th annual NoCo Hemp Expo is in Estes Park, Colorado, this April. Morris gives us a preview of what to expect, from expert panels to industry networking opportunities. Plus, we touch on U.S. policy, market access programs, and the challenges facing the industrial hemp sector.
Learn More
• NoCo Hemp Expo 2025 – April 10-12, 2025, Estes Park, Colorado
• European Industrial Hemp Association Conference – June 11-13, 2025, Berlin, Germany
• Green Buffalo – A short documentary film on hempcrete housing at the Lower Sioux Indian Community
• Hemp Building Fiesta, Tucson, AZ – March 28-30, 2025
Sponsors
IND HEMP, in Fort Benton, Montana
Forever Green, distributors of the KP4 Hemp Cutter
Music Courtesy of Tin Bird Shadow
On this episode of the Hemp Podcast, we speak with Jeff Kostuik, of Verve Seed Solutions, aa Canadian Hemp Seed company based in Saskatchewan.
Jeff joins us from the road—literally, from an airport—on his way to North Carolina for a meeting with a hemp processor.
We'll hear about Verve Seed Solutions and the new varieties they are bringing to the hemp space this year.
We will also talk about Donald Trump's impeding trade wars and what Canadian hemp businesses like Verve are doing to face the new realities.
Topics Covered:
- How Verve Seeds genetics are distributed worldwide
- Increasing hemp seed yield by up to 190%
- How U.S. policies are affecting Canadian farmers
- Navigating strict cannabinoid limits in poultry feeds
- Why more infrastructure is needed us US Hemp processing
Learn more:
Verve Seed Solutions Thanks to our sponsors:
IND HEMP
KING'S AGRI-SEEDs
AMERICHANVRE CAST-HEMP
Music by Tin Bird Shadow
On this episode of the Hemp Podcast, we welcome back Geoff Whaling, chair of the National Hemp Association, for an in-depth discussion on the evolving landscape of the hemp industry under the new administration.
We cover the uncertainty surrounding the NHA’s $19.8 million climate-smart grant, the impact of leadership changes in Washington, and the ongoing push for hemp as an approved food and animal feed ingredient.
Whaling shares his insights on the Farm Bill negotiations, the role of key officials in the USDA, and why he remains optimistic about hemp’s future despite political shifts.
Topics Covered:
- The latest on the USDA Climate-Smart grant and its uncertain status
- Why Geoff sees opportunities under the new administration
- Key takeaways from his recent meetings in Washington, D.C.
- The push for federal recognition of hemp as animal feed
- How industry members can engage and advocate for hemp policy
Learn more:
Take the NHA Industry Survey
https://nationalhempassociation.org/hemp-industry-survey/
National Hemp Association
https://nationalhempassociation.org/
Congressional Research Service Hemp Update
https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF12278/7
Thanks to our sponsors:
IND HEMP
Forever Green
Music by Tin Bird Shadow
On this episode we talk to Max Justice from Setas Mushrooms — the innovator behind MyCoffin, biodegradable coffins made of mycelium and industrial hemp.
Justice is the co-founder and CEO of Setas Eternal Living, a company that offers people a sustainable end-of life solution — with aspirations to disrupt the death industry with affordable and sustainable options.
For Justice, Setas Eternal Living was logical next step in his fungus journey. He and his wife started Setas Mushrooms on their farm in Greencastle, Pennsylvania, after discovering the healing power of mushrooms during his wife’s illness.
Fungus changed their lives forever.
In this episode we’ll hear about the process of making coffins from mycelium and hemp and how this product compares to traditional burial vessels.
Compared to traditional caskets that will take centuries to breakdown, Justice’s coffin will biodegrade in just a few years, making it a good option for green burial.
Learn More:
Setas Eternal Living https://www.setaseternalliving.com/
Setas Mushrooms https://setasmushrooms.com/
Green Burial Council https://www.greenburialcouncil.org/
Watch the WGAL News Video https://www.wgal.com/article/south-central-pennsylvania-farm-grows-mushroom-coffins/63364893
News Nuggets
Shapiro Administration Announces Recipients of the Nation’s First Agricultural Innovation Grant
https://www.pa.gov/governor/newsroom/2025-press-releases/shapiro-administration-announces-recipients-of-the-nation-s-firs.html
The public is encouraged to submit written comments to HHS and USDA related to the Scientific Report of the 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee to inform the development of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025-2030.
https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov/public-comment-departments
Unfazed and confused, Sutter County extends ban on industrial hemp despite grower push-back=
https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article299400029.html
Thanks to our sponsors:
- IND HEMP
- Americhanvre
- Kings Agriseeds
- Forever Green
Music Courtesy of Tin Bird Shadow
On this episode we check back in Chris Boucher, who was originally on the program in July of 2022.
Boucher is a hemp industry OG. In 1990, he was first introduced to hemp by Jack Herer himself in, author of the book that jumpstarted the hemp movement in America, The Emperor Wears No Clothes.
In 1994 Boucher was issued a permit from the USDA to grow fiber hemp in California, but his crop was destroyed before harvest by local drug enforcement agents.
He was a founding member of the Hemp Industries Association and was part of the landmark case HIA vs. DEA that established the legality of CBD.
But these days, Boucher’s hemp endeavor is JuiceTiva, a cold-pressed hemp juice powder rooted in the nutritional potential of hemp leaves and flowers.
Boucher shares his opinions of the state of hemp in California, which he says has the worst hemp regulations of any state in the union, citing Governor Newsom’s recent banning of hemp products and the structure of the state and county agriculture departments.
He describes a situation in California where the marijuana industry is battling the hemp industry for dominance in the intoxicating cannabinoid arena.
Learn more:
JuiceTiva California Hemp Program News Nugget
Judge Blocks Trump Administration's Freeze on USDA Climate and Equity Programs
Thanks to our Sponsor IND HEMP and their awesome hemp product brands:
All Walks Pet Products Hemptana Farm & Ranch Products
This week’s guest on the Industrial Hemp podcast is Lucia Vignale, a third-year PhD student at Cornell University, where she studies plant breeding, genetics and pathology.
“I’m interested in searching for, mapping, and characterizing new sources of resistance against hemp powdery mildew,” she said.
Vignale earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in molecular biologist in her native Uruguay, and in 2022 she came to Larry Smart’s hemp lab at Cornell on a Fullbright scholarship to pursue her PhD.
Her passion for hemp is intertwined with her passion for science.
There's so much that we don't know about hemp, she said, “so I want to answer questions. I want to solve problems.”
She said with other crops like corn, cotton or soy, there is already so much research out there, so much is already known. But hemp, she said, “has been largely unexplored due to legal issues,” and the untapped potential excites her.
“There's so many things that we can do and learn from it, and we are seeing that in person now with all the new products and applications that we can get from it, she said.
One of her jobs in the Cornell hemp lab this year was to plan and execute the fourth annual hemp webinar series, which starts January 29 and runs biweekly until May 7.
This year’s webinar series will focus on hemp grain and will include presentations from hemp grain experts. (see full list below)
The webinar series is free but registration is required.
Go here to register: https://cornell.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0vJzjCiA0SLCOua 2025 Hemp Webinar Series Schedule January 29: IND Hemp, founding and mission – Morgan Tweet, IND HEMP
February 12: Pathogens affecting hemp cultivation – Nicole Gauthier, University of Kentucky
February 26: Hemp products as food ingredients – Chadwick White, Nepra Foods, Ltd.
March 12: Screening of seed related traits in wide germplasm – Tyler Gordon, USDA-ARS
March 26: Novel high oleic acid seed oil trait – Ian Graham, University of York
April 9: Hemp seed meal as a feed ingredient in animal diets – Nathalie Trottier, Cornell University
April 23: Best agronomic practices – Bob Pearce, University of Kentucky
May 7: Hemp products as food ingredients – Kendra Meier, HPS Food & Ingredients
Learn More about Cornell Hemp: https://hemp.cals.cornell.edu/
News Nuggets: 13th Annual International Hemp Building Association Symposium to Be Held at Lower Sioux Indian Community
https://internationalhempbuilding.org/
https://lowersioux.com/hemp-program-and-housing-project/
Thanks to our Sponsors!
- IND HEMP
- Americhanvre
- Kings Agriseeds
- Forever Green
Holtwood, PENNSYLVANIA—On this episode of the Industrial Hemp Podcast, Lancaster Farming visits with Lancaster County hemp farmer Steve Groff to discuss his recent trip to China.
Steve shares his observations from visiting China's expansive hemp supply chain, from farms to textile factories. With vivid descriptions and first-hand insights, Steve explains how the Chinese grow, harvest and process industrial hemp at an unparalleled scale.
The conversation explores:
• The differences between Chinese and American hemp farming practices.
• China's advanced textile production, blending hemp with cotton and flax.
• The challenges and opportunities of scaling the U.S. hemp industry.
• Steve’s key takeaways from China, including what the fledgling American hemp industry can learn from their systems.
Thanks to our sponsors!
KP4 Hemp Cutter: Revolutionizing hemp harvesting with speed and efficiency. Learn more
King’s AgriSeeds: Supporting fiber and grain hemp growers in the Mid-Atlantic region. Learn more
IND Hemp: A family-owned hemp food, feed, and fiber company in Fort Benton, Montana. Learn more
This week on the Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast, host Eric Hurlock speaks with filmmaker Jordan Berger from Sunflower Films in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Berger and his team are creating the documentary One Plant, that tells the story the cannabis plant.
Fresh off the success of a Kickstarter campaign that raised over $65,000, Jordan discusses the process of funding, creating, and finishing a film. He provides insight into how the funds will be allocated, including editing, sound design, animation, and licensing music to bring the project to completion.
The episode also highlights the challenges and rewards of documenting a growing industry and why this film matters to the hemp community and beyond.
In This Episode
Kickstarter Success: Learn how One Plant reached its fundraising goal and how additional funds will support production.
Film Production Breakdown: Berger explains the technical aspects of filmmaking, from post-production to sound design and animation for educational segments.
Behind-the-Scenes Stories: Memorable moments from the two-year filming journey, including interviews with hemp industry leaders and on-the-ground experiences.
Impact of the Film: Why One Plant is more than a documentary—it’s a tool to educate, inspire, and drive change in farming, manufacturing, and consumer behavior.
What’s Next for One Plant?
With editing expected to wrap up by February 2025, One Plant will soon be submitted to major film festivals. While the film’s public release is still months away, the team is planning a premiere event for supporters in the spring.
Make a late pledge to the film: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/oneplant/one-plant
Watch the Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1tlMo1VtWA
Hemp News Nuggets Hemp Fiber Research Funding: North Carolina State University receives a $667K investment for studies on harvest timing and environmental impacts on hemp fiber quality.
PFAS Remediation with Hemp: A project in Maine demonstrates hemp’s potential to clean up contaminated soil but highlights challenges in safe disposal of toxic biomass.
Regulatory Battles in Texas: The state’s hemp industry faces potential new restrictions as lawmakers seek tighter controls on intoxicating hemp products.
Thanks to our Sponsors!
IND HEMP
Mpactful Ventures
Forever Green, distributors of the KP4 Hemp Cutter
Music by Tin Bird Shadow
In this special Thanksgiving episode, hemp podcast host Eric Hurlock sits down with hempcrete builder Cameron McIntosh of Americhanvre Cast Hemp. Fresh off his return from the World Hemp Forum in France, Cameron shares insights from his whirlwind trip, including a tour of La Chanvrière's world-class processing facility and his participation on a global panel of hemp-building experts.
The conversation explores the state of hemp construction globally and at home, covering key events like Greenbuild in Philadelphia and the Lower Sioux Indian Community’s groundbreaking hemp projects in Minnesota. Eric and Cameron also reflect on Pennsylvania’s bipartisan support for hemp and the industry’s bright outlook for 2025.
Episode Highlights:
The World Hemp Forum: Cameron discusses his time in France, including his tour of La Chanvrière's innovative robotic processing systems and his reflections on French leadership in hempcrete construction.
Greenbuild 2024: A behind-the-scenes look at showcasing hemp building materials at one of the largest sustainability events in the U.S., and the unexpected challenges of staying true to green values.
A Year in Review: Federal investments, grassroots movements, and key milestones for industrial hemp in 2024, including $75 million in government funding for the industry.
Lower Sioux & The Green Buffalo: Highlights from Patagonia’s new short film documenting the Lower Sioux Indian Community’s inspiring work with hemp.
Looking Ahead: A hopeful conversation about the growing demand for bio-based materials and the role of hemp in creating healthier, more sustainable communities.
Support the Kickstarter for One Planet Film
Patagonia’s The Green Buffalo Documentary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A15X3-FFEXw
This Thanksgiving, we’re reminded of the resilience, passion, and community that drive the hemp industry forward. Thank you for listening, and travel safely this holiday season. Until next time, see you in the newspaper!
Thanks to Our SPONSORS!
IND HEMP – A family-owned, mission-driven company providing innovative hemp food, feed, and fiber products to farmers and rural communities. Learn more at INDHEMP.com.
National Hemp Association – Advocating for sensible public policy and building a sustainable future while promoting rural economic development. Learn more at NationalHempAssociation.org.
Music by Tin Bird Shadow
This week we talk hemp with industry leader Morris Beegle. Known for his work with the NoCo Hemp Expo, Let’s Talk Hemp, and other ventures, Morris shares his insights on the year in hemp, global developments, and what lies ahead for the industry.
From international travels to Japan, Peru, and Prague to organizing major events in the U.S. and Europe, Morris offers a unique perspective on hemp’s evolving landscape.
In this conversation we explore the challenges and opportunities for industrial hemp and linger perhaps a bit too long on the linguistic and regulatory nuances that divide the plant's industrial and chemical uses.
Plus, we’ll some hear exciting updates about NoCo Hemp Expo 11 and the European Industrial Hemp Association Conference in Berlin.
Episode Highlights:
• Reflections on hemp industry achievements in 2024
• Global trends: Japan’s strict regulations, South America’s growing opportunities
• The evolving political climate’s impact on hemp in the U.S.
• Insights into hemp’s dual identity: industrial vs. cannabinoid uses
• Upcoming events: NoCo Hemp Expo 11 (April 10–12, 2025) and the EIHA Conference in Berlin
Links & Resources:
• NoCo Hemp Expo – Learn more about the world’s largest hemp-centric conference.
• Let’s Talk Hemp – Morris Beegle’s podcast and media platform.
• One Plant Documentary Kickstarter – Support the hemp documentary project.
• Farmhouse Podcast – Stories about women in agriculture, hosted by Candice Wierzbowski and Stephanie Speicher. Listen to their conversation with Christine Smart from Cornell AgriTech and Melissa Nelson Baldwin from South Bend Industrial Hemp.
Thank you to our sponsors!
• IND Hemp – A family-owned company revolutionizing American hemp for food, feed, and fiber. Visit IND Hemp.
• Mpactful Ventures – Supporting startups that combat climate change. Learn more.
Music by Tin Bird Shadow
In this episode of the Industrial Hemp Podcast, we take you to the GreenBuild Conference and Expo in Philadelphia, the world’s largest event dedicated to green building and sustainable construction.
This annual gathering brings together architects, engineers, builders, and innovators, all focused on creating a more sustainable future for the built environment.
Under the banner of The Goodness of Hemp, an inspiring collective of hemp-based businesses showcased their products and vision for the future of construction.
From cutting-edge materials to bold collaborations, this episode highlights the voices shaping the intersection of hemp and sustainability.
On this episode, you will hear:
Katie Gillham – Event Director, GreenBuild
Greg Wilson – HempWood
Tom Rossmossler – HempStone
Mattie Mead – Hempitecture
James Forbes – Tiger Fiber
Pierre Berard – HEMI and The Goodness of Hemp
Alex Sexsmith – Sexsmith Architects
Zach Popp – Sativa Building Systems
Amanda Martin-Behrendtsen – Renewal Revolution
Trey Riddle – IND HEMP
Mario Machnicki – US Heritage Group
Indra Fanuzzi – American Basalt Company
Colyn Stangl-Meddaugh – BRR Architecture
Listen now to hear how hemp is revolutionizing the construction industry and why GreenBuild is the perfect platform to showcase its potential.
Support the ONE PLANT Kickstarter!
Thanks to our Sponsors
IND HEMP
Mpactful Ventures
ForeverGreen
Music by Tin Bird Shadow
This is part one of our coverage of the 2024 Montana Hemp Summit, also known as the "Goodness of Hemp" Summit, that took place in Great Falls, Montana, Oct. 15-17.
First, please take action now. Help support the One Plant Kickstarter campaign.
The episode opens with a conversation with Ken Elliott, co-founder of IND HEMP in Montana. Host Eric Hurlock and Ken talk about the recent summit, the introduction of HEMI, and why people in the hemp industry should stop what they’re doing right now and go help throw in on the "One Plant" documentary film KickStarter Campaign.
Then you'll hear a series of interviews that Eric conducted with attendees at the summit.
By order of appearance:
Eduardo Garcia
Chef and CEO of Montana Mex and Dream Farm, Eduardo shares his enthusiasm for hemp as a superfood and sustainable material. His work focuses on educating people about the connection between food, health and environmental sustainability.
Cheryl Mitchell
A food scientist with Steuben Foods in the Grains, Nuts and Seeds Ingredient Manufacturing division, Cheryl specializes in plant-based beverages. She talks about her process for creating nutrient-rich, highly digestible hemp milk and the health potential of hemp as a food source.
Erica Campbell
Co-founder and partner at InCommon Group, a food systems strategic consulting firm, Erica discusses her work in advancing regenerative agriculture. She highlights her involvement in the films "Kiss the Ground" and "Common Ground" and introduces the 100 Million Acres campaign to promote sustainable farming practices.
Anjli Kumar
Founder of Inner Bark Heritage, a sustainable textile startup in Atlanta, Georgia, Anjli explains her efforts to establish a U.S.-based farm-to-fabric hemp textile supply chain. She aims to make hemp apparel mainstream by managing each step from decortication to finished fabric.
Guy Carpenter
Hemp textile expert and founder of Bear Fiber, Guy shares his work on creating the Benton shirt, a hemp-cotton blend garment produced entirely in the U.S. He emphasizes the importance of re-establishing American hemp textile production for sustainable clothing options.
Steve Groff
Regenerative agriculture educator and Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, hemp farmer, Steve reflects on the Montana Hemp Summit's networking value. He shares insights from his partnership with Larry Serbin on green decortication research and discusses hemp’s potential in reclaiming saline soils for agriculture.
Larry Serbin
An OG hemp entrepreneur collaborating with Steve Groff on green decortication research, Larry appreciates the summit’s role in building connections. His work focuses on advancing hemp processing technology to support a sustainable future for the industry.
Jordan Berger and Maxwell Duryea
Filmmakers from Sunflower Films, Jordan and Maxwell discuss their documentary "One Plant," which highlights hemp’s many applications. They share their excitement about launching a Kickstarter campaign at the summit to fund the film’s completion and bring awareness of hemp to a broader audience.
Bob Quinn
Organic farmer and founder of Montana Flour and Grain, Bob talks about his research with IND HEMP on using hemp to mitigate saline soil in Montana. Known for his work with ancient grains like Kamut, he sees hemp as a key player in regenerative farming.
https://quinninstitute.org/
Contact:
Questions or comments? Reach out to Eric at podcast@lancasterfarming.com
Credits:
This episode of the Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast is produced by Eric Hurlock. Music by Tin Bird Shadow.
Thank you to our Sponsors:
IND HEMP
Americhanvre
Mpactful Ventures
Forever Green
In this special episode of the Industrial Hemp Podcast*, we talk to Erica Stark, executive director of the National Hemp Association (NHA), and Lancaster County regenerative hemp farmer Steve Groff. Together, they break down the exciting news that the USDA has awarded $19.6 million to support a transformative project focused on climate-smart hemp farming in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.
The project aims to help farmers adopt regenerative practices using industrial hemp, reduce agricultural runoff, and protect the health of the Chesapeake Bay. Erica and Steve discuss how the grant will benefit farmers directly, the challenges of building infrastructure, and how this initiative could boost the hemp industry in Pennsylvania and beyond.
National Hemp Association
Steve Groff
USDA Regional Conservation Partnership Program
Watch the ONE PLANT trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1tlMo1VtWA
Support the ONE PLANT Kickstarter campaign:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/oneplant/one-plant
Thanks to our sponsors
IND HEMP
Mpactful Ventures
Forever Green
MUSIC by TIN BIRD SHADOW https://tinbirdshadow.bandcamp.com/album/dot-dot-dot
This week on the Hemp Podcast, we travel to Japan.
Not literally, but vicariously.
Our three guests recently attended the inaugural Tokyo International Hemp Conference last month and toured an 8th generation hemp farm and processing facility called Golden Hemp that makes sacred ropes used in Shinto temples.
On this episode we will talk to Jean Lotus, Robin Destiche and Patrick Atagi.
The trip was organized by the National Industrial Hemp Council of America and was funded by USDA’s Regional Agricultural Promotion Program.
Lotus, the publisher of Hemp Build Magazine, was fascinated to learn about the ancient traditions and processing methods that are still in use today, and thinks Japan will embrace hemp building practices.
“I really see some opportunities there with hemp building materials just because of the decarbonization,” she said. “The Japanese have really embraced all of the United Nations sustainability goals for construction.”
Robin Destiche, a co-founder of American hemp seed company KonopiUS, said he sees the potential for growth, but doesn’t expect it overnight.
“Like many things in the hemp industry,” he said, “I can see it maybe in three to five years, but it definitely feels like there’s traction, there’s development.”
Patrick Atagi, the president and CEO of the National Industrial Hemp Council, organized the trip in conjunction with the Thailand Industrial Hemp Trade Association.
“Our goal is to market and create a market for hemp domestically and globally,” he said.
Learn More:
National Industrial Hemp Council of America
Hemp Build Mag
KonopiUS
Regional Agricultural Promotion Program (RAPP)
Texas Hemp Building Event: Architect/Builder Training and Tour, San Marcos, TX October 24-25
Greenbuild 2024
News Nuggets
US Hopes Green Construction Awakens Japan’s Hemp Industry
Honeywell and SGP BioEnergy to develop plant-based biochemicals, reducing industry’s reliance on fossil fuels
Thanks to our Sponsors!
IND HEMP
Americhanvre
Forever Green and the KP4 Hemp Cutter
Secretary Russell Redding made an official Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture trip to Montana this week to meet with founders of IND HEMP, one of the largest hemp fiber and seed processors in the U.S.
On this week’s podcast, Lancaster Farming catches up with Redding as he visits the hemp facility in Fort Benton, Montana. The show features a joint interview with Redding and IND HEMP founder Ken Elliott from the IND HEMP office.
Redding said he originally planned to attend the Montana Hemp Summit, hosted by IND HEMP, in Great Falls later this month, but had a commitment in Pennsylvania he could not cancel.
Wanting to see the oil seed and fiber processing facilities with his own two eyes to better understand what is needed back home in Pennsylvania, he scheduled a last-minute trip to Big Sky Country.
The fact-finding trip is part of a larger commitment from his department to develop a robust hemp industry in Pennsylvania, where, so far, the industry has struggled to find capital to build out the processing infrastructure.
Redding spent the day with IND HEMP founders Morgan Tweet and Ken and Julie Elliott who answered his questions and gave him a tour of both the oil-seed facility and the fiber-processing facility, housed in separate facilities on IND HEMP’s campus in Fort Benton, a town along the Missouri River in north-central Montana with a population of around 1,400.
IND HEMP has created just over 50 jobs since setting up the facility in 2019.
Redding is returning home with a new perspective.
“I think in Pennsylvania, having something that would look like what is happening here in Montana is exactly what everybody in the steering committee and the hemp engine is trying to do, but it’s not the final answer,” Redding said.
“What I’ve learned today is that there’s a quest to just keep building out the marketplace,” he said.
“And the economics of that marketplace then determine sort of what those income streams look like for both the company and the farms,” he said.
Elliott is optimistic about the Keystone State’s potential in the burgeoning hemp industry, partially because of Pennsylvania’s reputation for hemp in colonial times. He was keynote speaker at the Pennsylvania Hemp Summit in Harrisburg November 2022 and has since gotten to know key players in Pennsylvania’s hemp industry.
“We can help you guys take that next step,” he said. “We would love to be part of whatever the solution is for Pennsylvania’s the hemp industry.”
Do Pennsylvania farmers even have an appetite for hemp, after the boom and bust of the CBD market along with recent controversies surrounding so-called hemp-derived intoxicants like Delta 8?
Redding thinks Pennsylvania have an appetite for something big and boring that can be another revenue stream for producers.
“The margins, whether you’re in Montana or Pennsylvania, are thin,” Redding said.
“So to whatever extent we can add diversity to it — you can help de-risk the operation by adding an enterprise — that’s universal.”
Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Hemp Program
IND HEMP
Thanks to our sponsors!
Mpactful Ventures Forever Green
On this week’s Hemp Podcast, we talk to Geoff Whaling from the National Hemp Association, who recently returned from a trip to Africa.
The trip, funded by a USDA Emerging Markets Program grant, focused on developing hemp exports to Malawi, Rwanda and Ghana.
The purpose of the trip, Whaling said, “was to undertake a review and to report back to USDA as to the barriers for exporting American grown hemp products into those three countries.”
In Malawi, he met with government officials, including President Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera, who Whaling said was impressed with the economic potential of hemp in improving food security and creating industry.
One of the barriers Whaling found is that hemp is not on the World Food Program and USAID’s ingredients list.
That exclusion will hinder the export of hemp-based nutritional products from the U.S. to Africa, Whaling said.
Whaling also talks about the Lancaster County Hemp Circuit that took place last month. Whaling was instrumental in bringing Betsy Londrigan, the administrator of USDA’s Rural Business-Cooperative Service, to the event.
Whaling said her presence at the circuit signaled USDA’s interest in supporting the hemp industry, with potentially billions of dollars of funding available to the industry through Rural Development programs that Londrigan oversees.
Also on this week’s show, we follow up on that white deer Steve Groff saw on his way to the Cornell Hemp Field Day.
As you might have guessed, there’s more to the story.
A lot more.
An Army base. Nuclear warheads. An encampment of protesting women. A fence. A herd of inbred deer.
Who knew one white doe would be such a can of worms.
Thanks to our Sponsors IND HEMP
King's Agriseeds
On the latest episode of the Hemp Podcast, we take the show on the road once more — this time to Cornell University’s Hemp Fiber and Grain Field Day at the Agritech Campus in Geneva, New York.
Among the many voices on this episode is Christine Smart, director of Cornell Agritech, who’s leading groundbreaking work on hemp diseases and crop resilience.
Hailee Greene, a recent Cornell MBA grad and founder of GreeneAcres Processing, talks about her ambitious plans to establish the first full-scale hemp-processing facility in New York, despite the financial challenges that lie ahead.
“We’re a couple million dollars away, which is probably the story of everybody that says they want to do processing at this point,” she said.
I also spoke with Maciej Kowalski, a Polish hemp entrepreneur who just wrapped up a trip around the U.S. to learn more about hemp processing.
He highlighted the disconnect he sees in the U.S. between farmers and textile manufacturers, stressing that fiber quality must start in the field.
“The textile people don’t care about what’s happening in the field, and the cultivators don’t care about what happens afterward. That’s not the way to make a good product,” he said.
Shelby Ellison, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is working to collect and preserve feral hemp genetics from across the U.S., preserving the genetic diversity of hemp, which can be used to breed more resilient and adaptive varieties.
So far, she and her team have collected more than 1,500 individual plant samples across 14 different states in the U.S.
Pennsylvania hempcrete builder Cameron McIntosh talks about the growing interest from federal agencies, including the Department of Energy, in addressing not only operational emissions but also the embodied carbon in construction materials.
We also hear from Pennsylvania hemp farmer Steve Groff, who shares a remarkable story about seeing an albino deer on his drive to Geneva.
Groff’s white deer might be a good omen for the industry, but it’s definitely a good omen for this episode of the podcast.
Thanks to Our Sponsors! IND HEMP
Mpactful Ventures
Forever Green
Music by Tin Bird Shadow
MORTON, Minn. — The Lower Sioux Indian Community celebrated the opening of its new hemp-processing facility with a full day of hemp education and demonstrations on September 5, 2024.
This processing plant brings the tribe one step closer to what it calls “Seed to Sovereignty,“ where the tribe creates its own supply chain: growing the hemp to be processed in the facility, where it will be made into hempcrete houses to address the housing crisis on the reservation through agriculture.
This week on the Hemp Podcast, we bring you conversations from the Lower Sioux.
We’ll hear from Danny Desjarlais, project manager and leader of the building crew; Kristi Shane, Tribal Council treasurer; Robert Larson Jr., hempcrete mixmaster; and the “Earl of Hemp” himself, Earl Pendleton, who for many years has been the tribe’s vision holder for hemp.
We’ll also talk to Mary Jane Oatman, executive director of the Indigenous Cannabis Industry Association and a member of the Nez Perce Tribe of the Columbia River Plateau; Rob Pero, founder of Canndigenous and a member of the Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians; and Nick Hernandez, founder and CEO of Makoce Agriculture Development in Porcupine, South Dakota, and a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe and a citizen of Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.
Plus, Ken Meyer from Complete Hemp Proeccsing and Derrick Dohmann from Horizon Hemp Seeds, North Dakota hempcrete builder Matt Marino, Minnesota inventor Bob Albertson, broadcaster Dan Lemke from the Linder Farm Network, and more.
News Nugget:
Newsom says hemp industry is ‘a disgrace’ for not policing itself over intoxicants
Thanks to Our Sponsors!
IND HEMP
AMERICHANVRE Forever Green
Music by Tin Bird Shadow
This week's podcast is Part Two of our Lancaster County Hemp Circuit Coverage.
Editor's note: hey there, it's me Eric. I'm traveling this week to Minnesota for the Filed Day at the Lower Sioux Indian Reservation, so in order to get the podcast out to you in a timely manner, I gave the transcript of the audio to my chatGPT buddy and asked for a break down. And that's what the following is: AI-generated text. Thank you for your understanding! -e
Here’s a breakdown of the Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast episode titled Lancaster Hemp Circuit, Part Two:
Who:
Eric Hurlock: Host of the podcast and senior digital editor at Lancaster Farming Newspaper.
Fred Strathmeyer: Deputy Secretary of Agriculture for Pennsylvania.
Tarit Chatterjee: Director of Operations at Natural Textile Solutions and Bast Lab.
Alyssa Collins: Plant pathologist from Penn State.
Ron Kander: Professor from Jefferson University.
Shawn House: Entrepreneur and founder of Hempzels, a hemp pretzel company.
Other speakers: Local hemp experts, machinists like Joe from Joe's Machinery, and hemp advocates like Erica Stark and Cameron McIntosh. And Eric Beezer is running for office.
What:
The podcast features interviews from the Lancaster County Hemp Circuit, where participants discuss the latest developments in hemp production in Pennsylvania. Topics include advancements in industrial hemp, state support, fiber and grain hemp processing, and the potential growth of Pennsylvania as a leader in the hemp industry.
Where:
The event took place in various locations around Lancaster County, PA, including King's Agriseeds, the Landis Valley Farm Museum and Steve Groff's farm.
Participants also mention upcoming events in Minnesota, New York, and New Jersey, which include field days and workshops focused on industrial hemp.
Why:
The podcast aims to spotlight Pennsylvania’s growing role in the hemp industry. There is a significant push for infrastructure development, processing facilities, and innovative uses of hemp in textiles, construction, and feed. With local and state government support, the goal is to position Pennsylvania as a key player in the national and international hemp markets.
This episode highlights the collaborative efforts and future potential for industrial hemp in Pennsylvania, emphasizing the importance of local partnerships, state government involvement, and educational efforts to promote sustainable growth in the hemp sector.
Here’s a summary of the news nuggets, calendar items, and sponsors mentioned in the podcast episode:
News Nuggets:
Volkswagen and Hemp Leather: Volkswagen is developing a biobased leather alternative made from industrial hemp, which could be used in their car interiors starting in 2028.
Calendar Items:
Lower Sioux Hemp Field Day (September 5, 2024): Eric Hurlock will be attending a field day at the Lower Sioux Indian Community in Morton, Minnesota. The event will feature attendees from around the country and celebrates the opening of the tribes processing facility.
Cornell Hemp Events in Geneva, NY (September 11-13, 2024):
USDA Germplasm Tour (September 11)
Fiber and Grain Field Day (September 12)
Cannabinoid Field Day (September 13)
Hempcrete Workshop in Manahawkin, NJ (September 2022, 2024): Hosted by Right Coast Hemp, featuring a hempcrete building workshop.
Sponsors:
IND Hemp (Fort Benton, Montana): A family-owned, mission-driven industrial hemp feed, food, and fiber company. INDHEMP.com
Forever Green, Distributors of the KP-4 Hemp Cutter, a revolutionary hemp harvesting machine designed for speed, efficiency and durability. Available at HempCutter.com.
Mpactful Ventures: A Massachusetts-based organization focusing on supporting sustainable ventures.
These segments provide a mix of industry updates, upcoming events, and product promotions relevant to the hemp community.
The music in this podcast is courtesy of Tin Bird Shadow, a band or musical group whose work is featured throughout the show. The music serves as background during transitions between segments and interviews, contributing to the overall tone and feel of the podcast. It's likely used to create a relaxed, engaging atmosphere that complements the conversational and informative style of the podcast.
This week on the Hemp Podcast we bring you Part One of our coverage of the Lancaster County Hemp Circuit, a two-day, four-farm hemp event that shone a bright light on hemp in Pennsylvania and attracted attendees from all over the U.S. and a few foreign countries.
On Part One of our Hemp Circuit coverage on the podcast, we hear from a handful of out-of-state attendees.
We’ll hear a few impressions of the county.
“It’s beautiful farmland,” said Larry Smart, a plant breeder and head of the hemp program at Cornell University. “I’ll just say the roads here are twisty and turny. We’re used to straighter roads in the Finger Lakes, but the landscape is just spectacular.”
We’ll hear how Pennsylvania fits into the national hemp industry landscape.
Bert James, a North Carolina farmer and co-founder of hemp seed distributor KonopiUS, called Pennsylvania a “hemp playground, in the way that they have access to so many different varieties. There’s a good latitude. They’ve got good soil.”
“So there’s a lot of potential here, but we’re going to obviously need to get some processing online to serve this opportunity,” he said.
And we’ll hear why Pennsylvania might just be the perfect place for the intersection of business, innovation and opportunity.
Larry Serbin, from Hemp Traders in California, is impressed with the farmers and Amish machine shops in Lancaster County.
He said he is working with some folks in Pennsylvania to develop “green decorticating” techniques.
“The hemp would be decorticated in the field, which would result in farmers earning a lot more money for the crop and the cost of the hemp raw materials, like the hurd and bast fiber, to be about half what they are now,” Serbin said.
On this episode, we will hear from: Morris Beegle, WAFBA; Eric Singular, International Hemp; Larry Smart, Cornell University; Wendy Mosher, New West Genetics; Larry Serbin, Hemp Traders; Laura Sullivan, University of Vermont; Bert James, KonopiUS; Rusty Peterson, IND HEMP; David Suchoff, NC State; Keith Harvey, UGP Global Energy
Upcoming Hemp Events: Sept. 11 Kifcure Hemp Harvest Open House https://kifcure.com/event/kifcure-hemp-harvest-open-house/
Sept. 12 Cornell University Fiber & Grain Field Day https://rchemp.com/2024-hempcrete-workshop/ Sept. 20-22 Right Coast Hemp Hempcrete Workshop https://rchemp.com/2024-hempcrete-workshop/ Thanks to our Sponsors! IND HEMP
National Hemp Association
Forever Green
In this week’s episode of the Industrial Hemp Podcast, Lancaster Farming talks with Jean-Eric Ponthou from Hemp-It and Robin Destiche from KonopiUS.
Ponthou is the manager of sales and development at Hemp-It, a French company established in 1965 that produces certified industrial hemp seeds.
“It’s the only company in France producing certified industrial seeds at international standards,” Ponthou said.
Located about 180 miles southwest of Paris, the company has 30 employees at the headquarters and works with a co-op network of nearly 150 farmers to produce about 2,000 tons of hemp seed annually.
“It’s a co-op company,” Ponthou said, “which means every farmer has one share in the company, so we’re all equal.”
He said Hemp-It produces about 15 different varieties of industrial hemp, and each of these varieties targets some specific market segment: grain, hurd or fiber.
According to a 2023 report by Textile Exchange, France is the largest producer of hemp fiber by volume in the world.
Destiche is one of the founders of KonopiUS, a seed distribution and agronomy company in Virginia, and he has been working with Hemp-It for several years.
Destiche explained how Europe operates from a database of approved varieties, varieties that have already been tested for morphology, stability and THC.
“I think currently there’s over 100 hemp varieties that are registered,” he said.
Hemp-It has also developed several varieties of hemp that contain no THC.
“This way, we open the gate to the food industry, because we can guarantee to get them the lowest the rate of THC as possible,” Ponthou said.
THC is the naturally occurring chemical compound in the hemp plant which at higher levels cause the psychoactive affects associated with marijuana.
THC-free varieties of hemp grain might be a way forward for hemp grain producers who took issue with last week’s historic vote by the American Association of Feed Control Officials to allow hemp seed meal as an ingredient for feed for laying hens.
Various international groups said the THC thresholds in the feed definition were too low and would be hard to reach.
Maybe THC-free grain is the way to go.
Learn More: Hemp-It KonopiUS Thanks to our Sponsors IND HEMP Forever Green Mpactful Ventures Music by Tin Bird Shadow
Our guest this week is Danny Desjarlais, head builder for the Lower Sioux Indian Community in Morton Minnesota, where the tribe is undertaking what appears to be one of the most ambitious hempcrete building projects in the country.
Desjarlais said his community is has been experiencing a housing crisis. No so much homelessness, he said, but overcrowding—extended families all living together in small, poorly constructed houses on the reservation.
But with hempcrete, he sees a path forward to provide respectable, comfortable, dignified housing for the people of the Lower Sioux in an efficient yet timely manner.
In the past two years, Desjarlais and his crew have completed four hempcrete houses and a retro fit of an existing house. More hempcrete houses than most communities in the world, but still it’s not enough.
“Our main need here in the community is housing. And so we really need to make a difference,” he said. “And even four houses, five houses a year isn't going to make a big enough impact for what we need.”
A recent census of the community determined the need was closer to 200 houses, which would more than double the number of houses on the reservation.
One of the issues with building in Minnesota is the weather. Desjarlais said winter starts late and ends early, so there is a limited window for on-site construction, which is why the tribe is planning to make prefab houses from hempcrete panels—4' by 8' sections of walls that can be built in a facility and then assembled on site.
This is the plan the tribe is working towards. To that end, they have developed a processing facility that will be opening soon, so they can be self-sufficient. They’ll grow the hemp, process the hemp, and build houses for their people.
The hemp houses and processing facility will be on display to the public on September 5, 2024, when the tribe is hosting their inaugural field day.
Also, on this episode, we hear from Morgan Tweet and Andrew Bish from the Hemp Feed Coalition moments after AAFCO voted to approve hemp as a livestock feed for laying hens.
Learn More: Lower Sioux Indian Community
Thanks to our sponsors: IND HEMP Forever Green
Music courtesy of Tin Bird Shadow
On this week’s Industrial Hemp Podcast, we talk to the organizers of the Lancaster County Hemp Circuit: Sarah Mitchell, Steve Groff and Alyssa Collins.
The circuit, an event centered on growing and processing industrial hemp in Pennsylvania, is scheduled Aug. 20-21.
“It’s called the circuit because we actually have four different sites and they’re all in a radius of Lancaster City,” said Mitchell, hemp specialist at King’s Agriseeds, which is hosting the first leg of the circuit at the King’s research farm in Christiana on Tuesday, Aug. 20, at 9 a.m.
“We have 28 varieties to show off from several different continents, all by breeders who are intending to either offer certified seed varieties or are breeding for certified seed varieties,” she said.
From the farm in Christiana, the event moves to the Landis Valley Village and Farm Museum for an afternoon educational session, including a welcome address from Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding and a history lesson from Pennsylvania hemp historian Les Stark.
“We also have six hemp entrepreneurs from Pennsylvania,” Mitchell said, “and these are businesses that are actually generating revenue from hemp. And so these are people who are not just talking about making it happen, but they’re actually making it happen.”
After the Landis Valley Museum and a dinner break, the circuit continues at Penn State’s Southeastern Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Manheim, where Collins, its director, has been overseeing Penn State’s hemp research since 2018.
The evening portion of the event starts with introductions in the barn. Attendees will then head out to the field to see the variety trials and ask questions, before returning to the barn for more discussion.
“This is a great opportunity to meet some of the next generation of hemp scientists, because we’re going to have some of the students there to share their work that they’ve been working on the last couple of years on, specifically hemp disease and hemp processing and insect ecology in hemp,” Collins said.
For those traveling from outside the county, Mitchell said a block of rooms is available at the DoubleTree Resort by Hilton Hotel in Lancaster.
The second day of the event takes place from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., entirely at Steve Groff’s Cedar Meadow Farm in Holtwood, Lancaster County, where Groff has over 50 acres of fiber hemp in the ground.
The day will be full day of expert speakers, educational opportunities and equipment demonstrations from chopping and baling to no-till planting into cover crops.
There will also be a soil pit, so attendees can see the difference regenerative hemp farming has on the soil.
Groff said he is excited to unveil his four bar hemp cutter, essentially four sickle mowing bars that allow for easier harvesting of tall fiber hemp.
“And we’ll be able to cut 12 feet hemp into four sections, and make it manageable then to windrow and dry it out,” he said.
Lunch will be served both days, but attendees are on their own for dinner.
Space is limited, so please register soon.
Learn More King's Agriseeds
Cedar Meadow farm
Penn State's SEAREC farm
Register for the Lancaster County Hemp Circuit
Questions about the event?
Contact: Sarah Mitchell, Hemp Specialist
717-327-6188
Thanks to Our Sponsors IND HEMP
Mpactuful Ventures
Americhanvre
Music courtesy of TIN BIRD SHADOW.
Hey there. I made a mistake on this week's episode, so if you hear something weird on the show, go back and downloaded it again. I fixed the issue and uploaded the new file.
Thanks!
-eric
Members of the American Association of Feed Control Officials are scheduled to vote early next month on hemp seed meal as an ingredient for laying hens.
Pretty standard stuff, according to the group’s executive director, Austin Therrell.
“It’s one of the big things that our association does to promote harmonization and uniformity when it comes to defining ingredients and ingredient standards that all the state regulators across the U.S. recognize,” he said.
Therrell is one of the guests on this week’s hemp podcast who weighs in on the planned vote, which has the potential to crack open the market for hemp seed meal, albeit a very small crack.
Oilseed crops in general need a secondary market for the byproduct — the cake or meal — of crushing seeds for oil.
Hemp seed has been used as an animal feed for thousands of years, but because it was prohibited in the U.S. when the feed control systems were put in place, it has remained illegal to feed to commercial livestock.
The association’s vote in August has the potential to change all that by allowing commercial flocks of laying hens to be fed hemp seed meal.
For Nebraska farmer and equipment manufacturer Andrew Bish, laying hens are a good start, but just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to opportunity.
One of the reasons Bish got involved in hemp was to help create a new rotational crop opportunity for farmers.
“Egg-laying chickens is 670,000 needed acres of hemp just to satisfy 5% of the egg laying chicken population,” he said.
But that’s not enough to be a rotational crop.
“Start to add in beef cattle and broiler chickens,” he said, “and now we’re talking about needing over 7 million acres.”
“That is a true rotational crop opportunity. That’s a big deal. That’s a big deal for corn farmers. That’s a big deal for soybean farmers. That’s a big deal for wheat farmers.”
Bish is the president of the Hemp Feed Coalition, the group that is spearheading the initiative to get hemp meal approved for layers.
But not everyone is happy with the proposed ingredient definition.
What’s the issue?
You guessed it: Cannabinoids.
The proposed ingredient definition caps allowable THC at 2 parts per million and 20 parts per million for CBD.
The feed control association received letters from hemp advocacy groups around the world to express their concerns, including groups from Canada, Australia, Europe and the United States.
Lancaster Farming requested to see the letters and AAFCO obliged.
Some letters were in support of the new definition, but others telegraphed fear that these cannabinoid limits will set a worldwide precedent and disrupt current and future markets because producers will have trouble consistently meeting the new definition.
Those against the new definition would like to see the THC limit raised to 10 parts per million and the CBD limit removed altogether.
Those in favor of the definition recognize the years of work it took to get hemp seed meal this close to any kind of approval, which will pave the way for approval for other livestock categories.
They also say that there is a standard amendment procedure to change an ingredient definition after it’s been approved.
Those against are asking AAFCO to change the definition before the vote, but that’s not how the process works.
If the association votes no on hemp seed meal next month, there is no way to appeal the decision.
The expensive and extensive process would have to start all over again, Therrell said.
“So if (AAFCO) membership completely voted it down,” he said, “a submitter would need to start back from the beginning to hopefully resolve any issues or concerns that our membership had,” he said.
“I don’t know if it gives you any kind of level of confidence, but in my time with AAFCO, I haven’t seen that happen completely. Not to say that it can’t, but I think it’s got a pretty good shot at moving forward,” Therrell said.
Kentucky hemp pioneer Joe Hickey, one of the signers of the letter from a group in opposition to the new definition, is also a guest on this week’s show.
Hickey said the infighting among the factions of the hemp industry is beside the point.
For Hickey, the real problem is the Food and Drug Administration.
“You got the FDA that allows cigarettes to be put out and you get a half a million people who’re dying from it,” he said.
“And they allow that to happen, but something that doesn’t hurt anybody, that actually helps people, they’re trying to stop.”
Learn more:
American Association of Feed Control Officials
AAFCO's Online Ingredient Courses
Hemp Feed Coalition
Read the letter sent to AAFCO from hemp industry groups: FIHO Letter to AAFCO
NHA Letter to AAFCO
Australian Industrial Hemp Alliance Letter
U.S. Hemp Grain Operators Letter to AAFCO
Association of Western Hemp Professionals Letter
National Hemp Growers Association Letter
Canadian Hemp Food Producers
(once you click the link, download the full PDF)
Thanks to our Sponsors IND HEMP
FOREVER GREEN
Music courtesy of TIN BIRD SHADOW.
This week on the hemp podcast we saddle up and gallop out to Gordonville, Lancaster County, for Horse Progress Days, a two-day celebration of all things horsepower.
Nearly 40,000 people were in attendance July 5-6, mostly Amish and Mennonite farmers and families. The weather was hot, the air was thick with humidity and the sounds of horses whinnying.
What does Horse Progress have to with industrial hemp? Good question. Bear with me.
In one of the vendor tents there was a cluster of businesses that specialize in working with hemp.
Cameron Macintosh, hempcrete builder at Americhanvre, was there representing his company as well as the Pennsylvania Industrial Hemp Council.
He said the horse power farming communities know about hemp, but because of the volatile CBD market, hemp does not have the best reputation among the horsepower set.
“Many farmers in this community invested heavily in growing CBD back in 2018 and ’19,” he said, “and then suffered through the subsequent crash of that market in 2020 and 2021.”
So when you mention hemp in this community, that’s what they think of.
“That’s why we’re here,” he said, “to show the community that the fiber industrial side of the (hemp) plant has dramatically more promise, more opportunity for their community than CBD ever did.”
On this episode, we will talk to several of the hemp folks in attendance at the event, including Heidi Custer from Tuscarora Mills in Bedford, Pennsylvania, and Kelly and Jarrett Burke from KifCure, a hemp company based in Northern Illinois that’s developing regional infrastructure in the Great Plains.
I also had the chance to chat briefly with Reuben Riehl from Lancaster County Marketing, who was involved in planning the event.
Everyone I spoke to about hemp mentioned Reuben as the reason they were at Horse Progress in the first place.
“It fits very well with our community,” Riehl said, mentioning the farming and building aspects, but he doesn’t expect it to be an overnight change.
“I think it it’ll take some time for it to resonate here, but it will be okay,” Riehl said.
Also on this episode, Lancaster Farming visits with Sam Connor at Free Flow Farm in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, just north of Pottstown, where he’s growing about 30 acres of industrial fiber hemp and raising grass-fed and finished beef and pastured chickens.
“We have two different varieties that we planted here,” he said. “We have a Uma for variety, which is a Chinese variety, as well as Futura 83, which is a French variety.”
Connor said he is growing for I-Hemp Katalyst, a company that is developing processing capacity in Pennsylvania.
Connor is excited to be an early adopter of what he sees as an industry with vast potential and is proud that his crops will be used in innovative ways.
“I believe some of it’s going to be used for biodegradable hemp plastics, some of it’s going to be used for hempcrete. And I think there’s even a possibility of something to do with ceiling tiles and things like that.
Learn More:
Horse Progress Days
https://horseprogressdays.com/
Americhanvre Cast-Hemp
https://americhanvre.com/
Kifcure
https://kifcure.com/
Tuscarora Mills
https://tuscaroramills.com/
Lancaster County Marketing
https://lancastercountymarketing.com/
Thanks to Our Sponsors!
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
National Hemp Association
https://nationalhempassociation.org
Music by TIN BIRD SHADOW
www.tinbirdshadow.com
This week on the Hemp Podcast, Lancaster Farming talks with Kelly Burke from Kifcure, an Illinois-based hemp company that is focused on developing the hemp industry in the Land of Lincoln.
Burke, along with her husband Jarett, have launched the Northern Illinois Hemp Hub, which recently hosted a hempcrete workshop in Maple Park, sixty miles west of Chicago.
They are also growing about 1000 aces of industrial hemp and are developing plans for a processing facility, industrial park, and education center.
On this episode, we will hear all about their endeavors, including Silver Acres, a hemp wedding venue and event space, and Silver Lining animal bedding.
Plus, we check in with Lancaster County Hemp farmer Steve Groff to hear how his hemp crop is holding up after two weeks of scorching heat and no rain.
All that, plus news nuggets and a few surprises.
Learn More:
Kifcure
https://kifcure.com/
Northern Illinois Hemp Hub
https://nihh.org/
News Nuggets
Think tank says ‘Miller Amendment’ would not ban CBD and other hemp cannabinoids
https://hemptoday.net/think-tank-says-miller-amendment-would-not-ban-cbd-and-other-hemp-cannabinoids/
‘Hemp Killing’ Amendment Would Not Ban All Hemp Cannabinoids, Says Leading Think Tank
https://businessofcannabis.com/hemp-killing-amendment-would-not-ban-all-hemp-cannabinoids-says-leading-think-tank/
New Congressional report finds hemp amendment consistent with Ag policy
https://www.greenmarketreport.com/new-congressional-report-finds-hemp-amendment-consistent-with-ag-policy/
Industrial Hemp Market Set to Surge to $25.7 Billion by 2034
https://mgmagazine.com/cannabis-news/industrial-hemp-market-set-to-surge-to-25-7-billion-by-2034/
Canadian hemp fields shrink for fourth straight year, reaching modern-day low
https://hemptoday.net/canadian-hemp-fields-shrink-for-fourth-straight-year-reaching-modern-day-low/
South Dakota No. 1 state in nation for hemp production
https://www.sdnewswatch.org/south-dakota-hemp-production-sdiha-farm-bill/
Midwest flooding devastation comes into focus as flood warnings are extended in other areas
https://apnews.com/article/midwest-flooding-south-dakota-4b9fbfe8918e7a7e3c18178cb92b11a8
Thanks to our Sponsors!
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
Forever Green
https://www.forevergreen.com/
Mpactful Ventures
https://www.mpactfulventures.org/
music by TIN BIRD SHADOW
www.tinbirdshadow.com
On this week’s podcast, we continue our coverage of the European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA) annual conference, this year held in Prague, Czech Republic, June 5 to 7.
As Lancaster Farming’s friendly neighborhood hemp reporter, I was invited to be part of an American delegation to the conference, funded in part by a grant from the USDA Market Access Program to build overseas markets for hemp as a commodity crop.
Last week, I shared a slew of interviews with Europeans in attendance at the conference. This week, I am sharing my interviews with American business leaders, entrepreneurs, policy wonks and processors — plus a handful of Canadians and one Australian who attended the event in Prague earlier this month.
Zhaohui Wu is a professor of supply chain management at Oregon State University in Corvallis, where he is an affiliate faculty member of OSU’s Global Hemp Innovation Center.
He said he was eager to learn from the Europeans, because he said they are further along in developing the industrial applications and supply chains.
“For me, this is the first time to come to the EIHA conference and to learn from European folks on how things are done, the best practices, and also to find opportunity to collaborate,” Wu said.
Tommy Copeland was part of the American delegation, representing Kentucky-based HempWood, a flooring manufacturer that uses hemp instead of hardwood.
Copeland said many attendees were not familiar with HempWood, and he enjoyed watching people’s reaction to it.
“You get to see the wow factor that they have,” he said. “Their mind is blown that you can do this from hemp.”
Copeland described to attendees the HempWood process from whole stalk, pressed with soy-based adhesives with no VOC off-gassing.
“It’s a clean building material, it’s eco-friendly to use, and I think that fits with the European mindset of building in a lot of ways,” he said.
Tim McCarthy is a business owner from North Carolina where he runs United Natural Hemp Extracts, USA.
“I am currently the chair of the policy committee for the NIHC, so I’m here on their behalf and the USDA trying to promote hemp from the United States to around the world,” he said.
Roger Gussiaas is oilseed producer at Healthy Oil Seeds in Carrington, North Dakota, where he produces and processes hemp and flax grain for oil and protein.
“We process 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” he said. “We’re expanding our business. In the next couple months, we (will) be doubling our production.”
Currently exporting to over 25 countries, Gussiaas is always looking for opportunity.
“This trip here,” he said, “it’s just there’s a lot of opportunity. There’s always a lot of opportunity in any new country you’re in.”
He said the key to finding markets is simple for him: “Always produce good quality and you’ll have markets.”
Keenan Stone, vice chair of the Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance and an owner of Uni Seeds in Ontario, was excited to attend the conference.
She enjoyed connecting with people in person, a welcome change from online interactions.
She said she was impressed with the research and innovation happening in Europe and, like Gussiaas, was open to opportunity.
“There have definitely been some good business prospects,” she said. “There seems to be a lot of interest in trying out new varieties and things like that. Our business is seed supply, so definitely some good interest from Europe there.”
Morris Beegle, founder of the annual NoCo Hemp Expo in Colorado, worked with EIHA to plan and execute the event in Prague.
On the final day of the conference, Beegle told me he was happy with the overall energy, participation and programming.
“It was really good last year, but I think definitely a step up this year, he said. “Great attendance. The conference has been packed the whole time. Networking has been really good. Lots of folks having great conversations. So I mean, overall I’m just very pleased with the way everything’s turned out.”
News Nuggets Wichita Falls plant will catapult Texas to top of industrial hemp production
https://www.timesrecordnews.com/story/news/2024/06/12/sid-miller-wichita-falls-plant-makes-texas-top-in-hemp-production/74077944007/
Thanks to Our Sponsors!
IND Hemp
https://indhemp.com/
Americhanvre
https://americhanvre.com/
Forever Green
https://www.getforevergreen.com/
Music by Tin Bird Shadow
https://tinbirdshadow.bandcamp.com/album/dot-dot-dot
On this week’s Hemp Podcast, I recap my recent visit to the Heart of Europe, the Golden City, the City of a Hundred Spires, the capital city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of the Kingdom of Bohemia — Prague.
The occasion for my trip was the European Industrial Hemp Association’s 21st annual Conference, this year held in the Czech Republic.
I was invited to be part of an American delegation representing the American hemp industry. The trip was funded through a grant from the USDA Market Access Program, or MAPS.
The Market Access Program allows the Foreign Agricultural Service, the FAS, to partner with American trade associations, cooperatives, trade groups and small business “to share the costs of overseas marketing and promotional activities that help build commercial export markets for U.S. agricultural products and commodities,” according to the USDA website.
The National Industrial Hemp Council was given official cooperator status by the USDA earlier this year, giving it access to MAP funding.
At the conference, I witnessed my fellow Americans developing relationships and making business deals, and I saw the purpose of the USDA’s Market Access Program playing out in real time.
During the conference, I interviewed over 30 hemp people from around the world.
On this episode we’ll hear what people had to say about hemp in Europe, what the U.S. can learn from the Europeans, what the Europeans can learn from the U.S., and a whole lot more.
Before the conference started June 5, Lorenza Romanese, managing director of the European Industrial Hemp Association, was hopeful for a successful event.
“I hope that people will engage. I hope that people will go back home knowing more than what they knew when they arrived,” she said. “I hope that they are able to develop business opportunities.”
Francesco Mirizzi is senior policy advisor at EIHA and focuses on the fiber and grain sectors.
He said the fiber industry is well developed in Europe, thanks in large part to farmers and processors in France.
“We kept production in Europe after the Second World War, and we have something like seven or eight big size decortication facilities that allowed us to build a market for fiber,” he said, “mostly dedicated to specific paper application composites, and especially in the automobile industry, and fibers for insulation material in construction and chives (hurd) for construction, like hempcrete.”
An epicenter of hemp construction in Europe is war-torn Ukraine, less than 800 miles to the east of Prague.
Sergiy Kovalenkov is a Ukranian hemp builder who has been teaching refugees displaced by Russia’s war on Ukraine how to rebuild with hemp.
“We train the refugees, the people that lost their houses. And they started to build their own homes during the war using local biomass,” he said.
“So when you tell me you have problems, trust me, let’s go to Ukraine. I’ll show you what problems are,” he said.
Hana Gabrielová, a recent podcast guest, is from Czech Republic and was instrumental in bringing the conference to her home country.
She has worked with hemp for over 20 years and is involved in many ares of hemp in Europe, including as a board member of EIHA as well as a member of the CzecHemp Cluster, an advisory board to help guide and grow the Czech hemp industry domestically and abroad.
Gabrielová was very kind to me, pointing me in the right direction on Czech food, restaurants, pilsner, and what I should see while visiting this ancient city.
She recommended the svíčková (pronounced sveech-covah), which she described as the national dish consisting of a root vegetable cream sauce and high quality beef sirloin, served with dumplings. It was good.
As for what to see in Prague, she said I should see the astronomical clock in Old Town Square and the Charles Bridge over the River Vltava.
“They are not far from each other,” she said. “Prague is not too big so you can walk it out and have a nice afternoon and see everything basically,” she said.
I took her advice and wandered around the city each day after the conference ended. I cannot express to you how impressive the city was to me, with its ancient streets of cobblestone and castles and medieval fortresses.
So much history in one place.
But not all ancient history.
I was inspired to learn more about the Velvet Revolution that took place in 1989. It started as student protests against the one party rule of the Czechoslovakian Communist Party. Within a week, the crowd grew to over 500,000 people in Wenceslas Square, shaking their house keys, telling the communists to step down and go home.
It worked. By the end of the month, the party relinquished control over the people.
I think we can all learn lessons from this story. We the people hold the power.
IN this episode you will hear: 15:22 Hana Gabrielová https://hempoint.cz/en/ https://www.konopius.com/ 17:05 Lorenza Romanese EIHA Managing Director https://eiha.org/ 21:18 Francesco Mirizzi Sr. Policy Advisor, EIHA 27:06 Laurie Blanchecotte Antoine Moussie La Chanvrière 32:51 Sergiy Kovalenkov Ukrainian Hemp Builder https://hempire.tech 36:13 Jörg Morgner Axel Philipps https://www.temafa.com/ 38:43 Otilia Frolu Romanian Hemp Cluster 42:45 Stephania Christodoulou Pavlos Kitsis https://klostiki.com/ 50:15 Daniel Kruse https://hempconsult.com/daniel-kruse/ 53:26 Catherine Wilson https://uk.linkedin.com/in/catherine-wilson-b2a7133b 58:20 Christophe Nourissier https://en.augur.associates/equipe 1:07:26 Maciej Kowalski https://kombinatkonopny.pl/ 1:10:27 Daniel Matthews, Caroline Matthews, Tatham https://tatham-uk.com/ 1:12:47 Frederic Vallier Maren Krings Federation of International Hemp Organizations https://marenkrings.com/
Learn More about USDA's Market Access program https://fas.usda.gov/programs/market-access-program-map
Learn More about the National Industrial Hemp Council https://nihcoa.com/
News Nuggets Pa. Gov. Visits Lancaster County Hemp Farm to Announce Ag Innovation Grant https://www.lancasterfarming.com/farming-news/news/shapiro-farm-visit-promotes-10m-for-ag-innovation-in-budget-proposal/article_65f3adfe-2755-11ef-a48b-4f9a0a14b320.html
2024 NIHH Hemp Building WorkshopJune 20 – 21 • maple park, IL Register: https://nihh.org/
Read Eric Hurlock's blog about his trip to Praguehttps://www.lancasterfarming.com/farming-news/hemp/follow-lancaster-farming-at-the-2024-european-industrial-hemp-conference-in-prague/collection_64c3071c-1f54-11ef-aa56-63dfa0a4ce3f.html
Lancaster Hemp Circuit, August 20-21Learn more and register: info@kingsagriseeds.com
Thanks to Our Sponsors!
IND Hemp in Fort Benton, Montana https://indhemp.com/
Pennsylvania Hemp Industry Council https://www.pahic.org/
Kings Agriseeds https://kingsagriseeds.com/
Forever Green https://www.getforevergreen.com/
Music by Tin Bird Shadow https://tinbirdshadow.bandcamp.com/album/dot-dot-dot
On this week’s hemp podcast we discuss a recent amendment to the House draft of the 2024 Farm Bill known as the Miller Amendment, which was introduced by Rep. Mary Miller, R-Ill.
The amendment effectively bans all hemp products with any amount of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the naturally occurring chemical compound found in the cannabis plant.
The 2018 Farm Bill defined hemp as any cannabis with less than 0.3% THC.
But because of vague guidance from the Drug Enforcement Administration and Food and Drug Administration, a cottage market has developed for intoxicating products from otherwise legal hemp, such as delta-8.
In March, 21 attorneys general from around the country signed a statement imploring Congress to close this perceived loophole, saying these unregulated, intoxicating products were packaged and marketed to children.
In a statement on her website, Miller said delta-8 products were being sold in packaging that looks like candy.
“We must stop teenagers and children from being exposed to addictive and harmful drugs,” Miller said.
Miller is from a farming background and represents a rural district in southern Illinois.
Many in the hemp industry think this amendment will have unintended consequences that could shut down the industry and destroy the livelihoods of people who are making legal and safe hemp products.
On the show this week, Lancaster Farming talks to two lawyers serving the hemp industry to hear their perspectives.
Justin Swanson, a cannabis lawyer from Bose McKinney & Evans in Indiana and the president of the Midwest Hemp Council, says the amendment is bad for the overall industry, citing harm to fiber and grain sectors and genetics.
“In my opinion, it eliminates the genetic seed stock that farmers have built, over the last six years, under the broad definition of the ’18 Farm Bill,” he said.
Courtney Moran of Agricultural Hemp Solutions is legislative counsel to the National Hemp Association.
Moran believes this amendment will have less of an effect on the fiber and grain sector, but still finds the new language troubling for the overall industry.
Moran doesn’t see it as an “industry-killing” amendment, as it’s been presented in online headlines.
“I would not uses those words,” she said. “It is a major shift from the policies and language that we’ve seen in both the 2014 and 2018 Farm Bills,” and if it moves forward it will have major consequences.
But she reminds listeners that this is only the House draft and there are many more procedural hoops the Farm Bill must go through before being signed into law.
Both lawyers suggest that the amendment has Big Marijuana’s fingers all over it.
The legally murky market for delta-8 and other hemp-derived intoxicants is cutting into the marijuana industry’s profits.
Also on this episode, we check in with Morris Beegle, founder of the NoCo hemp Expo in Colorado, who tells us more about the June 5-7 European Industrial Hemp Conference and Expo in the Czech Republic.
Learn More:
Justin Swanson
jswanson@boselaw.com
317-684-5404
The Cannabis Practice Group at Bose McKinney & Evans
https://www.boselaw.com/cannabusiness/
Midwest Hemp Council
https://www.midwesthempcouncil.com/
Courtney Moran
Campaigns@agriculturalhempsolutions.com
202-656-7023
Blog: https://www.agriculturalhempsolutions.com/blog
Socials: @AgHempSolutions
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/agricultural-hemp-solutions-llc/
Web: https://www.agriculturalhempsolutions.com/
Agricultural Hemp Solutions
https://www.agriculturalhempsolutions.com/
Morris Beegle
We Are For Better Alternatives
https://wafba.org/
European Industrial Hemp Council Conference & Expo, Prague, June 5-7
https://eiha-conference.org/
News Nugs
Rep. Miller Votes Yes on Farm Bill
https://marymiller.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-mary-miller-votes-yes-farm-bill
Farm Bill Amendment Would ‘Devastate’ Hemp-Derived Cannabinoid Industry, Close THCA Loophole for Seed and Flower Sales
https://www.cannabisbusinesstimes.com/news/farm-bill-2024-amendment-would-change-definition-of-hemp-devastate-hemp-derived-cannabiniod-industry-end-thca-seed-flower-sales/
DEA Says ‘THCA Does Not Meet The Definition’ Of Legal Hemp As Congress Weighs Cannabinoid Recriminalization In Farm Bill
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/dea-says-thca-does-not-meet-the-definition-of-legal-hemp-as-congress-weighs-cannabinoid-recriminalization-in-farm-bill/
Thanks to our Sponsors!
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
Forever Green
https://www.getforevergreen.com/
Mpactful Ventures
https://www.mpactfulventures.org/
On this week’s hemp podcast, Lancaster Farming talks to Czech hemp farmer, consultant and advocate Hana Gabrielová, who started her first hemp company, Hempoint, in 2010 and has been instrumental in developing the hemp industry in the Czech Republic and Europe ever since.
More recently, with several American partners she founded KonopiUS, which distributes European hemp genetics in the U.S. and provides agronomy consulting services.
Gabrielová said the regulatory process to grow hemp in the Czech Republic is relatively easy compared to the U.S., where growers need a permit, an FBI background check, and THC testing before harvest (For now. Fingers crossed for the 2024 Farm Bill and the Industrial Hemp Act).
“Hemp farming is not really difficult in regards to the law,” she said. “The farmers can buy seeds, which are on EU-registered database.”
While growers don’t have to get a permit, they are still required to inform the government.
“You have to announce one month from sowing, how much did you sow? Where did you sow? Which variety did you sow?” she said. “And announce it to the customs office.”
Gabrielová is a board member of the European Industrial Hemp Association, which is based in Brussels but is holding its annual conference in Gabrielová’s home city of Prague June 5-7.
The conference will bring together hemp entrepreneurs and policymakers from around the continent and the world.
This year’s event includes a trade show where hemp companies can display their products, similar to the NoCo Hemp Expo that took place last month in Colorado.
There are plenty of European cannabis events, but Gabrielová said this one will be different because it will focus strictly on industrial hemp products instead of “vape pens and marijuana seeds.”
Hemp was prohibited for 60 years in the Czech Republic and faces the same marijuana stigma that confuses people in the U.S.
While industrial hemp and marijuana are different varieties of the cannabis plant, industrial hemp has a wide range of industrial applications, such as building materials, textiles and bioplastics, and food ingredient applications for both human and animal consumption.
The hemp industry is relatively small in the Czech Republic. Gabrielová said there are about 300 farmers growing hemp, mostly on small farms, but a handful of big farms too.
Processing is a challenge because there is no decortication facility in the Czech Republic, “so we have to import all the hemp fibers,” Gabrielová said, “which is a lot, because we have a big paper mill here.”
Also on this episode, Lancaster Farming talks with Patrick Atagi from the National Industrial Hemp Council, who has organized a delegation of American hemp companies, including HempWood, IND Hemp, Tuscarora Mills (and one hemp podcaster) to attend the EIHA conference and expo in Prague next month.
Funded by USDA Market Access Program, the mission of the delegation, Atagi said, is to increase production and help U.S. farmers by finding markets for American hemp goods.
“It’s to push product globally and establish a foothold in Europe and beyond,” he said.
In two weeks, the Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast will be reporting from the Czech Republic.
Learn more:
Hempoint
https://hempoint.cz/en/
KonopiUS
https://www.konopius.com/
European Industrial Hemp Association
https://eiha.org/
CzechHemp Cluster
https://www.czechemp.cz/en/home/
Cannabis Embassy
https://cannabisembassy.org/
Sustainable Cannabis Policy Handbook
https://cannabis2030.org/
National Industrial Hemp Council
https://nihcoa.com/
News Nuggets!
Key Components of the Industrial Hemp Act are in the Farm Bill
https://nationalhempassociation.org/25816-2/
NIHC to receive 275K in RAPP Funding
https://fas.usda.gov/programs/regional-agricultural-promotion-program/rapp-funding-allocations-fy-2024
Thanks to our Sponsors!
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
National Hemp Association
https://nationalhempassociation.org
Forever Green
https://www.getforevergreen.com/
Music Courtesy of Tin Bird Shadow
Special Thanks to the Beastie Boys
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNPGM2D7aODfk-63EIolk3X-VNRsJ7Hjw
On this week’s Hemp Podcast, we talk to Guy Carpenter, founder of Bear Fiber in North Carolina, where he is spinning a blend of hemp and cotton into yarn and making garments like hats, shirts, and socks.
“The vision was to incorporate sustainability and longevity into people’s lifestyle,” he said.
Bear Fiber developed proprietary methods to produce cottonized hemp fiber, and is making connections around the U.S. and the world to reestablish hemp as a primary “source of natural fibers for better products,” he said.
When mixed with other fibers, such as cotton, hemp brings added strength and durability to textiles, he said.
Carpenter has witness drastic changes to the American textile industry over his career.
“The American textile apparel industry as it existed, doesn’t exist anymore,” he said.
“Textiles have have been remaining rather strong, but apparel, of course, has gone to lowest cost producers and, primarily China.”
American textile jobs are more craftsman-oriented and geared toward luxury goods, and hemp can make those products better, more durable, more sustainable, Carpenter said.
While he sees hope for the industry with hemp, the industry is still contracting.
He said companies in the supply chain are going out of business.
“We’ve lost five spinning mills. We’re losing a dyeing and finishing operation in South Carolina that’s been a bulwark in the industry for decades,” he said.
Spinning is the big issue, he said. But he is hopeful because he sees the work being down to save the industry
“There are people who are working on solutions, not to build it back to the way it was, but to be able to spin better yarns and more technical yarns, and also more sustainable yarns, which are what the industry is calling for.”
Bear Fiber
https://www.bearfiber.com/
Hempcrete events:
Hempcrete Workshop in Pennsylvania, May 25
https://americhanvre.com/cast-in-place-workshop/
2024 NIHH Hemp Building Workshop
https://nihh.org/
2-Day Intro to Hempcrete
https://www.muddauberbuilding.com/2dayhempcrete?mc_cid=f1f4673930&mc_eid=128b44621a
Thanks to our Sponsors!
Mpactful Ventures
https://www.mpactfulventures.org/
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
Forever Green
https://www.getforevergreen.com/
Pennsylvania Hemp Industry Council
https://www.pahic.org/
Apologies to Jimmy Stewart. I only went to Washington for one day. I took the train from Philadelphia May 6 to record a podcast episode at the Ag on the Mall event on the National Mall in D.C.
The National Hemp Association and the Pennsylvania Hemp Industry Council invited me to spend time at their display.
They had a tent set up with tables full of products made from hemp: cat litter, animal bedding, shirts, rope, bio-plastics socks, flooring and biofuels. They even had a regular old 5-gallon bucket made from hemp.
Next to the tent was The FiberCut, a four-tiered, adjustable-height sickle-bar mower made by Hemp Harvest Works in Nebraska.
I spent the day talking to the hemp folks at the booth and people passing by, including Erica Stark, executive director of the National Hemp Association.
“We are showcasing everything hemp. We have the hemp house on wheels here. We have the BMW i3. And most exciting is we have the new Livewire by Harley-Davidson that has hemp fenders on it that were actually grown in the United States,” she said.
This week’s episode is a collection of short interviews with a handful of people.
Pablo Falla, a business owner with businesses in the U.S. and South and Central America, told me about the differences between growing hemp in the U.S. and elsewhere in the Western Hemisphere.
“Down in South America it’s totally different,” he said. “We got a perfect 12/12 all year long. So we can do up to four harvests a year.
Andrew Bish, president of the Hemp Feed Coalition, had just returned from a meeting with the undersecretary of rural development at the USDA.
“A lot of the dialogue was how we can create opportunities for fiber and grain producers to be able to access some of these government programs, some of these funds that they’re not able to access right now because of the risk,” Bish said.
National Hemp Associationhttps://nationalhempassociation.org/
Pennsylvania Hemp Industry Council https://www.pahic.org/
Hemp Feed Coalition https://hempfeedcoalition.org/
Special thanks to Sandra Mason and the team at AEM
Thanks to our Sponsors! IND HEMPhttps://indhemp.com/
Forever Green https://www.forevergreen.com/
Americhanvrehttps://americhanvre.com/
SunRay Hemp
This week’s podcast takes us to a hempcrete workshop in Barto, Pennsylvania.
That’s where Cameron McIntosh of Americhanvre Cast-Hemp hosted a four-day hands-on training session to teach the basics of the spray-applied method of hempcrete installation using the Ereasy system.
Training began Saturday morning at McIntosh’s shop at a farm in Berks County.
With a total of 14 participants and four assistant instructors, he said, “this is our single biggest training.”
Attendees traveled from around the country and the world, including Texas, North Carolina, Minnesota, California, and British Columbia.
Damien Baumer, who developed the Ereasy Spray-Applied system in 2014, traveled from his village in France to help McIntosh with the training.
Baumer said his system is not in wide use in France, but is used in many other European countries, and now has a strong footprint in America, thanks to McIntosh.
McIntosh’s company, Americhanvre (a mash-up of America and the French word for hemp, chanvre), is the authorized North America distributor of the Ereasy system, and there are now more Ereasy systems in use in America than in the inventor’s home country.
Baumer is happy to see the growth in America, and said through a translator, “Cameron’s a warrior who’s been fighting for the last three years to make this happen.”
Earlier this year, Americhanvre was awarded a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the U.S. Army for $1.9 million.
While the training isn’t directly related to the grant, McIntosh sees the connection.
The purpose of the SBIR program, he said, “is to commercialize your technology and your company, not only in the private sector, but also publicly.”
Attendees get more than basic instruction on how to run the spray machine.
“We also teach estimating and bidding. We teach accounting, we give the participants tools that they would need not only to run the system, but also to run a successful business around it,” McIntosh said.
The Ereasy system is simple in its design and function. Hemp hurds are mixed with lime and water in a hopper. That slurry is then pushed through tubes by a large air compressor while the lance operator sprays the wet hempcrete mixture at a wall or, in this case, an SIP panel, which can then be used in construction.
Attendees sprayed over 30 panels during the course of the workshop.
Denzel Sutherland Wilson traveled from Gitxsan Nation in north British Columbia.
“I came to learn how to spray hempcrete and just see if this would be something that could help us back where I come (from),” he said.
Wilson is from the community of Kispiox, which sits at the confluence of the Skeena and Kispiox rivers. It’s surrounded by mountains on one side and the Pacific Ocean on the other.
“We have a lot of poorly insulated and overcrowded houses and mold issues,” he said. “And this hemp seems like it could address a lot of issues in the housing realm.”
He also said he finds great inspiration from the work the Lower Sioux Indian Community in Minnesota is doing with hempcrete, where the tribe is building houses for community members in need.
Danny Desjarlais is the head builder at Lower Sioux and was on hand at the workshop to assist in the training.
Desjarlais and his team have built three hempcrete houses in the past year and they are gearing up to build more.
He sees hemp construction as a way to rebuild rural communities around the country.
“For any community that wants to give their community members jobs and even better homes or whatever product you’re going to make with it,” he said, “the potential for the jobs is there and the potential to take back your community.”
On this week’s podcast, we meet the people at the workshop. Why did they sign up? What did they learn? All that, plus a tour of a hempcrete house in Pottstown.
On this episode we talk to the following people:
Cameron McIntosh
Damien Baumer
Navid Hatfield
Danny Desjarlais
Tim Callahan
Henry Valles
Dani Baker
Denzel Sutherland Wilson
Cliff the Gardener
Tina Jones
John Price
Learn More about Hempcrete:
US Hemp Builders Association
https://ushba.org/
Hemp Building Institute
https://www.hempbuildinginstitute.org/
Americhanvre Cast-Hemp
https://americhanvre.com/
Lower Sioux Indian Community
https://lowersioux.com/
New Nuggets
US poised to ease restrictions on marijuana in historic shift, but it’ll remain controlled substance
https://apnews.com/article/marijuana-biden-dea-criminal-justice-pot-f833a8dae6ceb31a8658a5d65832a3b8
21st EIHA Conference in Prague
https://eiha-conference.org/
Hempwood, the coolest thing made in Kentucky
https://hempwood.com/
Thanks to Our Sponsors!
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
King’s Agriseeds
https://kingsagriseeds.com/
Forever Green
https://www.hempcutter.com/
Music courtesy of Tin Bird Shadow
https://tinbirdshadow.bandcamp.com/album/dot-dot-dot
On this week’s hemp podcast, we listen to a panel discussion from the NoCo Hemp Expo that took place in Colorado earlier this month.
The panelists were Rachel Berry, a farmer and founder of the Illinois Hemp Growers Association; Terry Moran, a sales rep from Kanda Hemp, an importer of Asian hemp varieties; Corbett Miteff from KonopiUS, an importer of European hemp genetics; and Larry Smart, a geneticist and plant breeder from Cornell University.
The panel discussion was moderated by Eric Singular who described the topic of discussion as “the intersection of agronomy and genetics in hemp fiber production.”
Smart talked about starting the breeding program at Cornell and how trying to meet the needs of the industry has been a roller coaster ride.
“But certainly right now the demand is for fiber,” Smart said. “So we have been focused on breeding fiber hemp. And the main trait that we see as valuable in fiber hemp is very late flowering.”
Because hemp is a photoperiodic crop, it will stop growing taller once it starts to flower.
“If we can identify varieties that continue to grow and do not transition to flowering, those are going to create the greatest amount of biomass,” he said.
Typically, later-flowering varieties are adapted to tropical or subtropical latitudes, he said.
Moran spoke about the need for seed in the U.S. as the industry grows.
“The main thing to think about is if you’re going to get to 250,000 acres,” he said, “is where’s that seed going to come from?”
Asia and Europe are the likely sources based on current trends.
“And I don’t see that changing in the near term. And even if there’s some great variety out there, it’s going to take several years to scale that,” Moran said.
Berry, a first-generation farmer in Illinois, spoke about the importance of genetic research and how she worked with the Midwestern Hemp Research Collaborative.
The group provided genetics that were tailored to Berry’s region, one of which she said provided amazing results.
“Having folks like you who are doing the research on these genetics and providing them to farmers like me to eliminate all that trial and error, I’m so grateful for that,” Berry said.
Miteff described his work with processing methods, various fiber lengths, and the defibrillation of cellulose.
“At end of the day, we’re trying to find things where we can get some really good fiber that we can break apart that cellulose and start using it,” Miteff said.
“But at the same time, how do we get the grain off of it?” he asked, a question that took the panelists into a conversation about dual cropping varieties that produce both fiber and grain.
Learn more: Eric Singular https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-singular Pennsylvania Flax Project https://paflaxproject.com/ Illinois Hemp Growers Association https://www.illinoishga.com/ Cornell University Hemp Program https://hemp.cals.cornell.edu/ KonopiUS https://www.konopius.com/ Kanda Hemp https://kandahemp.com/ Noco Hemp Expo https://www.nocohempexpo.com/ News Nuggets HempWood https://hempwood.com/ Coolest Thing Made in Kentucky https://coolestthingky.com/ USDA's 2023 National Hemp Report https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Pennsylvania/Publications/Survey_Results/2024/hempan24.pdf Thanks to Our Sponsors! IND HEMP https://indhemp.com/ Mpactful Ventures https://www.mpactfulventures.org/ Forever Green https://www.hempcutter.com/ HUGE THANK YOU TO SUNRAY HEMP in ALASKA Music courtesy of Tin Bird Shadow https://tinbirdshadow.bandcamp.com/album/dot-dot-dot
On this 420 Bonus show, we share an episode of one of our favorite podcasts, Rumble Strip. It’s made by Erica Heilman who tells stories of rural Vermont.
On this episode she interviews Vermonter John Rodgers, a stonemason the Northeast Kingdom, where he also runs a construction business, plows driveways and rents properties, and for sixteen years he served in the Vermont Legislature in both the House and the Senate.
He works all the time so he can hold onto the farm that's been in his family for 200 years. It was a dairy when he was growing up there. Now he's growing weed for Vermont retailers.
Thank you to Erica Heilman at Rumble Strip for letting us share this episode!
Please go to her website and listen to more episodes of Rumble Strip: https://www.rumblestripvermont.com/
This week’s hemp podcast is a recap of the 10th annual NoCo Hemp Expo in Estes Park, Colorado, April 11-13, where industry stakeholders gathered to collaborate, commiserate and celebrate the state of hemp in 2024.
The episode features voices from many attendees, including Colorado Gov. Jared Polis.
“We’re really all hands on deck to make sure Colorado continues to be an ag powerhouse, and hemp is a big part of that,” Polis said.
State Ag Commissioner Kate Greenberg agreed with the governor and said the “conversation is really just diversified in what hemp is capable of.”
Hemp researcher Przemyslaw Baraniecki came all the way from the Institute of Natural Fibres and Medicinal Plants in Poland, where hemp was never prohibited yet still carries a stigma.
“In Europe, when you when you say to someone on the street ‘hemp,’ they will smile and treat it as something, let’s say, spicy,” Baraniecki said.
Karll Lecher from Dakota Hemp Co. in South Dakota echoed those sentiments and the industry is being held back by conflicting messaging.
“We just need one unifying voice to enlighten the public about hemp and maybe get rid of some of those stigmas,” he said.
The Hemp Twins — Abigail and Noemy Cuevas — from Los Angeles have been hosting workshops and events back home for years to educate the public and spread the message of hemp.
For Noemy, hempcrete construction is one of the bright spots in the hemp industry.
“Living in Los Angeles, California, we have a lot of wildfires, so if we would have hemp building, then we will be able to save people’s homes, people’s lives,” she said.
Andrew Bish from Hemp Harvest Works, an equipment manufacturer from Nebraska, was showcasing a recent research-scale decorticator.
“We produced this for universities around the country, as well as processors that want to work to ultimately grade their herd and fiber products,” he said.
You will hear many voices from all over the world on this week’s show, plus you’ll hear about the time spent with Danny DesJarlais and the crew from the Lower Sioux from Minnesota.
Thank you to the following voices featured in this week's episode:
Aaron Appleby
Andrew Bish, Hemp Harvest works
Caroline Matthews, Tatham
Colorado Department of Ag
Colorado Office of the Governor
Abigail and Noemy Cuevas, The Hemp Twins, Hemp Traders
Bethany Niebauer, Industrial Hemp Research Foundation
Raven Faber, EngErotics
Nianyi Gan, Kanda Hemp
Patrick Atagi, NIHC
Przemyslaw Baraniecki, Institute of Natural Fibres and Medicinal Plants
Thanks to our sponsors!
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
Americhanvre
https://americhanvre.com/
Forever Green
https://www.hempcutter.com/
SunRay Hemp
Music Courtesy of Tin Bird Shadow.
On this week’s hemp podcast, Lancaster Farming talks to Steve Groff from Cedar Meadow Farm in Holtwood, Lancaster County, where he is getting ready to plant 70 acres of industrial hemp.
“This year it’s all fiber. And we’ll probably plant about 10 varieties,” Groff said.
Of those 10, about a third will be what he calls his “core varieties“ that have performed well previously on his farm or in the Mid-Atlantic region in general.
“We are going to be testing several other newer varieties that might perform well, that we need to basically, I’ll say, ground-truth and see how they work,” he said.
As the post-prohibition hemp industry puts itself back together, one of the many riddles to solve is what plant genetics will work where, which is why Groff is so keen on trying new varieties — he enjoys figuring stuff out, and if his work on the farm can help grow an industry, that’s even better.
Groff, well known for his pioneering work and educational efforts in no-till farming and cover crops, has been growing hemp on his farm since 2019, the first season it was legal to grow commercially in Pennsylvania.
His interest in hemp is full spectrum. He’s grown hemp on his farm for CBD, grain and fiber, but this year his focus is exclusively on fiber — not just growing it, but also how to process.
Groff is a partner in Hemp Katalyst, an aspirational hemp processing company focused on research and development.
“So we’ve been experimenting with several different variations of processing. And as everybody knows, there’s a lot involved,” he said.
Groff said that ultimately the varieties that farmers grow will be determined by how it’s used, and that manufacturers will provide specs for processors.
But the industry is not there yet, so Groff pushes forward with “experimental micro processing.”
“And so we’re trying to back up from what our customers want and figure it out so that when we do invest in larger scale machinery, we get it right the first time.”
“I love doing the cover crops because it helped farmers. It helped the environment. It checked all the boxes,” Groff said. “And the nice thing about hemp is it does all those things too, but it’s enhanced because it a stronger connection to everyone.”
Or, as we say on the podcast, cannabis loves community.
Groff also discussed his recent work with Penn State’s College of Medicine. Groff grows CBG and CBD varieties of hemp for their medical research.
From food, fiber and fuel to building materials and medicine — the list goes on and on — Groff said he can’t think of another plant that God made that benefits humanity in more ways than hemp.
Learn more about Cedar Meadow Farm
https://cedarmeadow.farm/
Learn more about Hemp Katalyst
https://www.hempkatalyst.com/
New Nuggets
IND HEMP Earns B Corp Certification
https://www.bakersfield.com/ap/news/ind-hemp-earns-prestigious-b-corp-certification/article_6a68890d-1ee4-524f-975b-c38286b68ecb.html
Commercial Operations Begin at Panda Biotech’s Massive Wichita Falls Hemp Gin
https://dallasinnovates.com/commercial-operations-begin-at-panda-biotechs-massive-wichita-falls-hemp-gin/
Thanks to our sponsors!
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
National Hemp Association
https://nationalhempassociation.org/
Mpactful Ventures
https://www.mpactfulventures.org/
Forever Green, distributors of the KP-4 Hemp Cutter
https://www.hempcutter.com/
Music Courtesy of Tin Bird Shadow.
On this bonus episode we talk to Andrew Bish and Morgan Tweet from the Hemp Feed Coalition, the advocacy group that has been working for four years to get hemp grain approved as a livestock feed.
Opening up the feed markets is the one of the most important issues in the hemp industry today. Hemp grain was given tentative approval by AAFCO in January, with a final vote in August.
On this episode the HFC folks respond to a recent blog post published by Agriculture Policy Solutions, another advocacy group with deep ties to the hemp industry, a blog post which at best confuses the issue and at worst jeopardizes the likelihood of hemp’s approval in August.
Then we hear from Hunter Buffington from Agriculture Policy Solutions and author of the blog post in question. She defends her position and lays out why she wrote and why she chose to publish it now.
She raised a few questions that needed answered so we talked to Morgan Tweet from HFC again.
Hopefully this episode sheds some light on the messy process of getting ingredients approved for livestock.
Hemp Feed Coalition
https://hempfeedcoalition.org/
Agriculture Policy Solutions
http://www.agpolicysolutions.com/
as TENTATIVE DEFINITION FOR HEMPSEED MEAL Moves forward, APS Constituents have concerns
http://www.agpolicysolutions.com/news/tentative-definition-for-hempseed-meal-has-been-described-as-a-poison-pill-for-the-hemp-industry
Response to Industry Questions Around Tentative Definition and Potential Concerns on Cannabinoid Thresholds
https://hempfeedcoalition.org/2024/03/29/response-to-industry-questions-around-tentative-definition-and-potential-concerns-on-cannabinoid-thresholds/
In this week’s hemp podcast, Lancaster Farming speaks with Ken Meyer, beekeeper and hemp processor from South Dakota.
Meyer and his family run a fourth-generation beekeeping business as well as the state’s first industrial hemp processing facility.
As a young man, Meyer enjoyed beekeeping but was encouraged by his elders to get an education instead of going into the family business, which he did, and he had a fruitful career as lawyer.
In 2013, his dad and brother successfully recruited him back into the family business of keeping bees, and today he oversees the beeswax rendering facility as vice president of A.H. Meyer & Sons, the business started by his great-grandfather over 90 years ago.
Honeybees are known for their industriousness, efficiency and community spirit, not to mention the vital ecological services they provide, including the pollination of many of our food crops.
“The number that we often talk about is that every third bite of what we eat,” Meyer said, is made possible because of bees. And beekeepers.
Some of that industriousness and community spirit must have rubbed off on Meyer.
In 2020, he co-founded the South Dakota Industrial Hemp Association, and has since been on a mission to bring full-scale production of industrial hemp to the state.
Since 2020, he and his SDIHA colleagues have conducted nearly a hundred educational meeting for farmers to show them the benefits of including fiber hemp in their corn and soy rotations.
Simultaneous to his educational efforts, Meyer has led the way in bringing processing capacity to the Mount Rushmore State.
In 2023, he and his crew opened Complete Hemp Processing at a 25,000- square-foot facility, which includes a decortication system and mechanical drying area.
His outreach efforts to farmers have paid off.
“Last year, we contracted for 1,600 acres,” he said. “This year, we’re right at 2,000 acres.”
The increase is twofold: more farmers have signed up to grow, and some of his existing farmers have increased their acreage of hemp.
“It’s definitely a mix of both. So for example, one or two farmers that did 300 acres last year, this year are doing 500 each,” he said.
Corn prices are also having a positive effect on hemp acres.
“Last year when we signed up hemp farmers, we paid them $300 a ton for their (hemp) stalks. They were getting the same money they were getting for corn when corn was at $7 a bushel,” Meyer said.
But now corn is in the $4 a bushel range, and South Dakota farmers “have that extra margin in there where hemp is better than corn, because we haven’t brought our prices down as corn prices have dropped,” Meyer said.
The processing facility is in Winfred, about 60 miles northwest of Sioux City. Meyer said most of the hemp production in South Dakota takes place in the eastern half, as the western part of the state is mostly ranchland.
He said the corn and soy growers he’s working with generally already have the equipment they need to plant and harvest and bale the fiber crop.
“The farmers bring the bales to us, per our contract, at roughly the rate of a third of their harvest at harvest time. And then a few months out into the second quarter, they bring a second third,” he said. “And then as we’re coming into the spring, they bring the last third of their bales,” Meyer said.
The hemp is processed into two main lines: bast fiber and hurd.
Meyer said the majority of the processed hemp hurd goes into the hemp animal bedding market, while some goes into the hemp-lime, or hempcrete, building industry.
According to USDA’s national hemp report, South Dakota led the nation in harvested acres of industrial hemp in 2022 with 2,550 acres, in no small part thanks to Ken Meyer and his crew.
As hemp becomes more common in the state, the marijuana stigma has lessened, Meyer said.
“The first year when we were educating people, we would hear people ask questions or make jokes about industrial hemp being marijuana,” he said,” and who was going to come and steal the crop and those kind of things.”
But none of those things ever happen, Meyer said, and now just a few years later, no one is making those jokes.
“So after some education, attitude is changed quite a bit,” Meyer said.
Learn more about Complete Hemp Processing
https://www.completehempprocessing.com/
Learn more about A.H. Meyer & Sons
https://www.meyerhoneyfarms.com/
Thanks to our sponsors!
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
King’s Agriseeds
https://kingsagriseeds.com/
The Pennsylvania Industrial Hemp Council
https://www.pahic.org/
Forever Green and the KP4 Hemp Cutter
https://www.hempcutter.com/
Topics discussed in this interview:
- Industrial Hemp Processing in South Dakota
- Complete Hemp Processing Center
- Location and footprint
- Drying process for bales
- Contracting with farmers in South Dakota
- Increase in industrial acreage from previous year
- Reasons for hemp vs corn
- Challenges and education for new hemp growers
- Regulations for hemp growers in South Dakota
- Complete Hemp Processing Center
- Ken Meyer's family business
- Beekeeping history
- Origin (Switzerland)
- Migratory beekeeping
- Facilities for beekeeping services (wax rendering, honey packing)
- Impact of mites on beekeeping
- Number of hives currently managed by Ken Meyer
- Bee species used (European honeybee)
- Beekeeping history
- Intersection of bees and hemp
- Potential of hemp protein for bees
- Nutritional benefits for bees
- Addressing seasonal pollen shortage
- Stimulating bee growth before almond pollination
- Potential of hemp protein for bees
On this bonus episode of the Hemp Podcast, we talk to Mike Mercadante from Right Coast Hemp in Manahawkin, New Jersey, where the company is holding the first of a series of hands-on hempcrete work shops, May 10-12.
The workshops are intended to give local builders and contractors a chance to get to know hemp as a material and see how the hempcrete process works.
Learn more about Right Coast Hemp
https://rchemp.com/
Learn more about Hearts of Mercy
https://hearts-of-mercy.org/
Register for the workshop May 10-12
https://rchemp.com/learn-to-build-with-hemp-workshop/
Thanks to our sponsors:
IND HEMP
Americhanvre
National Hemp Association
Forever Green
King's Agriseeds
Pennsylvania Hemp Industry Council
SunRay Hemp
This week’s podcast guest Mattie Mead competed in a 2013 pitch competition at Hobart College in Geneva, New York.
He had just shared his vision for a company that made building materials out of hemp.
“One of the judges for the contest said, ‘So let me get this straight, you’re looking to build houses out of a Schedule 1 substance?’
“And I said, well, ‘Yes.’
“Today it’s a Schedule 1 substance, but in five or so years it’s going to be federally legal,” Mead said. “And I want to be on the forefront of what I believe to be an emerging industry.”
Indeed, industrial hemp was legalized with the 2018 Farm Bill and today Mead is co-founder and CEO of Hempitecture, a building materials manufacturing company in Idaho.
“We’re focused on what we believe are the most truly sustainable building materials on the planet,” Mead said.
“And as you could probably guess by our name, our not-so-secret ingredient is hemp fiber.”
Hempitecture makes several construction materials from hemp, including HempWool thermal insulation, a plant-based alternative to fiberglass insulation.
Another product line is FiberPad, a hemp-fiber-based, non-toxic carpet underlayment.
Hempitecture brought a state-of-the-art manufacturing center online in early 2023 in Jerome, Idaho. The company sources hemp fibers from Montana and Alberta, but recently a processor in Idaho — Whitefield Global — has come into operation, providing Hempitecture with fibers produced by farmers in Idaho.
“Seeing this kind of movement towards industrial hemp cultivation in the Rocky Mountain West — and seeing it move closer and closer to our manufacturing plant — is really encouraging,” Mead said.
He also talks about his company’s latest round of fundraising.
“We opened up our second round to the public on March 18. And within the first day of going public, we’ve put $740,000 of reservations in this investment round,” he said.
He also speaks about expanding Hempitecture by building a second manufacturing facility in upstate New York.
“As we look towards expansion on the East Coast, we want to use our Idaho facility as a blueprint and replicate that blueprint nationally,” Mead said.
Also on this podcast episode, we hear from Morris Beegle, founder of the NoCo Hemp Expo taking place in Colorado in April. We’ll have a handful of news nuggets as well, including a story about kitty litter made from hemp.
Invest in Hempitecture https://wefunder.com/hempitecture
Learn more about Hempitecture https://www.hempitecture.com/
News Nuggets
All Walks Pet Products Hemp Litter
https://allwalkspet.com/
Get Your Tickets for Noco Hemp Expo, April 11 - 13
https://www.nocohempexpo.com/
Hemp-Lime Appendix Published in 2024 US Residential Housing Codes
https://www.hempbuildmag.com/home/irc-hemp-lime
State attorneys general urge Congress to address risks posed by intoxicating hemp products
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/03/20/intoxicating-hemp-products-state-attorneys-general-congress-00147819
Manufacturing skis from hemp tapes
https://www.knittingindustry.com/manufacturing-skis-from-hemp-tapes/
Hemp Podcast guest James “Jimmy” Cottrell II is a fourth-generation paper maker at family-owned Cottrell Paper in Saratoga County, New York.
He started cutting the grass in high school and began working at the mill after graduation, and has worked his way up.
Today he is director of maintenance for the mill and vice president of Mill26, Cottrell Paper’s hemp paper brand.
The company was founded in 1926 when Cottrell’s great-grandfather began making electrical insulation paper.
“We’ve always produced electrical insulating sheet,” Cottrell said. “It’s a specialty product, and nobody else in the world makes exactly the same sheet we make.”
Cottrell Paper’s products are in numerous consumer goods
“We’re in cars. We’re in automotive. We’re in a lot of things that are in your household items, your dishwashers, little parts and pieces everywhere,” Cottrell said. “But we’ve never actually sold to a consumer where people know who Cottrell Paper is.”
The company operates in the same paper mill in Rock City Falls, along the Kayaderosseras Creek, where 19th-century industrialist and the so-called “Paper Bag King” George West is said to have invented the paper bag, a story in which Cottrell finds inspiration.
“So to come full circle now 150 years later, to invent a hemp sheet and build another paper bag in this mill...,” Cottrell said. “I feel that’s a threat to the paper bag itself, because we got something new in the same old place.”
Mill26 Hemp Paper
During the days of COVID when the world slowed to a snail’s pace, Cottrell put the time to good use.
“We ventured into trying to make a new line,” he said. “We got a little slow, like everybody did, and started getting some stalks and stems in, and we started processing some hemp.”
At first he bought hemp out of Canada and the Netherlands, but has lately been sourcing material from Texas.
“The United States is catching up, and we’re just a little bit behind, you know, overseas everywhere,” he said.
He said he wants clean bast fiber at a 95:5 ratio of bast to hurd. The bast fibers are the long strands that make up the outer portion of the stalk and the hurd is the inner woody core, often used for hempcrete construction and horse bedding.
“Everybody has their own classification right now of what 95 five is,” he said, “but we really need the cleanest bast fibers around to make the best papers that we can make here at Mill 26.”
Cottrell Paper decided to brand their hemp paper line independently as Mill26 to attract new costumers and to avoid any negative association with marijuana.
Cottrell said his warehouse is full and he is ready for business.
“We can sell rolls, we can sell sheets, we can sell coils. We can sell paper bags from size two to size 12. We can print your logo on it up to four colors,” he said. “You can buy a thousand quantities all the way up to million quality bags.”
The implications of Mill26 hemp paper are wide. A durable, tree-free paper has the potential to disrupt many industries and usher in a new era of regenerative consumer packaging (and maybe the newspapers).
“I really feel that it can help change so many industries and then help change this planet and the ecological footprint and our carbon footprint here at Cottrell Paper itself,” Cottrell said.
Mill26 Hemp Paper https://mill26.com/
Cottrell Paper https://www.cottrellpaper.com/
Thanks to our Sponsors! IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
Americhanvre Cast-Hemp https://americhanvre.com/
Forever Green
https://www.hempcutter.com/
This is a special weekend edition of the Hemp Podcast. Lancaster Farming speaks with Geoff Whaling, chair of the National Hemp Association.
I will update the details of this episode soon. For now, enjoy the audio.
Learn more: National Hemp Association https://nationalhempassociation.org/
Thanks to our sponsors!
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
Americhanvre
https://americhanvre.com/
Forever Green, distributors of the KP4 Hemp Cutter
https://www.hempcutter.com/
Jean Lotus is an award-winning investigative journalist and publisher of HempBuild Magazine.
She is based in Fort Collins, Colorado, where she has been covering the hemp industry since 2017, and is our guest on this week’s hemp podcast.
While she has written about various sectors of the hemp industry, her main area of interest is the hemp building sector.
“I thought, jeez, this is a technology that’s been in use successfully in Europe for 30 years,” she said. “They’ve already made all the mistakes, they’ve done all the testing. They know what works.”
“All we have to do is sort of turn a key and we could do it here,” Lotus said.
Lotus has become a well-respected voice in the hemp industry, not only because of her deep interest in the plant and the potential for its uses, but also because of her commitment as a journalist to getting the story straight.
“I was an investigative reporter in Chicago for many years,” she said, “and what I found when writing about hemp and researching hemp online is that there is this bizarre world of fabulosity.”
Wild claims about what hemp can do run rampant on the internet, and the dearth of accurate information spurred Lotus to start Hemp Build Magazine, to provide researched and fact-based information to anyone who wants it at HempBuildMag.com.
Last year, she co-founded a school in association with the US Hemp Building Association, called HempBuild School Masterminds.
The school has two tracks, one designed for the home owner.
“We have a lot of people who are dreaming about building their own house (out of hemp),” Lotus said.
The other track is for professional builders who want to learn the trade. The professional track covers building techniques as well as softer skills, such as talking to regulators, building inspectors, code enforcers and subs like the electricians and plumbers, who most likely have never worked with hempcrete before and will stare at you like an old mule looking at a new gate when you tell them what you need them to do.
Most recently, Lotus has published the “2024 Hemp Building Directory, A Guide to the International Hemp Building Industry.”
It’s a 138-page book, nearly double in size of the first edition of the directory she published in 2022.
The book provides contact information for businesses around the world that are connected to the hemp building industry.
“Everything from hemp wood to wallpaper to, you know, some kind of experimental stuff, hemp blowing insulation, hemp paints and stains,” she said.
Not just products, the directory also lists hemp builders, architects, engineers, designers, processors, decorticators, suppliers, and more.
“The idea is,” Lotus said, “at any stage you can find supplies that have hemp as a building material in them.”
For Lotus, her work is informed by a vision of a better world — a place where hemp construction is ubiquitous and boring. Houses are made from local agriculture-based materials and are accessible and affordable for everyone.
“That is sort of the vision that I see that when you say, what does success look like for this industry?” Lotus said.
Listen here:
Hemp Build Magazine
https://www.hempbuildmag.com/
2024 Hemp Building Directory
https://www.hempbuildmag.com/directory-2024
HempBuild School Masterminds
https://www.hempbuildmag.com/hemp-build-school
News Nuggets and Hemp Events
Oregon State receives $10 million grant to work with 13 Native American Tribes on hemp economic development
https://today.oregonstate.edu/news/oregon-state-receives-10-million-grant-work-13-native-american-tribes-hemp-economic-development
International groups join forces to expand standards for industrial hemp
https://hemptoday.net/international-groups-join-forces-to-expand-standards-for-industrial-hemp
Right Coast Hempcrete Workshop, May 10-12
https://rchemp.com/learn-to-build-with-hemp-workshop/
Ereasy Spray Method Hempcrete Training, April 27-30
https://americhanvre.com/april-ereasy-training/
Vote for HempWood! It's definitely the coolest thing made in Kentucky.
http://coolestthingky.com/cast-your-vote
Thanks to our Sponsors!
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com
Mpactful Ventures
https://www.mpactfulventures.org/
Forever Green
https://www.hempcutter.com/
This week on the Hemp Podcast, Lancaster Farming talks with Maciej Kowalski, founder and CEO of Kombinat Konopny, a hemp company based in Elbląg, a Polish city on the Baltic Sea.
Kombinat Konopny is a vertically integrated hemp operator working both in the herbal and fiber division.
Kowalski said the company takes a no-nonsense approach to floral production and extraction.
“Which means basically we are not doing extraction, because nature does it best,” he said.
Instead of a complicated chemical extraction process, “we just mix hemp biomass with olive oil and then press it mechanically,” he said.
“No distillation, no extraction, no messing with the natural ratios of the cannabinoids. Whatever is in the plant goes into the oil,” Kowalski said, noting that this model runs counter to the mainstream floral hemp industry’s fixation on hemp derived intoxicants like Delta-8 THC.
“I don’t mess with nature. I just put it in a bottle,” Kowalski said.
A separate division of Kombinat Konopny is focused on hemp fiber.
“I’ve been working with hemp flower for more than 10 years now, and hemp stalk has always been an enemy,” he said. “It was something that ropes around all the bits and pieces. So like five, six years ago, I decided to try to somehow work with it, not against it.”
Since then Kowalski has built a vertically integrated hemp textile company.
“We are growing hemp. We are harvesting hemp. We are decorticating hemp,” he said.
“Then we are refining the fiber, we spin it into yarn, and we actually make the products out of it,” Kowalski said. “So it’s a full value chain.”
Before getting into hemp, Kowalski was working as a journalist and was trying to write a story about a Catch-22 in Polish hemp law.
“In order to grow hemp, you need to be registered in a registry of hemp growers,” he said. But the registry did not exist.
He wanted to write an article that asked some basic questions: “How can you say that I’m in the registry, if there is no registry, but you cannot grow if you’re not in the registry?”
He applied for the registry, knowing his application would be rejected because there was no registry.
But much to his surprise (and to the detriment of his career in investigative journalism), “some wise person from the ministry said, ‘Well, the country cannot expect from a citizen to fulfill something that is not possible.’”
In 2014, Maciej Kowalski was granted the first private license issued for hemp in Poland.
“I wanted to show that it is not possible, but I actually proved that it is possible, so maybe I should start doing it,” he said.
From there he built a successful CBD business, which was bought by a Canadian company in 2018, but the sale came with a non-compete clause, so Kowalski was unable to work with CBD for two years.
“So imagine 2018,” he said. “I’ve got quite a lot of money to invest. I got quite a lot of willpower and knowledge, but I cannot be working with CBDs. So that’s how I got into fiber.”
Also in this interview we discuss winter retting, feral hemp, and how Kowalski took a case to the Polish Supreme Court to prove that hemp does not fall under the EU’s novel food regulations.
Listen here:
Kombinat Konopny
https://kombinatkonopny.pl/
Maciej on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/maciejkowalskihemp/
What's up with European Novel Foods?
https://food.ec.europa.eu/safety/novel-food_en
What Does Maciej think about Novel Foods?
https://kombinatkonopny.pl/court-judgment-hemp-is-not-a-novel-food-it-can-be-used-in-food/
Thanks to our Sponsors!
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com
National Hemp Association
https://nationalhempassociation.org/
King's Agriseeds
https://kingsagriseeds.com/
This week’s hemp podcast is divided into two parts.
Lancaster Farming talks with Shannon Powers from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture about some major changes to the hemp program in the Keystone State.
“The first is that Pennsylvania is moving to a performance-based testing system for growers who are growing either for fiber or grain,” Powers said.
Performance-based testing, she said, will reduce the amount of testing needed by growers if they meet basic requirements. Reduced testing means reduced costs for producers.
The second change, Powers said, is the removal of the application deadline. In the past, growers had to get their application in by April 1. Removing the deadline makes it easier for farmers to make planting decisions later in the season.
“We’re finding that folks can grow two crops of hemp in one season,” Powers said.
KP-4 Hemp Cutter The second interview on the hemp podcast this week is with Peter Dushop, founder of the Canadian company Forever Green, distributors of the KP-4 hemp cutter.
The KP-4 is an adjustable-height, multi-tiered sickle bar for harvesting fiber hemp, made by Lithuanian equipment manufacturer Laumetris.
Dushop said the cutter makes “the crop manageable and improves consistency and repeatability from season to season, from field to field.”
Dushop grows fiber hemp on the family farm in British Columbia, where he is also developing a processing facility.
“We firmly believe that processing starts in the field and not necessarily at the mill,” Dushop said.
Learn more: Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Hemp Program https://www.agriculture.pa.gov/Plants_Land_Water/hemp/Pages/default.aspx Agricultural Business Development Center https://www.agriculture.pa.gov/Business_Industry/Pages/ABDC.aspx Forever Green https://www.forevergreen.com HempCutter.com https://www.hempcutter.com/ News Nuggets South Bend Industrial Hemp to Launch Apprenticeship Program https://www.morningagclips.com/south-bend-industrial-hemp-to-launch-apprenticeship-program-through-kfbs-rkap/ Hemp-Based Batteries to Be Manufactured in Wisconsin https://www.constructionequipmentguide.com/hemp-based-batteries-to-be-manufactured-in-wisconsin/64029 Thanks to our Sponsors! IND HEMP https://indhemp.com/ National Hemp Association https://nationalhempassociation.org/
This week’s podcast guest is Robert Hoban, a cannabis attorney and industry leader.
Hoban recently published a five-part series at Forbes.com in which he takes a deep dive on some of the most controversial issues in the hemp industry today.
Hoban has had a full-spectrum cannabis career, having worked extensively on both sides of the marijuana/hemp divide.
A few years before the 2014 Farm Bill opened a legal pathway for hemp in the U.S., Hoban was approached by a company that wanted to sell CBD, which at the time was a relatively unknown substance.
“I was asked a very direct question,” he said. “Is CBD legal under the Controlled Substances Act?”
He was only vaguely familiar with CBD at the time, and so he didn’t know the answer.
“I said, ‘Give me three weeks. I’m going to do the deepest dive I could possibly do,’ and I did,” he said.
The legal opinion he wrote based on his analysis was widely shared and ultimately was a contributing factor to the meteoric rise of CBD.
“Based on the definition of marihuana, spelled with an H under our Controlled Substances Act, it was quite clear to me that certain elements of the plant, and certain variations of the plant grown internationally, were indeed lawful under our Controlled Substances Act,” he said.
“And CBD is not and was never a scheduled substance.”
It’s not hard to draw a line between the overproduction of CBD after the 2018 Farm Bill and the recent market explosion of substances like Delta-8 THC or THC-0.
“Because of all this biomass, the lack of FDA action, and good ole American entrepreneurialism, we saw the rise of intoxicating hemp derivatives,” Hoban writes in his Forbes article.
Hoban refers to the derivatives, or IHDs, as “red state weed” because “much of this hemp derivative activity has become popular in so-called red states,” Hoban writes, where as Democratic-majority blue states are more likely to have avenues for legal marijuana through medical dispensaries or recreational shops.
Red state weed has created headaches for lawmakers who are trying to figure out the best way to deal these substances. Should they be regulated? Should they be banned?
Because Hoban has worked closely with both the hemp industry and the marijuana industry, he has watched with concern as these two sectors of the larger cannabis industry go to war over these derivatives.
“When I started to see the finger pointing back and forth, I just wanted to shed some light on what was happening and bring some perspective to it,” he said.
“And this was on the heels of fighting a policy battle in the state of Colorado, where the marijuana sector was very deliberate in its intention to shut this sector down.”
Some argue that the rise of IHDs was due to a loophole in the language of the Farm Bill. But Hoban said this is no loophole and the cannabis industry as a whole should be embracing these substances, not trying to ban them.
The demand for these products does not go away simply because a state government bans them. It only makes consumer safety an issue, Hoban said.
Read Robert Hogan's articles on Forbes.com https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthoban/
News Nuggets
Hemp sampling protocol changed in Pennsylvania
https://www.farmprogress.com/hemp/hemp-sampling-protocol-changed-in-pennsylvania
Oklahoma's industrial hemp potential: Unveiling benefits and new task force formation
https://ktul.com/news/local/oklahomas-industrial-hemp-potential-unveiling-benefits-and-new-task-force-formation-farmers-thc-oklahoma-cbd-marijuana-plant-people-growing-batteries-bill-rian-graphene-cannabinoids-states-field-products-grow
Advocates celebrate inclusion of hemp in USDA’s Census of Agriculture
https://mjbizdaily.com/advocates-celebrate-inclusion-of-hemp-in-usda-census-of-agriculture/
‘It’s almost carbon-negative’: how hemp became a surprise building material
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/feb/15/its-almost-carbon-negative-how-hemp-became-a-surprise-building-material
Thanks to our Sponsors!
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
Mpactful Ventures
https://www.mpactfulventures.org/
Forever Green, distributors of the KP-4 Hemp Cutter https://www.hempcutter.com/
This week’s hemp podcast guest is Patrick Atagi, president and CEO of the National Industrial Hemp Council of America (NIHC), a DC-based organization that advocates for and lobbies on behalf of the hemp industry.
ON this episode, Atagi discusses industry priorities for the next Farm Bill and the work the NIHC is doing to put hemp on a level playing field with other commodities in the eyes of the USDA.
The NIHC has formed an informal coalition with more than 30 national and regional hemp groups and associations, including the US. Hemp Round Table and the Hemp Industries Association, to develop a list of issues they would like addressed by Congress in the Farm Bill.
Unlike more mature ag industries that usually advocate and lobby as a unified front, the hemp industry groups haven’t coalesced into a single voice, which makes it confusing for policy makers who rely on industry insiders for information and education about a given industry.
“On Capitol Hill, I get that all the time, ‘There’s so many groups, who do we listen to?’ type of thing,” Atagi said.
The Farm Bill priorities list is an attempt to bring the industry together, but because the hemp plant can be used for everything from medicine to houses to biofuels, the industry naturally has many voices.
But some consensus was achieved, Atagi said.
The list of industry priorities includes: regulating CBD and other ingredients derived from hemp, reducing regulatory requirements for producers of hemp fiber and hemp grain, permitting hemp grain as a commercial livestock feed, and raising the THC limit of hemp to 1% from 0.3%.
Atagi also talks about NIHC’s work developing overseas markets for American hemp products. He said the NIHC was recently granted cooperator status in the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) Market Access Program.
He said this new status puts hemp on a level playing field with other ag industries.
“This means that we're on par with cotton, we're on par with grain. We're on par with 75 other commodities,” he said.
What will that mean for the industry?
Listen and find out. National Industrial Hemp Council of America https://nihcoa.com/
Thanks to our Sponsors! IND Hemp https://indhemp.com/
Mpactful Ventures https://www.mpactfulventures.org/
Forever Green, distributors of the KP-4 Hemp Cutter https://www.hempcutter.com/
This week on the industrial hemp podcast, Lancaster Farming talks with Scott Evans, executive vice president of Panda Biotech, a Dallas-based company whose High Plains Hemp Gin in Wichita Falls will be one of the largest hemp processing facilities in the world when it opens this year.
Evans said the processing technology comes from Europe and has a throughput of 10 metric tons per hour.
As you might expect from a hemp gin in Texas, “It is a large line,” Evans said, “To my knowledge, the second biggest in the world, next to one in France.”
The hemp gin is located six miles from the Oklahoma border, making it centrally located for growers in several states, including Kansas and Missouri.
But Evans said, for now, Panda is working mostly with farmers in Texas and Oklahoma.
“We need about 25,000 acres to run this facility around the clock once we ramp up and are at full scale,” he said.
According to USDA, only 6,850 acres of fiber hemp were gown in the U.S. in 2022.
“So while it sounds like a lot,” Evans said, “when you take a step back and look at other commercial crops, it’s really a drop in the bucket here.”
“Texas planted, I think, 8.5 million acres of cotton last year,” he said.
Evans said Panda Biotech now gives cotton farmers another option.
“We’re looking for them to have another crop they can put into the rotation that’s going to be profitable, that’s going to use less water,” he said. “And it’s also going to regenerate the health of their soil.”
Production at the Texas facility will focus on textile for denim.
Evans said hemp blends well with other fibers, adding “durability and other attributes to the denim or twill, khaki, or whatever it’s going into.”
Panda Biotech aims to deliver a clean, mechanically processed fiber without the chemical de-gumming process.
“That really helps keep the sustainability story that’s driving hemp intact,” Evans said.
Panda Biotech is an offshoot of Panda Energy, a Texas-based company that specializes in building and running power plants, a business run by the Carter family.
Panda Biotech chairman and CEO Bob Carter knows how to build things at scale, Evans said, citing Carter’s leadership in nearly two dozen power plant projects around the world.
“We’re not getting in this business just to build one processing center,” Evans said. “As we get this one dialed in, we’ll start looking for other strategic locations where we can expand the company based on offtake and agriculture.”
To which Lancaster Farming replied, “Pennsylvania is a wonderful place. Just throwing that out there.”
Panda Biotech https://www.pandabiotech.com/
Thanks to our sponsors!
IND HEMP https://indhemp.com/
Mpactful Ventures https://www.mpactfulventures.org/
Forever Green, distributors of the KP-4 Hemp Cutter https://www.hempcutter.com/
The Industrial Hemp Podcast is back after a short break. Episode one of Season Four is available now.
The theme of this episode is Good News, because there seems to be a fair amount of it these days in the hemp space.
One such piece of positivity comes to us from podcast guest Morgan Tweet, executive director of the Hemp Feed Coalition, a nonprofit organization working to gain federal approval for hemp grain as a commercial livestock feed.
“The good news to share is we’ve completed a key milestone in the regulatory pathway for federal approval, specifically for hemp seed meal, as an ingredient for laying hens,” said Tweet.
“This is a big deal,” she said. “We got the nod of approval from FDA CVM. They have made the recommendation for approval, to allow this as an ingredient. So it’s a big deal. It’s a long time coming.”
On this episode, Tweet explains the process of introducing new ingredients into the commercial feed supply and how hemp presents some unique challenges to the feed control officials.
She said there are still hoops to jump through but expects hemp seed meal to be granted approval as a feed for laying hens after a final vote by the Association of American Feed Control Officials this August.
Continuing with theme of good news, hempcrete builder Cameron McIntosh shares the news on this episode that his company Americhanvre has been awarded a Small Business Innovation Research grant.
“We received a fully funded direct-to-phase-two award, worth $1.9 million, for research and for studying the Ereasy hempcrete system and methodology,” McIntosh said. “So that’s about the best news I could give you.”
The system is a spray-applied method of building with hempcrete, a faster and more efficient delivery system compared to the traditional cast-in-place method of building with hemp.
“Building and construction are globally responsible for 30% of our carbon emissions,” McIntosh said.
“I think (this grant) is an acknowledgment by, not only the U.S. Army, but the entire Department of Defense and even the entire federal government that they need to encourage and be interested in carbon sequestering, sustainable, renewable building technologies,” he said.
We’ll also hear some good news from Patrick Atagi, president and CEO of the National Industrial Hemp Council of America, about the work his organization is doing to get hemp on a level playing field with other commodity crops in the eyes of the USDA.
And finally, Tennessee filmmakers Jordan Berger and Maxwell Duryea stop by the Lancaster Farming podcast studio in Ephrata to share some good news about their documentary about industrial hemp called One Plant. You can watch a trailer of the film at oneplant.film
Listen here:
Hemp Feed Coalition
https://hempfeedcoalition.org/
Contact the Hemp Feed Coalition
https://hempfeedcoalition.org/contact/
Americhanvre Cast Hemp
https://americhanvre.com/
Sunflower Films: One Plant
https://www.oneplant.film/
National Industrial Hemp Council
https://nihcoa.com/
Thanks to our Sponsors!
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
Mpactful Ventures
https://www.mpactfulventures.org/
Forever Green, Makers of the KP-4 Hemp Cutter
https://www.getforevergreen.com/
Season 4 of the Industrial Hemp Podcast will be starting up soon, and this brief message is sort of like a teaser for the new season. Have questions, comments or concerns? I'd love to hear from you: podcast@lancasterfarming.com. Thanks!
We’re taking the show on the road again. This week we’ll hear interviews from my recent trip to Massachusetts, where I visited the Cape Cod Hemp House in Harwich, and the Hillside Center for Sustainable Living in Newburyport.
Michael Monteiro gave me a tour of his newly built 6,000-square-foot house.
“It may look like any other house here on the cape. We have cedar sidewall shingles on the house,” he said. “But ... the house is actually insulated with a biobased material called hemp lime, or hempcrete. So behind these white walls, we have an insulation material that doesn’t come from oil. It actually comes from a plant.”
Monteiro worked with an architecture firm to design and build a house that looks like a normal cape house, but uses the latest technology in green building, which he explains in detail during the interview.
Then I drove up to the Hillside Center for Sustainable Living in Newburyport, where I met with local builder David Hall, a partner in the vertically integrated real estate and building firm Hall & Moskow.
Phase 3 of the Hillside Center is under construction now. It is billed as the largest industrial hempcrete project in North America, and when complete will be a 12-unit apartment complex.
“We set out 10 years ago to build a community here of very low carbon living,” Hall said. “We have already built 30 units that meet passive house criteria and perform beautifully.
“It’s not an exaggeration to say 1,300 watts, like a typical hair dryer, would heat the homes because that’s what they consume. They’re very tight, very successful,” he said.
The walls of those first 30 units are made from concrete, which is extremely carbon intensive. But hempcrete has a much lower carbon footprint, which is why Hall & Moskow are using it in the next phase of the community.
You can hear all about both of these building projects on this week’s show. Plus an interview with Lindsay the waitress at Persy's Place in North Plymouth.
The Hillside Center for Sustainable Living http://www.hillsidecenterforsustainableliving.com/ The Cape Cod Hemp House https://www.capecodhemphouse.com/ Persy’s Place https://persysplace.com/ News Nuggets Hemp: I Can Tell Your Future, Just Look What’s In Your Hand (Part 5/5) https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthoban/2023/12/16/hemp-i-can-tell-your-future-just-look-whats-in-your-hand-part-55/ Some hemp with your wine? Study shows better soil, potentially flavors from intercropping https://news.mongabay.com/2023/12/some-hemp-with-your-wine-study-shows-better-soil-potentially-flavors-from-intercropping/ Thanks to our Sponsors!
Mpactful Ventures https://www.mpactfulventures.org/ IND HEMP https://indhemp.com/ King’s Agriseeds https://kingsagriseeds.com/ Cornell Hemp https://cals.cornell.edu/cornell-agritech/products-we-research/hemp National Hemp Association https://nationalhempassociation.org Americhanvre Cast-Hemp https://americhanvre.com/
This weeks' show is sort of mixed bag. I've got a few nuggets of hemp news, a few updates, a trailer for a new Lancaster Farming podcast called The Farm House, and an in-person interview with hempcrete builder Cameron McIntosh.
Sorry for the lack of details on this episode, but I'm trying to get everything done before i hit the road a mini hemp tour to Massachusetts.
Americhanvre Cast-Hemp
https://americhanvre.com/
News Nuggets
Industrial hemp will be used to build affordable housing for farmworkers in Huron
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article282806448.html
This Ain’t No Loophole—Hemp Economics And The Market (Part 3/5)
https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthoban/2023/12/06/this-aint-no-loophole--hemp-economics-and-the-market-part-35/
Panda High Plains Hemp Gin Marks Final Stage Commissioning To Bring Largest Industrial Hemp Processing Facility In The Western Hemisphere Online
https://www.textileworld.com/textile-world/fiber-world/2023/12/panda-high-plains-hemp-gin-marks-final-stage-commissioning-to-bring-largest-industrial-hemp-processing-facility-in-the-western-hemisphere-online/
New York Governor Vetoes Bills To Allow Hemp Seed In Animal Feed, Calling On State To Collect ‘More Information’ On Safety
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/new-york-governor-vetoes-bills-to-allow-hemp-seed-in-animal-feed-calling-on-state-to-collect-more-information-on-safety/
Thanks to our sponsors!
Mpactful Ventures
https://www.mpactfulventures.org/
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
Watch this interview on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRbHPEPB5Av1xUS-L3ecT1Q
On this week’s show, we talk with Morris Beegle, founder of the Noco Hemp Expo, the largest industrial hemp convention in North America.
The tenth annual expo will be held April 11-13 in Estes Park, Colorado.
“It’s really a beautiful mountain resort location where we can get 2,000-3,000 people up there and basically take over the town,” Beegle said.
He expects it to be a good meet-up, full of constructive conversations on how to shape the industry, develop supply chains, influence regulation and do business.
The Noco Expo has become an important part of the development of the hemp industry domestically and internationally.
Different sectors of the industry have different priorities, and Noco provides the chance industry players “try to figure out our internal issues and how do we move this industry forward and try to position ourselves politically and harmonize our message,” he said.
“And also harmonize ourselves with what’s going on in Europe and Asia,” he added.
Beegle just returned from a whirlwind trip, first attending the Asia International Hemp Expo in Bangkok, Thailand, followed by a cannabis convention in Las Vegas, Nevada, called MJBizCon.
On this week’s episode, he shares his experiences from both conventions as well as his thoughts on the state of the hemp industry as 2023 winds down, and where the industry is headed in 2024.
Looking into his crystal ball, he sees “more support for the industrial hemp side of things through government grants, through the USDA. I think that there is a support mechanism there that will be more beneficial than it has been in the past.”
He said his crystal ball is a bit foggy due to the uncertainty around the 2024 presidential election and the sticky political mess we call Congress.
“I think that we’re going to be in for quite a year next year,” he said, “so everybody better hold tight and stay focused and try to stay as positive as possible.”
Buy Tickets for the 10th Annual NoCo Hemp Expo in Estes park, Co, April 11-13
https://www.nocohempexpo.com/
Apply to become a speaker or presenter at Noco
https://letstalkhemp.net/
News Nuggets
New York Lawmakers Send Governor Bill To Allow Hemp Seeds In Food For Pets, Horses And Llamas
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/new-york-lawmakers-send-governor-bill-to-allow-hemp-seeds-in-food-for-pets-horses-and-llamas/
U.S. commodities platform that traded industrial hemp shuts down as investor pulls back
https://hemptoday.net/u-s-commodities-platform-that-traded-industrial-hemp-shuts-down
Lower Sioux in Minnesota need homes — so they are building them from hemp
https://grist.org/indigenous/hempcrete-lower-sioux-housing/
Rich Folks Import This Building Material. A Minnesota Tribe Makes Its Own.
https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2023/12/minnesota-tribe-mdewakanton-band-dakota-hempcrete-sustainable-wellness-architecture/
Their Cape Cod Home Isn’t Small, but Its Carbon Footprint Is
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/12/01/realestate/sustainable-home-massachusetts-climate.html
Thanks to our Sponsors! IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
National Hemp Association
https://nationalhempassociation.org/
This week on the hemp podcast we talk with Erica Stark, chair of the Pennsylvania Hemp Industry Council, a nonprofit seeking to accelerate the return of hemp to Pennsylvania’s agriculture landscape.
Earlier this year, PAHIC received over $200,000 in grant money from the state ag department to attract capital investment with a program called Invest in PA Hemp.
Last month, the organization released a series of videos and educational materials “specifically geared towards investors to help them understand the space, help them understand what the opportunity is, and also explain all of the reasons why Pennsylvania is an ideal location for investment in this space,” Stark said.
With great farmers, excellent farmland, and proximity to major consumer markets, Pennsylvania is poised to be a leader in the U.S. hemp industry, she said.
“There’s a lot of reasons why Pennsylvania is ideal and we’re just trying to kind of bring that message home,” Stark said.
In the video for investors, Ag Secretary Russell Redding says we’re “at the very intersection of some of the most important issues of our time, and the future is around the bio-based materials we produce off this land.”
“And we see the hemp industry as critical to that success,” he said.
Redding said he wants investors to “see the promise that we see and the opportunities that we see to build an agricultural economy that is the solution to so many of the issues.”
Globally, industrial hemp is estimated to be a $5 billion industry in 2023 and is projected to grow to an $18 billion dollar industry by 2027, according to PAHIC.
The organization also released a kit for entrepreneurs to help navigate the fundraising phase of building their businesses.
“We’ve created a set of tools for business people to help them get investment-ready,” Stark said. “A set of financial tools, financial models, both for the decortication, grain processing, and construction.”
She said they also created a “pitch deck template” to help businesses make a document that gives potential investors an overview of the business model and investment opportunity.
“A lot of people have great ideas, but selling them is always the hard part,” Stark said.
Early next year, PAHIC will launch a secondary campaign that speaks directly to consumers about hemp products and where to find them.
Access the inventor tools at PAHIC.org
Watch PAHIC's inventor video: https://youtu.be/X9H0uz7PPxM?si=bQBRPXdEQqsKGpb8
Thanks to our sponsors!
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
King's Agriseedshttps://kingsagriseeds.com/
Cornell University's Master’s of Professional Studies in Integrative Plant Sciences with a concentration in hemp sciences.
https://cals.cornell.edu/school-integrative-plant-science
On this week’s hemp podcast, Lancaster Farming talks with Cole Gibbs and Adam Dietrich from Colorado-based Dama BioPlastics.
The company specializes in biomaterials and bioplastics made from upcycled agricultural plant waste, including industrial hemp which is abundant in Colorado’s flourishing hemp and cannabis industries.
Dietrich, Dama’s director of material science, said they’re not using industrial hemp exclusively, but of all the plant waste, “it’s one of the best that we’ve seen,” and the carbon makeup of the hemp waste “is quite high, 40% to 45%,” he said.
“Then we convert that material into usable drop-in replacements for automotive plastics (and) the construction industries,” said founder and CEO Gibbs.
One of the products the company makes is called Dama Black, a bio-based replacement for carbon black, a material widely used in petroleum-based plastics.
“Carbon black is a fossil fuel byproduct,” Gibbs said. “Basically, it’s the soot inside the chimneys when they’re burning material that gets added to plastics to generate the black colorant and UV protection.”
Carbon black is ubiquitous — from tires to toys, electronics to car parts. It is in nearly every black plastic in use today, Gibbs said.
Because Dama Black is a carbon negative bio-based material, it is very attractive to automakers seeking to de-carbonize their vehicles and production lines.
One such company is Swedish automaker Polestar, which has set ambitious climate-carbon goals for its fleet of electric cars.
Polestar is partnering with Dama BioPlastics for the Polestar 0 Project which aims to eliminate — not just reduce — all greenhouse gas emissions from every aspect of production by 2030.
Gibbs said Dama BioPlastics is one of the only exclusive North American partners “for the Polestar 0 project for all of their electric vehicles going forward.”
Gibbs said Dama Black will be used in everything that would normally be used in traditional petroleum plastic, from interior pieces and window switches to dashboards and exterior trim.
“We’re even looking into the automotive tires and the rubber seal, the gear around the door frames and everything,” he said.
Gibbs said his company is also working with the Polestar team “to eliminate the massive volume of different types of polymers that are used in vehicles” which, he said, can number between 40 and 50 different materials.
“We want to shrink that down into a smaller number, so it’s more easily recycled,” he said.
Hemp has played a role in the lives of humans for a very long time, according to this week’s podcast guest, Jeremy Klettke, cannabis breeder and owner of Davis Farms, based in Oregon and Massachusetts.
“It’s clearly culturally assimilated with us. It’s clearly evolved with us,” he said, “when you talk about it from an endogenous cannabinoid perspective.”
“Whatever we ask for, the plant seems to give,” he said. “Food, fuel, fiber — any of it, it’s giving us these incredible versions of it. So there’s clearly been a parallel evolution.”
Klettke has been working internationally with the cannabis plant since the early 1990s and shares many tales from his experience on this episode.
While living and working in Copenhagen in the 1990s, he caught a glimpse of the cannabis trade that has existed internationally for thousands of years, an experience he called “profound.”
“It definitely helped me to recognize that, you know, this plant was a culturally important part of our civilization for ... I didn’t know how long,” he said.
As a plant breeder, he shares his views on genetics and the role THC plays in the plant. He suggests that breeding THC out of hemp altogether will have unintended consequences.
“When you remove THC, you’re removing one of the primary defense mechanisms,” he said.
THC also happens to be the compound responsible for psychoactive properties of cannabis which, he said, humans have been using as a spiritual tool since prehistoric times.
He cited the Dogon tribe in Mali, which would ingest fermented cannabis during their religious ceremonies.
This interview covers a lot of territory.
Davis Farms
https://davishempfarms.com/
News Nuggets
Hemp uses and potential economic impact in Pa.
https://www.witf.org/2023/11/13/hemp-uses-and-potential-economic-impact-in-pa/
Is hemp making a comeback? Tennessee farmers eye an era beyond CBD
https://www.tennessean.com/story/news/local/2023/11/15/tn-farmers-eye-hemp-production-facilities-past-cbd/71301942007/
Pennsylvania Hemp Industry Council
https://www.pahic.org/
Pennsylvania Hemp Industry Council's introductory video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fFW4d3Bykg
Thanks to our Sponsors:
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
National Hemp Association
https://nationalhempassociation.org/
Cornell University's Master’s of Professional Studies in Integrative Plant Sciences with a concentration in hemp sciences.
https://cals.cornell.edu/school-integrative-plant-science
This week on the podcast we talk to Robin Destiche and Corbett Miteff, two founding partners of KonopiUS, a company that sells seeds and consulting services.
KonopiUS specializes in seeds from Europe, importing genetics that work best for North America.
Miteff said the company is a conglomerate of three other businesses that were exporting European genetics to the U.S.
We “decided to kind of quit working against one another and try to make the industry successful. So we we became partners and started KonopiUS,” he said.
Destiche and Miteff teamed up with Hana Gabrielová, a longtime advocate and entrepreneur in the European hemp industry, and Bert James, an agronomist from North Carolina.
“It became very apparent that working together is clearly more advantageous than working apart,” Destiche said.
Founded in 2021, the company has farmers growing its seeds in about 30 states, mostly in the north.
“Some states grow better than others,” Destiche said. “We do work with European genetics, and their home latitude is a bit more north. We have found a lot of success operating 37/38 (degrees) north.”
As you go farther south, the days become shorter, and because hemp is photosensitive, these European varieties don’t do as well in southern climes.
Miteff and Destiche both lived in Europe for several years and have close ties with the European hemp industry.
In this podcast interview they talk about the difference between the European approach to hemp and the American approach.
The Europeans are more conservative in their business development, Destiche said.
“It took them a number of years in Europe, two decades really, to develop the amount of processors that they have now,” he said. “And the U.S. is probably going to have double the amount of processors next year.”
This wide-ranging interview explores many topics, from the history of the hemp industry in France to the future of the Farm Bill here in the U.S., including a look at how KonopiUS supports its farmers with genetics and agronomy support.
“Not only do we try to sell the seed, but we also make sure that the farmer’s successful and has a successful grow and sells his crop and makes a profit,” Miteff said, “because at the end of the day, if the farmer isn’t successful, then we’re really not successful.”
Learn more about KonopiUS: https://www.konopius.com/
Go see Common Ground
https://commongroundfilm.org/
Thanks to our Sponsors! IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
Mpactful Ventures
https://www.mpactfulventures.org/
After making this weekly podcast for over 5 years, it feels like I’ve earned a bachelor's degree in hemp.
Unfortunately, the Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast is not an accredited, degree-conferring institution.
Perhaps in the Land of Oz, the Wizard would give me a diploma just for showing up, but here in the real world, what if I actually wanted to get a degree in hemp? Where would I go?
I would go to Cornell, of course.
Cornell University offers a Master’s of Professional Studies in Integrative Plant Sciences with a concentration in hemp sciences.
It’s a one year intensive program that will prepare you for a career in hemp.
On this episode I talk to professors Heather Grab and Larry Smart to get a sense of what this program is all about, what you can expect as a student at Cornell, and what you can expect as a graduate.
I also talk to two graduates of Cornell’s MPS hemp program, Tony Barraco and William Sale, both of whom now have good jobs in the hemp industry.
According to Dr. Smart, “You probably won’t find any other place like Cornell that has a mix of both state and private colleges and also that blend of an Ivy League atmosphere blended with a land grant university like the Big Ten schools.”
This episode is sponsored by Cornell University.
The fledgling U.S. hemp industry is decades behind countries like Canada, France and China, but according to impact investor and this week’s podcast guest, Pierre Berard, it could flourish into a $2.2 billion industry by 2030 and create thousands of jobs.
To reach its potential, what the hemp industry needs most right now, Berard said, is capital investment.
Last month, Berard published a report titled “Seeing the U.S. Industrial Hemp Opportunity — A Pioneering Venture for Investors and Corporations Driven by Environmental, Social and Financial Concerns” in which he lays out the case for investment.
It’s as if Berard, with this report, is waving a giant flag, trying to attract the eyes of investors, saying, “Look over here. Look at all this opportunity.”
Berard likens the burgeoning American hemp industry to a developing country.
“There is no capital. People don’t want to finance. This is too risky. And I was like, OK, this sounds like something for me,” he said.
As an impact investor who manages funds specializing in agro-processing companies, Berard now has his sights set on the U.S. hemp industry, which he believes has great economic value as well as social and environmental benefits.
He spent many years developing investment in the agriculture infrastructure of developing countries in Latin America and Africa, and said the hemp industry feels similar.
“It is very nascent and it is a very fragmented sector. You have pioneers and trailblazers inventing or reinventing the field after 80 years of prohibition,” he said. “So I feel very familiar with this context.”
On this week’s hemp podcast, Berard talks about the report and the opportunities available to investors in the feed, fiber and food sectors of the hemp industry.
Building an industry around an agricultural commodity takes time, he said. According to the report, “The soybean industry took about 50 years to become firmly established, from the first USDA imports in 1898 to the U.S. being the top worldwide producer in the 1950s.”
Berard has a plan to accelerate the growth of the hemp industry and sees a four-pillar approach to attract investment.
First, he said, the foundation of the industry is the relationship between farmers and processors at the local level.
Second, he said the industry needs what he calls a “federating body” that will represent it, foster markets and innovations, and reduce risk for its members and investors.
The third pillar is “collaboration with corporations that aim to secure or diversify their supply chains with sustainable products and enhance their ESG credentials. This will be key to funding the industry and creating markets,” he said.
The fourth pillar is investment. Lots of it. Over $1.6 billion over seven years. This money will come from government, corporations, individual investors, and philanthropic donors.
The 75-page report goes into detail about the hemp industry, its environmental and social impact, and the opportunities available to investors.
Read the report here: Seeing the U.S. Industrial Hemp Opportunity
Also on this episode, we check in with hemp and bison farmer Herb Grove from Brush Mountain Bison in Centre County, PA, where he grew 50 acres of hemp grain. We’ll hear about harvest and dry down and crushing the seed for oil and cake.
bioSolutions Initiatives https://biosolutionsinitiatives.com/
Go see Common Ground
https://commongroundfilm.org/
Thanks to our sponsors: IND HEMP https://indhemp.com/
Americhanvre Cast-Hemp https://americhanvre.com/
Inflammation occurs naturally in horses and is often part an animal’s healing response, but chronic, low-grade inflammation is a contributing factor in diseases that affect the health of horses, according to this week’s podcast guest, Kristine Ely.
Last month, Ely defended her doctoral thesis at Virginia Tech, where she conducted a study to determine the effect hemp seed oil would have on inflammation in sedentary horses.
She said inflammation is associated with but not a cause of a variety of diseases in horses, from osteoarthritis to metabolic syndrome and laminitis.
“There's a lot of ill effects with inflammation, (so) it's an important aspect to mitigate and moderate the kind of inflammatory responses we have in the animals,” she said.
There are pharmaceutical treatments for chronic inflammation, but Ely said use can result in negative digestive and kidney issues.
Increasing poly-saturated fatty acids in diet is one known way to address inflammation — think fish oil supplements and Mediterranean diets.
One such fatty acid is gamma-linolenic acid, or GLA, which has been shown to to increase the anti-inflammatory response in mammals.
Ely said GLA is uncommon in the typical dietary components of horse feed, but it is found copiously in hemp seed oil.
She wanted to know if adding hemp seed oil to horses’ diets could reduce chronic inflammation.
She completed a feeding trial from May to September 2022, using six thoroughbred geldings.
“I completed what we call crossover,” she said. “Every horse served as their own control, and every horse got to eat both the control and treatment.”
Half the horses were fed a diet with added hemp seed oil while the other half was fed a diet without hemp. She took weekly blood samples, and also took muscle and synovial fluid samples before and after the trial.
“And then I put all the horses back on the same diet for another month because I wanted to capture a washout period,” she said. “Okay, we can manipulate by adding the fatty acids, but how quickly does it go back to normal or are there any lingering effects?”
Hemp seeds and hemp seed oil have GRAS status from USDA — generally regarded as safe for human consumption — but using hemp as a feed for commercial livestock remains illegal at the federal level.
Around the U.S., there is a patchwork of state laws that allow hemp to be fed to companion animals such as horses, dogs and cats.
The issue holding everything up is cannabinoid contamination, especially tetrahydrocannabinol, commonly known as THC, which produces the high associated with marijuana.
What every hempster worth her salt will tell you though is that the hemp seed does not produce cannabinoids, but the flowers where the seeds develop do, so there can be cannabinoid contamination on the outer shell of the seed in minuscule amounts.
Ely fed her horses a commercially available hemp seed oil which she tested for cannabinoids at parts per million. She was not surprised to find very tiny amounts of cannabinoids.
She was curious how or if this would accumulate in the horses bodies, but she detected no cannabinoids in the plasma or synovial fluid of the horses fed hemp seed oil when tested to a 50-ppb limit of detection.
“If you and if you dig into the literature a bit about research specifically supplementing cannabinoids to horses, it takes a bit more of a dose to be able to observe cannabinoids within the horse,” she said.
She hopes her research will help make the case to remove some of the restrictions around hemp as a commercial livestock feed, giving hemp producers another outlet, livestock producers another input, and consumers another option.
The focus of her work was to determine if hemp seed oil can be a good source of polyunsaturated fatty acids for horses. She determined it is, but said “the implications for it’s effect on inflammation require further evaluation.”
Virginia Tech https://www.vt.edu/
Hemp Feed Coalition https://hempfeedcoalition.org/
Go see the movie Common Ground https://commongroundfilm.org/
Thanks to our sponsors!
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com
National Hemp Association
https://nationalhempassociation.org/
On this episode we talk to David Suchoff, alternative crops professor and Extension specialist at North Carolina State University, about hemp at NC State and the research he oversees as leader of the Alternative Crops program and as the director of the Hemp Research Consortium.
We talk about hemp in the South and why hemp for textiles makes sense in North Carolina and how his time in the Peace Corps informs his work in agriculture today, and how his musical education prepared him for success.
More...
David Suchoff is an assistant professor and an Extension specialist at North Carolina State University, where he leads the alternative crops program.
“Farmers in North Carolina, just like farmers across the nation, are kind of always looking for new alternative crops,” he said.
That’s especially true in the Tar Heel State where tobacco was once king.
“But that market has changed and continues to change,” Suchoff said, “so farmers are seeking alternatives.”
One of those alternatives is industrial hemp.
When Suchoff started at NC State five years ago, hemp was on the cusp of becoming a legal commodity crop again after 80 years of prohibition, and farmers had lots of question.
“I knew that it was going to be a crop that I would be working with when I started, just because of the sheer number of farmers that were growing it in our state,” Suchoff said.
Farmers’ interest in hemp and the types of questions they bring to Extension has changed since the 2018 Farm Bill brought the crop back to the fields of Carolina.
But Suchoff said hemp research still makes up “the larger percentage of the type of work that we do” in the alternative crops program.
“When we started off working with hemp, we were doing primarily floral hemp research. That's where the industry was. That's what our farmers were growing,” he said.
But he said he sees tremendous growth and interest from farmers and industry in hemp fiber production.
“And so we're really shifting with that to make sure that our work is applicable to our stakeholders, who are the farmers,” he said.
Suchoff said hemp is a climate-smart crop that fits nicely into the regenerative model, but cautions against overhyping the crop before more research is in.
“I'll admit that there are some pretty big claims that are being made in the hemp realm that are not yet backed up by good data,” he said, especially “when we talk about carbon sequestration.”
Before making claims about what hemp can and cannot do, “it's really critical that we have more life cycle analysis,” he said, from seeds in the ground all the way to finished product.
Suchoff is optimistic about hemp’s potential for carbon sequestration, but said, “We just have to be really smart about how we do it and how we quantify it.”
Suchoff is also the director of the Hemp Research Consortium, a partnership between academia, government and industry to address the challenges facing the nascent hemp industry.
“The strength of the consortium lies in the diversity of its members, both our academic members and our industry members. So we want hemp breeding companies, we want textile companies, we want grain companies,” he said.
From agronomics to processing and manufacturing, the hemp industry has a complex puzzle to solve.
“And if we're really to effect change, we have to take a holistic approach to do that,” Suchoff said. “In order to have a holistic approach, we need to have as many voices at the table as possible.”
NC State Hemp Extension Webportal
https://hemp.ces.ncsu.edu/
FFAR Hemp Research Consortium
https://foundationfar.org/consortia/hemp-research-consortium/
News Nuggets
Alaska moves to restrict marijuana-like ‘diet weed’ products derived from hemp https://www.adn.com/alaska-marijuana/2023/10/09/alaska-moves-to-restrict-marijuana-like-diet-weed-products-derived-from-hemp/ DNR Releases Updated Regulations, Opening the Door for Industrial Hemp Production https://www.akbizmag.com/industry/government/dnr-releases-updated-regulations-opening-the-door-for-industrial-hemp-production/ Building crews on Lower Sioux Reservation using industrial hemp https://www.kvrr.com/2023/10/14/building-crews-on-lower-sioux-reservation-using-industrial-hemp/ ‘This is the future:’ New natural building material made of hemp could help Illinois and the US go green https://chicago.suntimes.com/news/2023/10/10/23911747/building-material-hemp-illinois-green-environment Go see Common Ground https://commongroundfilm.org/ Thanks to our Sponsors
IND HEMP https://indhemp.com/ Mpactful Ventures https://www.mpactfulventures.org/
This week on the podcast, Lancaster Farming talks to Abner Johnson, chief operating officer at Pure Shenandoah, a Virginia-based, family-owned hemp company that has built a successful CBD brand while simultaneously going all in on fiber and hurd.
Johnson and several of his siblings operate a full-spectrum hemp facility in the Shenandoah Valley.
They process cannabinoids using CO2 extraction while also developing a fiber processing facility and operating a retail store that doubles as an event space and education center in downtown Elkton, about 15 east of Harrisonburg.
“We started off like everybody else,” Johnson said, “with the CBD oils. We did a few different types and different strengths, kind of capitalizing on different terpene profiles.”
Today the company offers a wide range of full-spectrum CBD products from oils and gummies to pet products and smokable flower.
In the first few years of production, the company grew more CBD hemp than it needed. To maintain its product lines, it only needed to grow around 20 acres a year.
“And that was a little bit of a Debbie Downer,” Johnson said, “because we wanted to see hemp take over and be the new cash crop and help out so many people.”
And that, Johnson said, is why he and the company started growing and researching hemp for fiber and hurd.
They started with 15 acres of fiber hemp the first year, around 200 acres the following year, and now they are currently growing several hundred acres, stockpiling the harvest in round bales to be processed at their fiber facility that’s coming online soon.
The company was awarded a Small Business Innovation Research Grant from the Air Force to develop hempcrete blocks.
Johnson said the U.S. military has set very ambitious carbon goals, and hemp as a building material fits nicely into its plans.
“Receiving that contract is a huge, huge step in the right direction,” Johnson said.
He said the military’s interest in hemp reminds him of the Hemp for Victory program during World War II and how farmers were required to grow hemp in the American colonies.
“History repeats itself,” he said. “And this contract with the Air Force to me is like a domino falling in the right direction.”
Learn More about Pure Shenandoah
https://pureshenandoah.com/
News Nuggets
Minnesota cannabis czar steps down over illegal products in her hemp shop
https://hemptoday.net/minnesota-cannabis-czar-steps-down-over-illegal-products-in-her-hemp-shop/
USDA Says Genetically Modified Hemp Plant ‘May Be Safely Grown And Bred’ In The United States
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/usda-says-genetically-modified-hemp-plant-may-be-safely-grown-and-bred-in-the-united-states/
Thanks to our sponsors for their support!
Americhanvre Cast-Hemp, North American distributor of the E-Reasy Spray applied Hemp Crete System
https://americhanvre.com/
IND HEMP in Fort Benton, Montana
https://indhemp.com/
On this week’s Hemp Podcast, Lancaster Farming talks to Saharah Moon Chapotin, executive director of the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR).
the Foundation was established in the 20124 Farm Bill
“We were given the unique mandate by Congress to form public private partnerships to support food and agriculture research,” she said, “really recognizing the dearth of or the decreasing amount of public funding going to agriculture research, and with the idea towards leveraging additional resources from non-federal sources, from the private sector and others.”
FFAR’s research spans a wide array of ag topics, Chapotin said.
“We focus on the sustainability of the agriculture system itself, looking at soil and water and how farmers can have the tools they need to make good decisions around really safeguarding their environment and their agriculture systems,” she said.
FFAR’s research digs into food systems as well.
“Thinking about what those in the food system need in order to deliver the foods that consumers need and want, the nutritious foods that they need to access at the store, thinking about processing and ingredients and the nutritional content of those foods," Chapotin said.
One of the methods of raising money for research is by building consortia among universities, government, and industry players.
“What is really valuable about our consortia to those industry players is that it de-risks the investment for them,’ she said.
“We're not counting on any one company to support all the research that would be needed to generate the outcome, say, for more sustainable agriculture. But they can co-invest and so that de-risk the investment for them. It often also gives companies a chance to collaborate with their competitor, something they would not normally do on their own.”
One such consortium is the Hemp Research Consortium, which brings together such diverse partners as North Carolina state, Cornell University, Agilent Technologies, IND HEMP, and ScottsMiracle-Grow.
On this episode of the podcast, we’ll learn about FFAR and the work they do and how industrial hemp fits into the overall mission.
Learn more about the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research https://foundationfar.org/
Learn More about FFAR's Hemp Consortium https://foundationfar.org/consortia/hemp-research-consortium/
Sign up for FFAR's newsletter https://foundationfar.org/home/newsletter-sign-up/
News Nuggets
Hungry Sheep Devour Over 600 Pounds of Cannabis After Invading Greenhousehttps://www.newsweek.com/hungry-sheep-devour-over-600-pounds-cannabis-invading-greenhouse-1829170
Is hemp the superfood vegetarians have been waiting for?https://www.news-medical.net/news/20230922/Is-hemp-the-superfood-vegetarians-have-been-waiting-for.aspx
GreenBuild 2023 https://informaconnect.com/greenbuild/
HempWood https://hempwood.com/
Americhanvre https://americhanvre.com/
Thanks to our Sponsors!
National Hemp Association https://nationalhempassociation.org/
IND HEMPhttps://indhemp.com/
On this week’s podcast we talk to Oregon-based hemp lobbyist and legal strategist Courtney Moran, who was in Washington, D.C., last week “lobbying for support for the Industrial Hemp Act.”
The Industrial Hemp Act of 2023, also known as the Hemp Exemption, would create a new legal definition of hemp grown for fiber and grain, separating those sectors from hemp grown for flower or cannabinoids.
Advocates argue that the existing hemp regulations put unnecessary burdens on farmers because of permitting fees, intrusive background checks, and expensive chemical testing for THC content.
Moran, along with members of the National Hemp Association, held an open house in the Cannon House Office Building on Capitol Hill last week, and invited lawmakers and their offices to see firsthand the various uses of industrial hemp.
On display were an array of products made from hemp fiber, hurd and grain.
“We had hemp flooring, hemp cabinetry, animal bedding. We had biochar, we had jet fuel,” she said.
“We had the parts of the stalk broken out into different pieces so they can visually see the distinction between hurd and fiber and the different parts of the stalk.”
Moran said these types of show-and-tell events are very effective in getting lawmakers to understand what farmers and entrepreneurs are up against when it comes to hemp.
“It's one thing to have a phone call, send emails back and forth, have legislative text on a page talking about policy,” she said, “But when they can see the images of the farms, and they can touch the products that are being made from those crops, it makes it more real for them.”
Moran worked with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s office on the hemp language that eventually made its way into the 2018 Farm Bill, and she said she still sees a lot of the same gaps in what lawmakers know about hemp.
“Something that I experienced back in 2016 that we're still dealing with today in 2023 is that some offices still don't know this was even an issue,” she said.
Many lawmakers don’t know “there's still barriers to getting these products to market or there are still problems or issues for the farmers,” she said.
Moran also discusses the likelihood of seeing a Farm Bill this year and what it could mean for the hemp industry if the DEA follows a recent recommendation from the Department of Health and Human Services to reschedule marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III under the Controlled Substances Act.
Learn more about the 2023 Industrial Hemp Act
https://www.hempexemption.com/
Agricultural Hemp Solutions
https://www.agriculturalhempsolutions.com/
National Hemp Association
https://nationalhempassociation.org/
Thank you to our sponsors!
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
Mpactful Ventures
https://www.mpactfulventures.org/
On this week’s podcast, we talk to Andy Bennett, founder of Hart Hemp Co., the first commercial-scale industrial hemp producer in the Old Line State.
“We're starting as a grassroots organization, putting some industrial hemp in the ground here in the state of Maryland,” Bennett said. “On a commercial scale, it's never been done.”
He said the company is growing several different varieties and experimenting with seeding rates across a handful of Maryland farms “to understand how this plant reacts in this area, so that as we continue to grow and ask people to grow for us, we're providing the best data that we can,” he said.
Lancaster Farming caught up with Bennett at one of Hart Hemp Co.’s growing locations for hemp harvest field day Sept. 7 near Frederick.
During his opening remarks to attendees, he said, “Nobody here was around the last time this commodity crop was farmed in this country. So take some pride this morning in knowing that you took the time out of your busy lives to be part of something groundbreaking and positive.”
Lancaster Farming also spoke with Burt James, North Carolina farmer and crop consultant who works with Konopi US and FyberX.
James said he sees a lot of positive movement across the county as the fiber and grain industry stands itself up.
“And this is the type of example where you have a bona fide businessman and ag industry specialist in Andy Bennett,” James said. “He's got a robust network of farmers, an organized group, and he's just got the passion and the energy to make something happen, and this beautiful hemp crop and field day is part of that.”
Also on the podcast this week, we discuss the recent manhunt for convicted murderer Danelo Cavalcante, which came to its dramatic conclusion this week just a half a mile from the home of the hemp podcast host, Eric Hurlock.
Hurlock interviews his neighbors Tom and Crystal to hear how they were faring during the surreal experience of having a murderer on the loose in the neighborhood and search helicopters constantly overhead.
Learn More about Hart Hemp Co.
https://harthempco.com/
Learn more about Konopius US
https://www.konopius.com/
Learn more about FyberX
https://fyberx.eco/
Read Lancaster Farming’s coverage of the Chester County manhunt as it unfolded
https://www.lancasterfarming.com/farming-news/news/manhunt-for-danelo-cavalcante-disrupts-life-on-chester-county-farms-updated/article_9972ab66-517d-11ee-aafa-c72e0fa06afb.html
Thanks to our sponsors
IND Hemp
https://indhemp.com/
Mpactful Ventures
https://www.mpactfulventures.org/
Music courtesy of Tin Bird Shadow
https://tinbirdshadow.bandcamp.com/album/dot-dot-dot
On this week’s hemp podcast, Lancaster Farming talks to cover crop coach Steve Groff, who was hoping to get one of those multilevel pull-behind sickle bar mowers to cut his hemp this year.
But those machines are in demand and he wasn’t able to get one in time, so he did the best he could.
“What we did this year,” he said, “is just farmer innovation.”
He had his local machine shop mount a sickle bar cutter on the front of his tractor. In the back, he had a pulled standard rear mount sickle bar cutter. With that setup, he could make two cuts, high and low, with each pass of the tractor.
“When you cut a hemp stalk in 2- or 3-foot sections, it makes it easier for the haymaking equipment already in existence” to get the hemp ready for the retting and bailing, he said.
Groff has 50 acres of fiber hemp on his farm this year, one of the largest stands of industrial hemp in Pennsylvania this growing season.
Once the hemp is cut, it needs to be raked, retted and bailed.
Because Groff planted his hemp into a no-till cover crop system, he was concerned about losing the thick layer of cover crop biomass covering his fields if he were to use a rotary rake or bar rake on the crop.
The cover crop biomass would end up in the harvested hemp, which he said would be bad for the decortication process — the processor would have to remove the debris before processing the hemp.
“But it's also bad for me as a farmer who values the soil being covered,” he said.
Groff had an idea. What if he used a hay merger?
“I thought this could be good because it's not as aggressive the way it could pick up the hemp,” he said. “I could run it high enough off the ground to get the hemp lifted up and moved, but not pick up my cover crop.”
Groff was able to trial two different hay merger models on the hemp at his farm. The first was made by Reiter, an Austrian manufacturer, and the other was an Anderson merger from Canada.
He was happy with the results.
The next step for Groff is to bail the hemp. For this he’s using a round baler designed for bailing hemp and made by McHale, an Irish company.
Groff is optimistic about the hemp industry in Pennsylvania, but knows there’s still so much to learn.
He compared it to building a bridge.
“The way they're designed, they build from each end and meet in the middle and hopefully meet perfectly,” he said.
The farmers are figuring out how to grow it, while the processors are trying to figure out how to process it, he said.
“But we need to be talking to one another so that we hit in the middle.”
Cedar Meadow Farm https://cedarmeadow.farm/
News Nugs, with ChatGPT summaries
Kansas farmers rushed to grow hemp when it became legal, but now they're ditching ithttps://www.kcur.org/news/2023-09-01/kansas-farmers-rushed-to-grow-hemp-when-it-became-legal-but-now-theyre-ditching-it
Kansas has seen a steep decline in hemp farming as CBD oil production wanes. In 2019, over 200 farmers joined the state's hemp program, but this year, only 41 secured licenses. The drop in demand for CBD has led to a shift towards other hemp products like fiber for clothing and grain for animal feed. While the CBD market has slowed, there's optimism about the potential of these alternative hemp markets in Kansas, with some businesses already thriving in fiber and grain production.
Seeing a bright future for hemp in NYS
https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2023/08/seeing-bright-future-hemp-nys
Hailee Greene, an MBA student at Cornell, is focusing on the industrial applications of hemp through her company, GreeneAcres Processing. She plans to build the Northeast's first industrial hemp processing facility, emphasizing regenerative practices. The facility will provide processing services to independent growers and sell carbon credits for additional revenue. Greene sees hemp as a versatile and sustainable resource for products like paper, clothing, fuel, building materials, and bioplastics. Despite challenges in the U.S. hemp industry, she aims to build an industrial hemp supply chain in New York and plans to plant 100 acres of hemp next summer with a processing facility ready by 2024. Her goal is to support farmers and promote sustainability.
USDA Releases New Hemp Handbook As Agency Works To Rebuild A Post-Prohibition Seed Bank
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/usda-releases-new-hemp-handbook-as-agency-works-to-rebuild-a-post-prohibition-seed-bank/
The USDA is working to rebuild a government seed bank for hemp that was previously destroyed during prohibition and has issued updated guidance on identifying, describing, and evaluating various hemp varieties. This Hemp Descriptor and Phenotyping Handbook provides comprehensive information on the characteristics and traits of hemp, including morphology, yield, cannabinoid content, oil production, fiber quality, and more. The goal is to help researchers and breeders differentiate between hemp varieties for various applications and preserve genetic diversity. The USDA is actively contributing to the hemp industry's growth through educational initiatives and support, although the sector faced economic challenges last year due to a lack of FDA regulations on hemp derivative products.
USDA Hemp Descriptor and Phenotyping Handbook https://www.ars.usda.gov/northeast-area/geneva-ny/plant-genetic-resources-unit-pgru/docs/hemp-descriptors/
Thanks to our sponsors! IND HEMP https://indhemp.com/ Americhanvre Cast-Hemp https://americhanvre.com/
This week on the Hemp Podcast we shift gears a little bit and talk about flax. We go to Kneehigh Farm to meet Pennsylvania Flax Project founders Heidi Barr and Emma de Long who hosted a flax harvest educational event last week in Chester County, Pa.
Heidi Barr wants you to know that flax is linen and linen is flax.
A fiber artist based in Philadelphia, Barr co-founded the Pennsylvania Flax Project with Chester County farmer Emma de Long in 2020, “out of a desire to see a climate-beneficial textile crop produced regionally,” she said.
“The synthetic textile industry is the prime example of an industry that exploits both human labor and the natural world,” and is responsible for a tenth of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide, Barr said.
In this episode we talk to Barr and de Long, as well as a handful of people who attended the event to learn about flax. Plus Hemp News Nuggets and upcoming hemp events.
Pennsylvania Flax Project
https://paflaxproject.com/
Kitchen Garden Textiles
https://www.kitchengardentextiles.com/
Kneehigh Farm
https://www.kneehighfarm.com/
News Nugs and Hemp Events
To protect consumers, make CBD medicine only, restrict delta-8 THC to pot shops
https://hemptoday.net/to-protect-consumers-make-cbd-medicine-only-restrict-delta-8-thc-to-pot-shops/
Industrial hemp plant in eastern Idaho will soon begin production
https://www.eastidahonews.com/2023/08/industrial-hemp-plant-in-eastern-idaho-will-soon-begin-production/
Whitefield Global Holdings
https://www.whitefieldglobal.com/
Hart Hemp Field Day Sept. 7
Hart Hemp
https://harthempco.com/
Cornell Grain & Fiber Hemp Field Day Sept. 14
https://hemp.cals.cornell.edu/2023/08/11/cornell-grain-fiber-hemp-field-day-sept-14/
Cornell's Hemp Sciences MPS Concentration
https://cals.cornell.edu/school-integrative-plant-science/degrees-programs/mps-degree/hemp-sciences-concentration
Thanks to our Sponsors
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
Mpactful Ventures
https://www.mpactfulventures.org/
Music:
Tin Bird Shadow
https://tinbirdshadow.bandcamp.com/album/dot-dot-dot
This week’s podcast is a follow-up to a story we brought to you in April about the Lower Sioux Indian Community in Morton, Minnesota, where members of the tribe have been busy this summer building with hempcrete.
With special permission, we share with you the first episode of the JD Experience, a podcast made by 12-year-old Jesse Desjarlais, who interviews two members of his tribe who have been busy making hemp a reality on the reservation: Earl Pendleton and Joey Goodthunder.
Desjarlais is the son of Danny Desjarlais, the project manager and lead builder for the hemp projects at the Lower Sioux, where this summer the tribe is finishing up a hempcrete duplex that will serve as emergency housing for tribal members in crisis.
Pendleton said he has been working to make his vision for hemp a reality for 15 years.
“It kind of came and went as people laughed in my face for the first few years,” he said. “But in the last four years, it's really gotten the support from the community leadership.”
Goodthunder is a farmer and grows all the hemp for the Lower Sioux.
“This is my fourth growing year now,” he said. “I just really enjoy the plant, I like what it can do. I see the yield bonus that I get from it from the next crop. It's a really good crop.”
Pendleton’s vision is a circular one. The tribe will grow industrial hemp to feed the processing facility on the reservation to produce building-grade hemp hurd which the tribe will use to build housing for the community.
After episode one of the JD Experience, Lancaster Farming interviews Jesse Desjarlais about his experience making the podcast and what he learned.
Then we talk to his father, Danny Desjarlais, who was taking a break from the sweltering Minnesota summer with a heat index of 115.
Once the house was framed, it took the hempcrete crew only four days to install the hempcrete walls using the Ereasy spray applied system.
Danny said the reaction to the first hemp house on the reservation has been overwhelmingly positive. Even the naysayers, he said, have come around.
“All the people that had doubted Earl for the last 15 years, now they're even like, ‘Man, we should have been building with hemp 15 years ago.’,” he said.
The Lower Sioux Hemp project has gotten lots of attention in Minnesota, even prompting a visit from the governor and lieutenant governor, Desjarlais said.
“They came and took a tour of the house and they loved it,” he said. “The lieutenant governor actually wants us to retrofit her house with hempcrete now.”
The tribe worked with Cameron McIntosh from Americhanvre, a Pennsylvania-based hempcrete building company, and with Navid Hatfield from Massachusetts-based HempStone.
McIntosh also joined the call with Jesse and Danny.
“I am still at a loss for words that accurately encompass what we experienced there, what these guys did, how impressive the entire tribe is,” McIntosh said.
Learn more about the Lower Sioux
https://lowersioux.com/
Hear Lancaster Farming's interview with Earl Pendleton and Danny Desjarlais from April 2023
https://www.lancasterfarming.com/farming-news/hemp/hemp-builds-hope-for-lower-sioux-indian-community/article_3c0a0b0a-e458-11ed-823f-271073c790d5.html
Thanks to our sponsors:
IND Hemp
https://indhemp.com/
King's AgriSeeds
https://kingsagriseeds.com/
This week we're on the road, from Ag Progress Days to Brush Mountain Bison, then to the Old Fiddler's Picnic and hemp field days at King's AgriSeeds and Penn State's research farm. This is a meandering episode. Buckle up and hold on tight.
I will add links and whatnot here tomorrow morning.
This week on the podcast, we talk to Jay Burstein, a luthier in Vermont who makes guitars from industrial hemp.
His company is called Hemptone Music and specializes in fine-crafted hemp instruments.
On this episode, Burstein talks about his process of making the guitars and the journey he’s undertaken to improve his production methods.
Burstein was first on the podcast in early 2019. Back then he was using clay and fiberglass to make molds to shape the body of the instruments, but he’s since streamlined his process and now uses a more elaborate method for shaping the bodies of the guitars.
“Not only do you have to design the instrument, you have to come up with the tooling involved to make it,” he said.
He worked with an engineer and a facility to mill the aluminum for the new body mold.
He originally wanted to make a small but sturdy travel-sized guitar, after trekking through South America with a traditional guitar made from wood, which he said didn’t hold up so well.
“Basically the instrument I designed is the one I'd always wanted, as someone who'd done some traveling,” he said.
Last month, Burstein loaned one of his hemp guitars to me for my trip to the Montana Summer Hemp Summit in Great Falls.
The instrument traveled well and fit nicely in the overhead compartments of the airplane.
“It's approximately half of the size of a guitar, but it's got a full 25-inch scale length, which is about the string length of a full-sized guitar,” Burstein said. “But I lop it off essentially at the fifth fret.”
For guitar players, this would be like having a capo on the fifth fret. The guitar plays like any other guitar, but the low note is an A rather than an E.
Taking the guitar to Montana was a homecoming of sorts, because Burstein sourced the hemp fibers for the instrument from IND Hemp in Montana.
The small guitar made a big splash at the summit, where it was on display at the Lancaster Farming expo table.
Summit attendees played it and marveled at its uniqueness. Everyone wanted to know the process of how it was made.
Hear Jay Burstein from Hemptone Music explain his process:
Hemptone Music
https://www.hemptonemusic.com/
Hemptone Music on Instagram: @hemptonemusic
Penn State's Ag Progress Days
https://agsci.psu.edu/apd
High Five, Miss America
https://www.lancasterfarming.com/country-life/fairs-and-shows/high-five-miss-america/article_cae17c9d-54ba-512c-b734-cdd948873c39.html
Thanks to our Sponsors!
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
King's Agriseeds
https://kingsagriseeds.com/
This week on the Hemp Podcast, we talk to Sandra Marquardt, fiber crops manager at Textile Exchange, a global nonprofit that works with textile brands, manufacturers and farmers around the world to guide the industry toward purposeful production methods and sustainability goals.
Marquardt is based outside of Washington, D.C., and said Textile Exchange has about 140 employees working in 30 countries.
“There is such huge demand on the part of brands in particular trying to figure out how to green their supply chains,” she said.
“They're really turning to us to say how do we do it? What are we doing? What are the materials we use?”
Textile production is a large emitter of greenhouse gases, and Marquardt’s group researches what’s called Tier Four of the textile supply chain. That’s the farm level where the raw materials enter the system.
She said she’s “trying to dive into the weeds to see how cotton is grown, how hemp is grown, and how flax is grown,” along with other natural fibers such as alpaca, cashmere and wool.
Last month, Textile Exchange published a report on the state of the global hemp industry that looks at production methods, fertilizer and pesticide use, and output and yields by country and region.
“We were under the opinion that China was No. 1 for everything. But really it's not,” Marquardt said. “It's it's definitely a major player, but France is No. 1 for overall production.”
She said the United States, despite only having had a legal hemp industry for less than five years, is already a major player.
“I think we're No. 5 for overall production,” she said.
Companies, countries and consumers around the world are turning to hemp because of its reputation as an environmentally friendly raw material, needing fewer inputs than other fiber crops. But as the industry scales up, can it keep that cachet?
“Hemp is a great fiber, but if we don't look at how it's grown, we can't use its powers to really address the future,” Marquardt said.
With the report, Textile Exchange poses the question: If we have the chance to introduce a new textile fiber on the global market and design the systems and supply chains around it, shouldn't we design those systems to be carbon negative and less dependent on synthetic fertilizers and pesticides?
Instead of copying the pesticide- and carbon-intensive model of cotton production, why not design the system we want right out of the gate?
Growing Hemp for the Future — A Global Fiber Guide is available as a free download at TextileExchange.org.
News Nuggets
House Oversight Committee’s Hearing on ‘Hemp in the Modern World: The Yearslong Wait for FDA Action’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpmpPZkcrEk
Why feral cannabis can be found throughout Iowahttps://wcfcourier.com/news/state-regional/why-feral-cannabis-is-found-in-sioux-city-and-across-iowa/article_216c0bb9-87a9-5722-8261-ffae314862b7.html
Thanks to our sponsors
IND HEMPhttps://indhemp.com/
Americhanvre Cast-Hemp
https://americhanvre.com/
What was the Montana Hemp Summit all about? Depends on who you ask.
This episode was made on location in Fort Benton and Great Falls, Montana, and a few airports along the way home back to Pennsylvania.
I will update this page with a list of the people I interviewed, but now I'm home and happy to be here and grateful to have gone to Montana to witness the event.
This week on the Hemp Podcast, Lancaster Farming reconnects with Alyssa Collins, associate research professor at Penn State and the director of the university’s Southeast Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Manheim, Lancaster County, where she oversees hemp production and research trials.
Penn State Extension’s mission is to deliver science-based information to people, businesses and communities.
“The Extension part of what Penn State is,” said Collins, “is basically turning what nerds in a lab or a greenhouse are thinking about and doing in terms of research and translating that for people who can actually use it.”
Penn State’s hemp research was originally conducted at the Rock Springs farm near main campus, but was moved to the Landisville farm in 2018, “because a lot of the activity and interest was in south-central PA for growing hemp,” Collins said.
“Our farm is also a little bit more accessible in the region. It's just easier to get to and we can do big events here in a way that it's a little bit harder to do when you're up in Happy Valley,” she said.
Collins was one of the first guests on the hemp podcast almost five years ago. Since then, she has seen growing interest in the industrial applications of fiber and grain varieties and decreased interest in CBD.
Collins said the state of Pennsylvania is a leader in the hemp industry, in part due to the Ag Department’s commitment to easing regulatory burdens and making funds available.
“Unlike some other states that have either really high fees or have a lot of hoops to jump through, Pennsylvania is really trying to keep it as minimal as they can with making sure they still do their their due diligence,” she said.
Pennsylvania also made hemp eligible for specialty crop research funds.
“Most other states have not done that. And in fact, the federal government didn't do that until recently,” Collins said.
Penn State is one of several dozen universities across the country contributing to variety and agronomic trials coordinated by the University of Kentucky. The research aims to determine which varieties grow best in which regions.
“We're all working from the same seed lots and we get to see how they perform relatively in our areas,” she said.
Penn State’s hemp research, including the variety trials, will be on display during the Hemp Research Field Walk Aug. 15 at the research farm.
It’s a chance for the public to walk and talk with industry specialists, Extension educators and policymakers to raise questions and share ideas about the industry's future.
The event is free, but space is limited and pre-registration is recommended.
You can register here.
Southeast Agricultural Research and Extension Center
https://agsci.psu.edu/research/centers-facilities/extension/landisville
Upcoming Hemp Events
Aug. 3-5
South Dakota Industrial Hemp Field Day
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/industrial-hemp-field-day-tickets-643817313917
Aug. 15-16
King's AgriSeeds Field Day
https://kingsagriseeds.com/
Aug. 15
Penn State Hemp Research Field Walk, Policy Update and Networking Event
https://agsci.psu.edu/research/centers-facilities/extension/landisville
Thanks to our sponsors:
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
Mpactful Ventures
https://www.mpactfulventures.org/
Hemptone Music
https://www.hemptonemusic.com/
HempWood
https://hempwood.com/
This week on the hemp podcast, Lancaster Farming catches up with recent Cornell grad Owen Deitcher, who is on the road this summer to visit hemp farmers and processors around the country.
The reason he’s making this trip, he said, is to understand where the industry is at the moment, who the main players are and what challenges they face.
Deitcher sees a disconnect in the minds of the public and wants to shed some light on the journey from hemp in the field to end-products. "We don't really know what goes on in the production and processing side,” he said.
His first stop was in Murray, Kentucky, where Greg Wilson gave him a tour of the HempWood facility, which has grown substantially since Lancaster Farming visited HempWood two years ago on our National Hemp Tour.
From Kentucky, Deitcher went to Texas where he attended a hempcrete workshop, then to South Bend Industrial Hemp in Kansas, where Melissa Nelson and the Baldwin brothers have created a strong local hemp supply chain and economy by building a hemp-processing facility.
Heading west to Colorado, he spent time in Monte Vista, a regional hub of hemp innovation and processing power and home to hemp equipment manufacturer Formation Ag and Global Fiber Processing, a facility that went online in 2022.
Lancaster Farming caught up with Deitcher while he was taking a break in Boulder, Colorado, before embarking soon for IND HEMP in Montana, then through the upper Midwest as he journeys eastward, eventually stopping at Steve Groff’s Cedar Meadow Farm in Holtwood, Pennsylvania, sometime in August.
Graduating with a master’s degree in regional planning from Cornell, Deitcher is interested in renewable energy development, agrivoltaics, biofuels, circular economy, industrial hemp processing/end-use production, and agricultural supply chains.
Also on this episode, we cover last week’s launch of the Pennsylvania Hemp Engine and provide details on a few upcoming local and national hemp events in August.
Follow along on Owen's trip on Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/highwaytohemp/
Learn More About Cornell's Hemp Program
https://hemp.cals.cornell.edu/
Upcoming Hemp Events
Aug. 3-5
South Dakota Industrial Hemp Field Day
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/industrial-hemp-field-day-tickets-643817313917
Aug. 15-16
King's AgriSeeds Field Day
https://kingsagriseeds.com/
Aug. 15
Penn State Hemp Research Field Walk, Policy Update and Networking Event
https://agsci.psu.edu/research/centers-facilities/extension/landisville
News Nugget:
IND HEMP Completes New Oilseed Certified Seed Cleaning Facility and Processing Expansion
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2023/07/12/2703339/0/en/IND-HEMP-Completes-New-IH-Oilseed-Certified-Seed-Cleaning-Facility-and-Processing-Expansion.html
Thanks to our sponsors and supporters:
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
King's Agriseeds
https://kingsagriseeds.com/
Americhanvre Cast-Hemp
https://americhanvre.com/
HempWood
https://hempwood.com/
On this week’s hemp podcast, we talk to Dalton Wittmer, agronomist at IND Hemp, a hemp processing company based in Fort Benton, Montana.
Growing up and working on a farm in southern Indiana and graduating from Purdue University's agronomy program, Wittmer has been chin deep in agriculture his whole life.
“I worked on a farm since I was 12 and just been around livestock — cattle, pigs, a little bit of turkeys. And row cropping, corn and soybeans mainly, so I've had a pretty good learning experience on the farm,” he said.
His interest in industrial hemp was piqued in college where one of his advisers was leading Purdue’s hemp research program.
Wittmer knew there was stigma around hemp, but he said he wanted to help “bring the goodness of hemp to America and across the world” for its environmental and economic benefits.
Wittmer relocated to Fort Benton a year and half ago and has been enjoying his new life in the West.
“I’'m an outdoors person. That's my happy place, and in Montana, you have anything outdoors you could ever imagine,” he said.
“And it's right outside my living room window. I get to see antelope, mule deer, moose, bears, whatever it is,” he said.
The town of Fort Benton is along the Missouri River in north-central Montana, where the land is generally flat but the conditions are dry and often difficult for farming.
Between scant rainfall, destructive hail storms and clouds of hungry grasshoppers, farming in Big Sky Country isn’t a walk in the park.
Wheat is the main crop in Montana, and it’s a challenge to get the small-grain guys thinking about growing a new crop like industrial hemp.
“They like growing wheat. That's what makes them their money. And they know that,” Wittmer said.
But there are farmers in Montana who are willing to put in some acres of hemp and give it a go.
This year, Wittmer said, IND Hemp has contracted farmers to grow around 7,000 acres of hemp.
Five thousand of those acres are what Wittmer calls a dual-purpose crop that will yield both grain and fiber. The remainder of the acreage is a single-purpose fiber crop, he said.
About half of the acreage is under pivot irrigation, but so far this year, the dryland acreage is keeping pace with the irrigated crops.
“The majority of the state is sitting pretty good with moisture this year,” he said. “The rains have been coming, and they've been nice amounts. You know, they've been a half-inch here, an inch there.”
Thanks to our sponsors for their generous support:
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
Mpactful Ventures
https://www.mpactfulventures.org/
HempWood
https://hempwood.com/
This week on the hemp podcast, Lancaster Farming talks to Hector “Freedom” Gerardo, the first farmer to grow fiber and grain hemp in Connecticut for a very long time.
Hemp was outlawed in the U.S. for most of the 20th century, but was made a legal commodity crop by the 2018 Farm Bill.
“I started in 2021 growing for CBD, and last year again I grew for CBD, but I lost money,” he said.
He became intrigued with all of the other uses for industrial hemp, including hempcrete for construction.
In April, he attended a two-day hempcrete workshop in Berks County, Pennsylvania, with hemp builder Cameron McIntosh of Americhanvre Cast-Hemp.
The workshop focused on making pre-fab hempcrete panels.
“Oh, man, it was eye-opening experience of the things that we could do and where the industry is headed, and the things that we can accomplish if we work together,” he said about the workshop.
With his wife, Elizabeth, and their three children, he runs SEAmarron Farmstead in Danbury, Connecticut.
It’s a 3-acre farm where they do a whole lot more than just hemp.
“I love hemp, but we got to feed people. So that's the other side,” he said. “We grow all types of vegetables — a lot of garlic, a lot of tomatoes, a lot of cabbage — you know, a lot of things that people want.”
They also run a CSA on the farm and sell to restaurants.
“Because at the end of the day, we need to feed people. You know, and that's the purpose of the farm,” he said.
The farm hosts education events and community work days.
“We do a lot of work organizing with young people around food insecurity, learning how to grow your own food,” he said.
Gerardo also maintains a network of BIPOC farmers.
“We created the CTBIPOC (Connecticut Black Indigenous People of Color) Food Network, and it's a network of 77 bipoc farmers in Connecticut. That's all the bipoc farmers in Connecticut. Only 0.06% of all farmers in Connecticut are people of color,” he said.
Gerardo is optimistic that his work in hemp and community agricultural education will make a difference in the Constitution State.
“We can move Connecticut into a sustainable place because right now we're not sustainable at all,” he said.
Connect with Freedom Gerardo on the Socials:
News Nugs
The buildings constructed from cannabis
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230614-the-buildings-constructed-from-cannabis
Study finds 90% of Arizona hemp farmers failed from 2019 to 2021. Here's why (hint: it's CBD)
https://www.12news.com/article/news/local/arizona/study-90-percent-arizona-hemp-farmers-failed-in-2019-2021/75-e14e075b-804e-4146-967b-e2c3ab9ebffc
Shapiro Administration Awards More Than $390,000 to Grow PA Hemp Industry
https://www.media.pa.gov/Pages/Agriculture_details.aspx?newsid=1322
Thanks to our Sponsors:
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
Americhanvre Cast Hemp
https://americhanvre.com/
National Hemp Association
https://nationalhempassociation.org/
On this week’s Hemp Podcast, Lancaster Farming talks with Tom Trite, Sairam Rudrabhatla, Kenneth Okrepkie and David Minnig, who make up part of the leadership team of the Pennsylvania Hemp Engine.
Funded by a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation, the Pennsylvania Industrial Hemp Engine Development Project is a strategic planning effort aimed at creating an innovative and inclusive economic ecosystem centered on industrial hemp.
Spearheaded by Vytal Plant Science Research and partnering with universities, including Penn State and Emory University, and various stakeholders, the project seeks to advance technology, stimulate regional economies, address societal challenges and generate high-wage jobs.
“The National Science Foundation wanted to reach out across the entire country to identify ways to stimulate the economy and take science and find out applications for commercialization,” said Okrepkie from Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania, a key stakeholder in the project.
“We're talking about everything from space technology to lasers to industrial hemp,” he said. “What we've done is created an opportunity for the commonwealth of Pennsylvania, number one, that we competed on a national level to win an award.”
And No. 2, he said, is the opportunity for Pennsylvania to be a national leader in the hemp industry.
The Pennsylvania Industrial Hemp Engine Development Project is focused on the industrial applications of hemp fiber and grain and is not focused on CBD or medicinal uses of the cannabis plant.
Learn more:
Pennsylvania Industrial Hemp Engine Development Project
https://paihe.org
Vytal Plant Science Research
https://vpsresearch.org
National Science Foundation Regional Innovation Engines
https://new.nsf.gov/funding/initiatives/regional-innovation-engines
Hemp News Nugs
How Colorado Became Ground Zero For Hemp Production
https://lithub.com/how-colorado-became-ground-zero-for-hemp-production/
Agricultural Scientists Receive USDA Grant to Explore Hemp as a Sustainable Alternative to Grain in Animal Feed
https://www.pvamu.edu/research/post/agricultural-scientists-receive-usda-grant-to-explore-hemp-as-a-sustainable-alternative-to-grain-in-animal-feed-2/
New research set to increase carbon capture through cropping
https://www.york.ac.uk/news-and-events/news/2023/research/increase-carbon-capture-through-cropping/?utm_source=miragenews&utm_medium=miragenews&utm_campaign=news
Hemp Fiber Market To Experience Rapid Consumption Growth Between 2023 and 2032
https://www.bowmanextra.com/news/hemp-fiber-market-to-experience-rapid-consumption-growth-between-2023-and-2032/
Rivaling steel: hemp as the ‘superior’ alternative
https://cranbournenews.starcommunity.com.au/news/2023-06-13/rivalling-steel-hemp-as-the-superior-alternative/
Why Hemp Is The Perfect Fabric for Your Summer Wardrobe
https://www.salonprivemag.com/why-hemp-is-the-perfect-fabric-for-your-summer-wardrobe/
Thanks to our Sponsors!
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
KING'S AGRISEED
https://kingsagriseeds.com/
On this week's show we talk to Duane Shugars from Hemp Katalyst and the digital platform Metaihemp, which aims to bring together various parts of the industrial hemp supply chain making it easier for farmers to grow exactly what manufacturers are looking for.
Learn more:
Hemp Katalyst
https://www.hempkatalyst.com/
Meta iHemp
https://www.metaihemp.com/pages/index.html
Hemp News Nuggets
Contact your representatives about the Industrial Hemp Act of 2023. Tell them you support the Hemp Exemption and they should to!
https://www.hempexemption.com/contactcongress
7K+ THC Laced Fake Branded Products Seized In Lancaster County: DA
https://dailyvoice.com/pennsylvania/lancaster/7k-thc-laced-fake-branded-products-seized-in-lancaster-county-da/
Minnesota OKs hemp-derived delta-8 and delta-9 THC, bans other synthetics
https://hemptoday.net/minnesota-oks-hemp-derived-delta-8-and-delta-9-thc-bans-other-synthetics/
USDA Renames Trade Committee To Recognize Hemp As A Key Specialty Crop
https://www.marijuanamoment.net/usda-renames-trade-committee-to-recognize-hemp-as-a-key-specialty-crop/
Reps. Rosendale, Houlahan introduce Industrial Hemp Act
https://financialregnews.com/reps-rosendale-houlahan-introduce-industrial-hemp-act/
Thanks to our sponsors
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
Mpactful Ventures
https://www.mpactfulventures.org/
This special bonus episode was recorded at Cedar Meadow Farm in Holtwood, Pennsylvania, where Steve Groff has been practicing no-till farming for over 30 years, and this year he has planted 50 acres of fiber hemp into his no-till system.
Andrew Bish from Hemp Harvest Works and the Hemp Feed Coalition was on his way from Nebraska to Washington to lobby for hemp as an animal feed when he stopped by Steve's farm.
Sarah Mitchell, hemp specialist from King's Agriseed was there too and the three of them had an amazing conversation about soil health, soil microbes, no-till farming, panting and harvesting equipment, cover crop mixes and more.
Thanks to our sponsor IND HEMP.
It’s that time of year again — time to get your hemp seeds in the ground.
On this week’s podcast, we check in with a handful of farmers (and one processor) to hear how things are going. What varieties are they planting, how much acreage, how’s the weather?
First we talk to Herb Grove, farmer and bison rancher in Center County, Pennsylvania, who said he’s looking to put in about 45 acres of grain hemp this year but hasn't planted yet because of the lack of rain.
“I don't think there's much hurry getting it in the ground. It ain't gonna do much till it gets some moisture. So we're going to play the rain game and hit it hard right before an estimated rain shower, I hope,” Grove said.
Lack of rain is also an issue for Katherine Dubansky at Backbone Farm in Garrett County, Maryland, where she grows produce as well as hemp for CBD.
“We decided to go on the real low side this year and grow 300 plants, which is the smallest number we've ever grown,” she said.
She started her seeds in the greenhouse about 10 days ago and expects to get into the field in another 10 days or so.
For Steve Groff in Lancaster County, the lack of precipitation is an issue, but it’s not as bad as it could be, thanks to his cover crops and no-till farming practices.
He direct-seeded 50 acres of fiber hemp the third week of May and has good emergence.
He said he was concerned that there might not be enough moisture to germinate the seeds.
“But I got to mention our regenerative agriculture methods, using cover crops and no-till, which is definitely in our favor. We're able to hold the moisture in that soil,” he said.
For Aaron Templin, operating partner at Dakota Hurd Company in Fargo, North Dakota, things are looking good. He’s working with three local farmers to grow about 100 acres of fiber to feed the processing facility.
The hemp was planted in early May and weather-wise, they seem to be OK.
In Sikeston, Missouri, Jeff Limbaugh is managing the hemp production for Midwest Natural Fiber.
He said they’ve got about half of the anticipated 600 acres in the ground in the southeastern corner of the state, referred to regionally as the Boot Heel.
He said they’re still determining the best planting density, somewhere between 700,000 and million seeds per acre.
“Our best method is drilling down on a seven and a half inch spacing,” Limbaugh said.
Brush Mountain Bison https://www.facebook.com/brushmountainbison Backbone Hemp https://backbonehemp.com/ Maryland Mountain Hemp Alliance http://www.mountainmarylandhemp.org/ Cedar Meadow farm https://cedarmeadow.farm/
Hemp Harvest Work's FiberCut https://hempharvestworks.com/fibercut/
Dakota Hurd Companyhttps://www.dakotahurd.com/
Midwest Natural Fiber https://www.midwestnaturalfiber.com/ Thanks to our Sponsors IND HEMP https://indhemp.com/ King's Agriseeds https://kingsagriseeds.com/
Half the people in the world menstruate, but nearly no one knows exactly what feminine hygiene products are made of and how those materials may be affecting the health outcomes of the people using the products, according to Claire Crunk, founder and CEO of Trace Femcare.
“Part of why there is so little transparency in period products, Crunk said, “is because the supply chain is global, complex and opaque, and the solution to that is to build regionalized supply chains that are brand-led and very intimate.”
Which is exactly what she’s doing at Trace, where they make tampons and pads from a blend of hemp and cotton.
Crunk was a women's health nurse practitioner and owned her own practice for more than 10 years in Tennessee. During this time she saw many patients with vulvar rashes, period pain, period irregularity, infertility and more.
She dug into the research and tried “to understand how the products in our environment that we put on and in our bodies could be affecting health outcomes,” she said.
The more she learned about the opaqueness of the tampon industry, the more her frustration grew.
She said that most products on the market, regardless of brand, are made by the same small group of manufactures, and often these manufactures don’t themselves know what’s in their products.
“This is a huge problem that we're trying to solve in the industry,” she said. “There's just no transparency. The tampon manufacturer doesn't know what chemicals are being used to process the fibers that they're purchasing to make their products."
She said that these formulations are often proprietary, so even if you ask the fiber producers what chemicals they are using, they won't disclose them.
“So a lot of the risk assessment is categorical in nature instead of precise,” Crunk said.
She pointed to the use of PFAS, or forever chemicals, in menstrual underwear, which can cause infertility, cancer and autoimmune disorders.
“They're endocrine disruptors, hormone disruptors. So to put that in a product that's touching our reproductive organs, that's a big problem to me,” she said.
After a decade of running her women’s health practice, Crunk suffered from severe burnout and walked away from it all, and embarked on her own journey of healing.
Her time of recovery was also a time of discovery. She was struck with the idea to build a brand of feminine products made from natural materials like hemp and cotton that offered transparency in the supply chain.
And Trace Femcare was born.
“And to this day, I think we're the only brand that knows what farm practices happen in their fiber production,” she said.
The hemp fiber used in Trace’s tampons is sourced from hemp grown and processed in the U.S., mostly from North Carolina and Montana.
“Our product is blended with a regenerative cotton called Climate Beneficial cotton, and all of our cotton is grown and processed in the U.S. as well,” she said.
Building Trace Femcare Crunk founded the company in 2018 and soon brought in two additional co-founders to make her dream a reality — Meg Galaske, a holistic medical doctor and energy healer; and Olaf Isele, an engineer who has specialized in absorbent hygiene products for over 25 years.
Together they have built Trace and are preparing to launch their first product this summer, an applicator-free, biodegradable menstrual tampon, with several more products in the pipeline.
“Our mission at Trace is to heal the earth with our periods.” Crunk said.
As girls grow up into women, they get signals from society that “periods are something dirty or something bad, a problem that needs to be fixed, hidden, to be taken care of,” she said.
“And that's how we're marketed to. But we believe that our periods can be a tool to healing — and in this case, healing the earth. So I started Trace because I was looking for period products that were made of materials that were healthier for our bodies,” she said.
“I wanted to make tampons and pads with full traceability down to farm level and operate a brand where I personally know every single person that touches the making of this product, and every single chemical, and have a primary voice in guiding that process, too. So, I'm proud to say that we have accomplished that.”
Trace Femcare https://traceyourtampon.com/
Thanks to our Sponsors! IND HEMP https://indhemp.com/
Mpactful Ventures https://www.mpactfulventures.org/
This week on the hemp podcast, Lancaster Farming talks with Alejandra Diaz, a hemp entrepreneur, educator and activist from Los Angeles.
Diaz does business development and sales for Hemp Fortex, a Chinese manufacturer of sustainable textiles with a specialization in hemp fabrics.
“Most of our fiber comes from China, and currently sourcing some from France as well,” Diaz said. “And (we are) now looking to the U.S. and other parts of the world to source fiber.”
Diaz has been a leader in her community, organizing education programs around hempcrete, hemp farming and hemp clothing.
Also on the podcast this week, we share an interesting hempcrete project. It’s a collaboration between the Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast and Americhanvre Cast-Hemp, a hempcrete building company based in Barto, Pennsylvania.
The idea was to build hempcrete acoustic panels for the walls of the new podcast studio in Lancaster Farming’s Ephrata office.
Earlier this week, podcast host Eric Hurlock and Cameron MacIntosh from Americhanvre built wooden frames and filled them with pigmented hempcrete using the cast in place method.
The panels will spend the next few weeks curing in the Americhanvre shop and then will be trimmed out with HempWood, a hemp-based wood alternative made in Kentucky.
Alejandra’s Socials Instagram: @alejandrahemp_ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alejandra-diaz-617737188/
Hemp Fortex (wholesale hemp fabric)https://www.hempfortex.com
Hemp Fortex Company Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5FnWselGBD8&t=126s
Bastine (retail hemp fabric)https://bastine.com
Industrial Hemp Alliance at Los Angeles Trade Technical College https://www.industrialhempalliance.net
Sustainable Culture: Hemp x Couture Fashion Show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eG5QNWmcYP4&t=19s
Hemp Traders https://www.hemptraders.com
Hemp Traders YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@hemptraders5881/videos
News Nuggets
Pennsylvania hemp initiative aims to build out regional supply chainshttps://hemptoday.net/pennsylvania-hemp-initiative-aims-to-build-out-regional-supply-chains/
Industry Leaders’ hemp vision for the 2023 Farm Bill falls far shorthttps://hemptoday.net/industry-leaders-hemp-vision-for-the-2023-farm-bill-falls-far-short/
Thanks to our Sponsors!
IND HEMPhttps://indhemp.com/
National Hemp Associationhttps://nationalhempassociation.org/
Americhanvrehttps://americhanvre.com/
On this week’s hemp podcast, Lancaster Farming talks with Hunter Buffington, a Colorado-based hemp policy expert with Agriculture Policy Solutions.
She shares her concerns about legislation in the Colorado House of Representatives that she says threatens the hemp industry nationwide.
SB23-271 attempts to address the the issue of intoxicating cannabinoids such as delta-8 THC, a synthetic compound derived from hemp with similar effects to marijuana.
Synthetic cannabionoids currently occupy a gray area in the national hemp market. Some states are outlawing them while others are regulating their use.
Buffington recently wrote an opinion piece on the hemp news website Let’s Talk Hemp entitled “Colorado Intoxicating Cannabinoid Legislation Threatens an Industry, Fails to Protect Patients and Endangers America’s Children.”
She said special interests groups have hijacked the bill by convincing lawmakers to add numerous amendments in the 11th hour.
“The marijuana industry group and a couple of large dispensaries were writing these amendments. We can see their influence,” Buffington said.
The interests of the marijuana industry differ from those of the hemp industry, even though both industries are built around the uses of the cannabis plant.
Buffington said the Colorado bill could also have negative effects on the fiber and grain sector of the hemp industry, with implications for hemp cosmetics and food.
“It's a slippery slope,” she said, “because we're opening up the door to now have to regulate THC content in these products.”
Agriculture Policy Solutions http://www.agpolicysolutions.com/ Colorado Intoxicating Cannabinoid Legislation Threatens an Industry, Fails to Protect Patients and Endangers America’s Children https://letstalkhemp.com/colorado-intoxicating-cannabinoid-legislation-threatens-an-industry-fails-to-protect-patients-and-endangers-americas-children/ SB23-271: Intoxicating Cannabinoid Hemp And Marijuana https://leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb23-271
Learn more about the issue on the Hemp Rising podcast with Josh Schneiderhttps://hemprising.buzzsprout.com/1951087/12791512
Contact the Office of Colorado Governor Jared Polishttps://www.colorado.gov/governor/contact-us
New Nuggets Jon Tester wanted to soften hemp regulations and turned to industry officials to help craft the bill https://www.politico.com/news/2023/05/07/jon-tester-wanted-to-soften-hemp-regulations-00095634
You elected them to write new laws. They’re letting corporations do it instead.https://publicintegrity.org/politics/state-politics/copy-paste-legislate/you-elected-them-to-write-new-laws-theyre-letting-corporations-do-it-instead/ ‘Hemp Hotel’ Trails South Africa’s Green Credentials https://www.africa.com/hemp-hotel-trails-south-africas-green-credentials/ European Hemp Leaders Launch Bid To Designate ‘Natural’ CBD A Traditional Food https://businessofcannabis.com/european-hemp-leaders-launch-bid-to-designate-natural-cbd-a-traditional-food/ Colorado lawmakers say compromise reached on THC levels for CBD https://hemptoday.net/colorado-lawmakers-say-compromise-reached-on-thc-levels-for-cbd/
Thanks to our Sponsors! IND HEMPhttps://indhemp.com/ Mpactful Ventureshttps://www.mpactfulventures.org/
This week on the Hemp Podcast, U.S. Congressman David Trone, a Democrat from Maryland’s sixth district, is our guest.
Trone recently introduced The Free to Grow Act, which he says will end discriminatory policies that are keeping people from entering the job market in the hemp industry.
The 2018 Farm Bill which legalized industrial hemp as a commodity crop prohibited anyone with a felony drug conviction in the past 10 years from obtaining a license to grow hemp.
Trone believes this prohibition goes against the idea that once you’ve done your time, you should be able to participate fully in the economy.
“I think all of us in America believe in second chances,” he said. “We've all made mistakes. And if someone makes a mistake, they go to jail. But then after that, when they come out, we want them to get a job and build a family and be successful and not go back to jail.”
The Free to Grow Act has bipartisan support in the House, citing co-sponsorship from David Joyce, R-Ohio, Nancy Mace, R-S.C., and Chellie Pingree, D-Maine.
“So together, all of us are working to get this through,” Trone said.
Giving people a second chance is big issue for Trone, who said he recently founded a Second Chance Caucus in Congress.
“I got 20 Republicans and 20 Democrats. And together, you know, we're working all kinds of legislation to help people that have been in prison stay out of prison when they're done paying their time,” he said.
Trone said he thinks getting the Free to Grow Act into the the 2023 Farm Bill is the most likely route to getting this bill signed into law.
Trone also weighed in on the 2023 Industrial Hemp Act, recently introduced in the Senate, that aims to separate industrial hemp grown for fiber and grain from CBD and medicinal cannabis by removing the burdensome regulations that the hemp industry says is holding the industry back from reaching its full potential as a food ingredient and raw material for manufacturing.
While there is as of yet no companion bill in Congress, Trone said, “We're going to take a good look at that. We certainly 100% support cutting all burdensome regulation.”
Trone is no stranger to the demands of running a farming operation, having grown up on a farm in Adams County, Pennsylvania.
“We had a 200-acre farm, mostly corn, wheat, a lot of hay. Then we had 55,000 layers and we purchased chicken eggs from other laying operations all through Lancaster. So I used to drive trucks all through Lancaster picking up eggs,” he said.
Not just chickens, but hogs too, he said.
“We finished around 600 hogs at a time and turned them over. Buy 'em at 40 and sell 'em at 220 — so I understand that business.”
“Here in Congress, I'm one of the few people that really gets farming, having done it for, you know, decades.”
Learn more:
Rep. David Trone https://trone.house.gov/ Trone Introduces Two Bipartisan Agriculture Bills to Promote Second Chances for Returning Citizens
https://trone.house.gov/2023/03/07/trone-introduces-two-bipartisan-agriculture-bills-to-promote-second-chances-for-returning-citizens/
News Nuggets
Tester introduces bipartisan bill to deregulate industrial hemp https://montanafreepress.org/2023/04/25/tester-introduces-bipartisan-bill-to-deregulate-industrial-hemp/ Industrial hemp plant begins production in Lake County https://www.madisondailyleader.com/news/article_d28b5992-e46e-11ed-90d2-33d06d86e507.html New interest in fiber hemp https://www.farmprogress.com/hemp/new-interest-shown-for-fiber-hemp U.S. hemp industry hopes for better times ahead https://www.producer.com/markets/u-s-hemp-industry-hopes-for-better-times-ahead/
Thanks to our Sponsors!
IND HEMP https://indhemp.com/
King's Agriseedshttps://kingsagriseeds.com/
On this week’s hemp podcast, we focus on the Lower Sioux Indian Community in Morton, Minnesota.
The Lower Sioux are part of the larger Dakota tribe, which once thrived in the Upper Midwest, following the bison herds across the Great Plains.
The Lower Sioux Indian Community sits along the southern bank of the Minnesota River in southwestern Minnesota.
The tribal land was greatly reduced after the Dakota War of 1862.
Earl Pendleton, vice president of the tribal council, is the first guest on the podcast this week.
Pendleton describes life on the reservation and how things have changed over the course of his life.
“There's a lot of history in this area for the relations between the U.S. government, the state government and the Dakota people,” he said.
“The U.S./Dakota conflict of 1862, which is 160 years ago, is still kind of fresh out here. And there's still a lot of tension between who we are and what we deserve.”
“The reason for that conflict was people seeing their families starve and seeing their food sources being eliminated around them and the encroachment of settlers and things like that,” Pendleton said.
The conflict led to some of the most brutal episodes in American history, including the public hanging of 38 Dakota warriors the day after Christmas 1862, the largest mass execution in U.S. history.
“Obviously, I don't blame anybody here today for that. But I think there's just a story that should be told. I think our our kids need to hear our real history and feel proud of who they are,’ he said.
One of the bright spots for Pendleton and the Lower Sioux Community is industrial hemp. 2023 is their fourth season of growing the crop.
“We're at a pretty small scale,” Pendleton said. “We started at 40 acres, we moved up to 80 and 100, and I think we're doing 100 again this year. So we have a a stockpile of of hemp bales that are ready for processing.”
The Sioux grow a dual-purpose variety called X59, which produces grain and fiber. The tribe sells the grain and processes the fiber on site with a 1-ton-per-hour decorticator.
The vision is to use the hemp fiber to build houses for the community. Many homes are government housing, Pendleton said, and were not built with the best materials or with longevity in mind. And there is a shortage of housing too.
“We have a lot of families living together, overcrowding, some homelessness,” he said. “So when I looked at hemp and seen that is a potential for construction, it seemed like the perfect fit for our community.”
Working with HempStone, a hempcrete construction company from Massachusetts, the tribe is learning how to turn their hemp hurds into hemp housing.
Last year the group completed a small shed as proof of concept. And this summer the tribe is building its first full-size home. The tribe is also building a home made from conventional materials to do a side-by-side comparison of energy efficiency.
Danny Desjarlais is the project manager for the tribe’s hemp-building endeavors, and also a guest on this week’s podcast. A traditional builder by trade, he is a convert to building with hemp.
“I don't want to use any traditional buildings anymore. You know, after discovering the hemp and the hempcrete and all of its benefits has just been very eye-opening for me as a builder,” he said.
Desjarlais sees great potential in hemp for existing houses in the community.
“We have 165 houses on our reservation right now; 160 of them probably need retrofitting or could be fixed up in some way,” he said.
Desjarlais said the people of his community are very excited by the prospect of industrial hemp and the hope it brings.
“Our people used to follow the buffalo, and we used every part of the buffalo, he said. “And so I look at hemp as like the green buffalo — we can use every part of the plant. And so we're only barely just scraping the surface right now with with growing and building houses out of it.”
Lower Sioux Indian Community https://lowersioux.com/ HempStone https://hempstone.net/ Tell Your Senator You Support the 2023 Industrial Hemp Act If you think grain and fiber hemp farmers should be able to grow grain and fiber like they can grow corn and soy, then contact our senator and tell them to support the Industrial Hemp Act of 2023. https://www.hempexemption.com/contactcongress Thanks to our sponsors: Mpactful Ventures An investment and incubation company focused on sustainability and supporting startups and other initiatives that play a vital role in mitigating the adverse effects of climate change. At Mpactful ventures, they strive to amplify enterprises that bring innovative, green opportunities to the forefront and empower those making a significant impact for a sustainable future. https://www.mpactfulventures.org/ IND HEMP https://indhemp.com/
Can plants communicate with each other? Do they know when they’re under attack from pests? Can they tell one type of insect pest from another—say, an aphid from a caterpillar?
The answer may surprise you.
According to this week’s podcast guest, Aaron Appleby, the answer to all three of these questions is a resounding yes.
Appleby, a Ph.D. candidate at Washington State University in the Crop Science department, specializes in organic pesticides, with a focus on the hemp russet mite and fiber hemp.
Appleby said his research at WSU involves bringing organic production to the Palouse region of Eastern Washington and North central Idaho, the largest wheat growing region in the United States.
Appleby is also a certified crop advisor and owner of White Coat Laboratories, a cannabis research company in Pullman, Washington.
“We are studying how plant volatiles can increase secondary metabolites and attract beneficial arthropods to your system to reduce pest pressure,” he said.
Appleby said plants communicate with each other by releasing clouds of chemicals, which Appleby calls “plant screams.”
For instance, if a plant is under attach by a certain pest, the plant will produce a chemical cloud containing information that surrounding plants will sense and decipher, giving them a heads up on an impending pest attack.
Appleby said plants use as many as fifty chemicals to convey specific information. He likens the combinations of chemicals to our alphabet of 26 letter that we use to build words and sentences to convey meaning.
“In much the same way, plants are able to combine these different chemicals in different ratios to convey different messages to their community,” he said.
Is it possible to harness this communication system for commercial production? Can the communication among plants be enhanced to reduce our dependence on chemical fertilizers? Does this hyper-awareness mean that plants possess a form of consciousness?
That’s exactly what we’re talking about on this podcast episode. Plus we have a check-in call with Jeremy Klettke of Davis Hemp Farming in Oregon.
Aaron Appleby on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaron-appleby-901113272/ Washington State University Department of Crop and Soil Sciences https://css.wsu.edu/ Davis Hemp Farm https://davishempfarms.com/ News Nuggets Introducing the 1st shoe made from CBD weed https://www.einnews.com/pr_news/627753860/introducing-the-1st-shoe-made-from-cbd-weed Prowl Studio develops "first injection-moulded chair that can be composted" https://www.dezeen.com/2023/04/17/prowl-studio-peel-chair-m4-factory-milan-design-week/ Don’t Lose Hope For The U.S. Hemp Industry https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthoban/2023/04/18/dont-lose-hope-for-the-us-hemp-industry/?sh=d323f776e4bb Thanks to our sponsors! IND HEMP https://indhemp.com/ Americhanvre Cast-Hemp https://americhanvre.com/ National Hemp Association https://nationalhempassociation.org/
Geoff Whaling, chair of the National Hemp Association, joins us on the Industrial Hemp Podcast this week to talk about NHA’s priorities for what they’d like to see in the 2023 Farm Bill.
Topping that list is the bifurcation, or division, of the hemp industry, Whaling said, with legislation that would create a sub-definition of industrial hemp grown for fiber and grain, making it easier for row crop farmers to add it to their current rotations of crops like corn, soy and wheat.
Currently, hemp farmers are subject to expensive permitting fees, FBI background checks and finger printing, and costly on-farm government testing of cannabinoid content in the field.
Whaling said these requirements are barriers to the industry that keep farmers from growing industrial hemp at a scale that can establish a robust domestic hemp industry, because farmers are being treated like criminals for wanting to grow a commodity crop that can be used for food, feed, fuel, fabric and more.
Whaling said NHA supports the CBD industry. “I don't want to negate the importance that cannabinoids have in this marketplace,” but it’s important for the two sides of the industry to be regulated differently.
Whaling said the industry faces difficult educational challenges with the public and, almost more importantly, with lawmakers.
“We would go into senators’ offices who were leaders in this space, and their staff did not know or believe that you could plant hemp as a row crop,” he said.
Last month, Sens. Jon Tester, D-Mont., and Mike Braun, R-Ind., introduced the 2023 Industrial Hemp Act, which would remove the barriers for farmers who want to grow hemp as commodity crop rather than a specialty crop, the way CBD hemp is grown.
If the bill does not pass as a stand-alone piece of legislation, Whaling is hopeful it will be added to the 2023 Farm Bill.
Another priority for NHA is hemp for animal feed.
“We get this question all the time, why is it okay for us to eat hemp hearts, we as humans, but it's not OK for us to give that to our dogs?” Whaling said.
“It's a good question. But the reality is the authority for all things that are consumed by us or consumed by animals that go into the human chain is left squarely with the FDA,” he said.
He said state governments are taking this into their own hands, passing various legislation allowing for hemp to be used in feed for domestic animals, but Whaling said this issue deserves to be solved at the federal level, rather than by a patchwork of state laws across the country.
“It most definitely is that patchwork approach,” he said. “And we know that it didn't work very well for cannabinoids. And I think that if we were able to move this forward on a national program, then all citizens would be able to participate.”
Whaling also spoke about the work NHA is doing around the world to develop the hemp industry and to help build the market for carbon credits.
While the industry has it’s challenges, Whaling remains hopeful as ever.
“Five years from now, we'll still be researching the potential of industrial hemp,” he said. “Ten years from now, we'll be well on our way to a multibillion dollar industry.
“And 20 years from now, when I'm long gone, hemp will be everywhere and people will be saying, what was the big deal?”
National Hemp Association https://nationalhempassociation.org/ Hemp Exemption https://www.hempexemption.com/ News Nuggets Scientists Evaluate Potential Human Cannabinol Exposure from Consuming Meat if Cattle is Fed Hempseed Cake https://www.ars.usda.gov/news-events/news/research-news/2023/scientists-evaluate-potential-human-cannabinol-exposure-from-consuming-meat-if-cattle-is-fed-hempseed-cake/ Argentina’s Government Participated In First Legal Hemp Harvests In Half A Century https://internationalcbc.com/argentinas-government-participated-in-first-legal-hemp-harvests-in-half-a-century/ Now That Weed is Mostly Legal, Hemp Should Be Booming. But It's Not https://time.com/6268420/hemp-climate-solution/ Thanks to our sponsors IND HEMP https://indhemp.com/ Mpactful Ventures https://www.mpactfulventures.org/ Farm https://www.farmland.fi/
I took the podcast on the road again.
Sort of. I took a plane this time.
Either way, I spent four days last week in Colorado at the ninth annual NoCo Hemp Expo in in Colorado Springs.
This is the largest gathering of its kind in the U.S. Part expo, part educational experience, it was a celebration of all things hemp.
One highlight for me was seeing Lancaster County’s own Steve Groff on the main stage talking about cover crops, no-till farming and growing hemp.
Another was observing the degree to which fiber and grain are dominating the conversations around hemp, as more people embrace hemp’s potential as a material and a food.
One of the key moments of the expo for me was a Thursday morning meeting of industry leaders and stakeholders to discuss hemp priorities for the 2023 Farm Bill. A majority of the national and state level trade associations participated.
This week’s podcast will focus on that meeting. What are the industry priorities for the Farm Bill? Is there consensus? What are the differences and how can they be reconciled? And what is the state of the hemp industry coming out of NoCo 2023?
Listen and find out.
This week’s guests include Wendy Mosher from New West Genetics, Patrick Atagi from the National Industrial Hemp Council, Andrew Bish for the Hemp Feed Coalition, Jonathon Miller from U.S. Hemp Roundtable, Courtney Moran from Agricultural Hemp Solutions, Eric Steenstra from Vote Hemp, Eric Singular from International Hemp, and Herrick Fox from the Meristem Institute.
VOTE HEMP https://www.votehemp.com/
Meristem Institute https://meristeminstitute.org/ New West Genetics https://newwestgenetics.com/
Hemp Feed Coalition https://hempfeedcoalition.org/ Hemp Harvest Works https://hempharvestworks.com/ International Hemp https://www.international-hemp.com/ U.S. Hemp Roundtable https://hempsupporter.com/
The National Industrial Hemp Council of America [NIHC] https://www.nihcoa.com/ Agricultural Hemp Solutions https://www.agriculturalhempsolutions.com/
Check these out too!
One Plant, a film by Sunflower https://www.oneplant.film/ Davis Hemp Farms https://davishempfarms.com/ Noco Hemp Expo https://www.nocohempexpo.com/
Thanks to our Sponsors!
IND HEMP https://indhemp.com/ King's Agriseeds https://kingsagriseeds.com/ BIG THANKS TO SUN RAY HEMP!
This week’s podcast is a special hempcrete double feature.
Hempcrete is a building material made from three ingredients — hemp hurd, lime binder and water — which forms a lightweight cementicious material with insulating properties.
First we talk to Monica Medina-McCurdy, executive director of All Together Now Pennsylvania, an organization focused on building resilient self-sufficient regional economies, with hemp playing a leading role.
Earlier this year, the organization was awarded a $48,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture to promote hemp building materials and textiles.
Medina-McCurdy said a portion of those funds will be used to host a hands-on hempcrete workshop May 6-7 in Barto.
The two-day workshop will be lead by hempcrete builder Cameron McIntosh of Americharnve, Pennsylvania’s leading hempcrete installer.
“We really want to attract people who are established already in the building trades because we think that there's a huge need for education,” Medina-McCurdy said.
Our second guest is Kim Croes, a contractor from Michigan who attended a hempcrete workshop with McIntosh last year and has since completed work on the first hempcrete house in Michigan.
Croes has been running a painting business for the past eight years. Her interest in hemp for building comes from her health concerns about toxic materials used in construction.
When she heard about hempcrete, she reached out to CBD hemp farmers who had extra hemp for sale.
“I needed specific hemp, Croes said. “I needed hemp that was grown for fiber. I needed it to be building-grade quality. And so just getting hemp was not as easy as it initially seemed.”
Croes said there are efforts underway to bring processing capacity to Michigan. She said she hopes to source local hemp hurds within a few years, but she said there is need for investment in the local processing infrastructure, especially as the automobile industry eyes hemp as a sustainable material for cars.
“One little processing facility is not going to do it,” Croes said. “It’s going to take a buildup of things to get to that point, so someone's got to step up to the plate. It can't it be someone like me. I'm in the building sector and that's where I belong.”
Learn more:
FiberFort https://fiberfort.com/
Register for Hempcrete Workshop, May 6-7 LINK TKTKTKTKTKTKTKT All Together Now Pennsylvania https://alltogethernowpa.org/ Americhanvre https://americhanvre.com/ Farmer Jawn Philly https://www.farmerjawnphilly.com/
News Nuggets
Bill Aims to Cut Red Tape for Industrial Hemphttps://www.lancasterfarming.com/farming-news/hemp/bill-aims-to-cut-red-tape-for-industrial-hemp/article_8764d032-c9d5-11ed-91b7-4bd93bf02333.html
Hempcrete ASTM C-518 Test Results https://www.hempbuildinginstitute.org/post/americhanvre-ereasy-spray-applied-hempcrete-astm-c-518-test-results
Thanks to our Sponsors
IND Hemp https://indhemp.com/ Mpactful Ventures https://www.mpactfulventures.org/ Farm https://www.farmland.fi/
This week’s podcast guest is Gary Byrnes, founder and CEO of Tao Climate, an Irish technology company focused on addressing climate change by harnessing the carbon sequestration potential of large scale hemp production.
Byrnes said the technology is primarily software-based and “will enable anybody involved in the hemp value chain — from the grower through to the maker to the builder with the hempcrete materials — to measure their inputs and measure their outputs.”
The company was selected to be part of Google’s Startups for Sustainable Development program, which Byrnes said provides “one-on-one access to some of the brightest people at Google, as well as ongoing workshops and training.”
Tao Climate is working with hemp farmers around the world to develop large scale hemp growing operations and to quantify the carbon pulled from the atmosphere.
“We want to make it really easy for people to see the carbon gains around the different activities,” Byrnes said.
“At the moment, the whole verification, validation and certification around carbon credits is very complex and cumbersome and expensive. So our technology will make it very easy to see the net carbon gains of all of the different activities around the hemp lifecycle. And it will also then make it easy to verify at scale,” he said.
The company has pilot programs around the world, including one in Kenya, where fiber hemp is being grown and measured for carbon. The hemp hurd — the inner core of the stalk — will be used for hempcrete blocks “to build sustainable housing locally where it's really, really needed,” Byrnes said.
“But also the bast fiber will go towards founding a female-led entrepreneurial business building hemp fabrics. So, you know, there are so many gains, so many benefits coming out of this,” he said.
In Ukraine, Tao Climate is “partnering with growers who are coming up to planting their hemp crop now, over the coming weeks, in minefields, having to dodge missiles and bombs on a daily basis,” Byrnes said.
“The reason they're so committed,” he said, “is because they're using the hemp fiber from their crops to produce hempcrete to rebuild Ukraine in real time. They're building hempcrete apartment blocks, and they're housing internally displaced people from Ukraine and also war orphans.”
Byrnes believes that agriculture in general, and hemp in particular, are humanity’s best way forward in addressing excess carbon in the atmosphere.
“We have a Utopian vision, Byrnes said, “where industrial hemp is growing all over the world and it's being used to build resilience and sustainable infrastructure and housing.”
Tao Climate https://www.taoclimate.com Tao Climate LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/taoclimate/ Tao Climate Twitter https://www.twitter.com/taoclimate Hempoffset https://www.hempoffset.com Hempoffset Mindset newsletter https://www.hempoffset.com/subscribe/ Hempoffset Twitter https://twitter.com/hempoffset
All Together Now PA's Hempcrete Workshop, May 6-7, 2023 https://alltogethernowpa.org/ Thanks to our Sponsors Americhanvre Hempcrete https://americhanvre.com/ IND HEMP https://indhemp.com/
On this week’s podcast we talk to Laura Sullivan, a fiber artist living and working in Vermont.
She works at University of Vermont Extension, growing hemp fiber in the research trials at Borderview Research Farm in Alburgh.
Through her work with textiles and hemp, she has come to a revelation that clothing is agriculture — or at least should be agriculture.
She points to traditional ways of spinning and weaving.
“Almost every culture around the world did this,” Sullivan said. “So it's almost universal in that way. And those fibers were all derived from the soil. So in that sense, to me, clothing is originally agriculture and can also be agriculture again in the future.”
Her work at the Extension fiber trials gives her access to hemp fibers. But because there is no infrastructure in the Vermont to process hemp fiber, she does it all by hand.
“I use all antique hand equipment to do my processing, and it's not ideal by any means,” she said.
From retting and breaking, to sketching and hackling, spinning and scouring, she takes us through the whole process.
During the interview she talked about the importance of fibersheds.
“A fibershed is a commitment to work within the geography of a land base,” Sullivan said. “It's a way to belong to each other and the land.”
The fibershed movement asks: Where is fiber in our environment, and how can we work with it?
Domestically produced textiles are at an all-time low, thanks to the now-replaced North American Free Trade Agreement, she said.
“In 1990, 50% of clothes worn in the U.S. were made here,” Sullivan said. “And now that figure stands at 2%. So in a very short amount of time, we have completely offshored the entire industry.”
And at what cost?
“The textile industry was the biggest employer of people in rural America, and namely women and those without diplomas. So we've really lost a lot in that, especially in a state like Vermont, where we are largely rural and agrarian. It's just a huge missed opportunity,” she said.
Sullivan is hopeful that industrial hemp can revitalize the domestic textile industry.
Laura Sullivan's Pipe Dream Hempworks https://pipedreamhempworks.com/ Northern New England Fibershed https://nnefibershed.com/ UVM Extension https://www.uvm.edu/extension
New Nuggets WV House passes Industrial Hemp Development Act https://www.lootpress.com/house-passes-industrial-hemp-development-act/ Clouds darken over CBD as more states consider banning delta-8 https://hemptoday.net/dark-clouds-grow-over-cbd-as-more-states-consider-banning-delta-8/ Should Fashion Industry Switch To Sustainability To Fight Climate Change? https://www.thequint.com/news/environment/should-fashion-industry-switch-to-sustainability-to-fight-climate-change Thanks to our Sponsors! Mpactful Ventures https://www.mpactfulventures.org/ Sponsor Spotlight on FARM: a platform for investing in farmland regeneration https://www.farmland.fi/ IND HEMP https://indhemp.com/
This week on the podcast we talk to the board of directors of the newly revamped Pennsylvania Hemp Industry Council.
Erica Stark, Lori Daytner, Cynthia Petrone-Hudock, Cameron McIntosh and Drew Oberholtzer are active business leaders and advocates for industrial hemp in Pennsylvania.
The council received $150,000 in grant money from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture for Project Invest in PA Hemp, which aims to attract investment in the state’s hemp sector.
Petrone-Hudock, co-owner of Hemp-Alternative in Chester County, said the grant seeks to increase customer awareness of agricultural products.
“We're going to shift our message away from investing in growing hemp, because we've sort of proven in the state that that can get done,” she said, “to investing in sustainable product development through the use of hemp.”
Oberholtzer, co-founder of Coexist Build, a design firm with a line of hempcrete construction products, said the goal of the project is to develop and create a communication strategy that brings “investment into Pennsylvania for Pennsylvania hemp companies, creating partnerships with public and private entities.”
Daytner, vice president of program development at Don Services, the New Castle company that created the Project PA Hemp Home, said the scope of the new project involves education and outreach.
“But,” she said, “there's also the financial and commercial side of it where investors may say, ‘Oh yeah, this piques my interest,’ but investors want numbers. They want an understanding of what's behind the opportunities that are here.”
Petrone-Hudock said “build demand, build demand, build demand” is the key.
From a grain perspective, she said, “we need food ingredient suppliers, we need chefs, we need restaurant owners, we need local food networks to be in it, really embracing hemp. We need fabric dependent businesses to start looking at hemp as an alternative.
“We need builders and designers and architects, and we need homeowners to say, ‘I want to live in an eco-friendly house that's going to be healthy for me.’ Like the whole key here is what's healthy. And if you embed hemp in your lifestyle, you can't go wrong. And so I think it is sort of changing the message and the target, and continuing to build this demand at the consumer level.”
McIntosh, owner of hempcrete construction company Americhanvre, is confident in the project and points to the Ag Department’s support as a major factor in its success.
“Just the fact that our Department of Agriculture is putting up this kind of money specifically for promotion of hemp products grown, manufactured and produced in Pennsylvania — that's success right there,” he said.
Stark, PAHIC chair and executive director of the National Hemp Association, said the council is “the perfect vehicle to make sure that the positive impacts of all of the materials that are created through this grant continue to be implemented and used indefinitely, because our our mission and our goal is to have a robust and vital hemp industry here in PA.”
Pennsylvania Hemp Industry Council
https://www.pahic.org/
Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture's Hemp Program
https://www.agriculture.pa.gov/Plants_Land_Water/hemp/Pages/default.aspx
News Nuggets
Farmers March on Washington to Demand Climate Legislation
https://www.lancasterfarming.com/farmers-march-on-washington-to-demand-climate-legislation/article_b81d183e-bda9-11ed-9a2e-9f76ff7759af.html
Pingree Introduces Bipartisan Bill to End Discriminatory Hemp Policy
https://pingree.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=4507
Why India is losing trillion-dollar hemp economy
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/voices/why-india-is-losing-trillion-dollar-hemp-economy/
Thanks to our Sponsors!
King's Agriseeds
https://kingsagriseeds.com/
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
8000 Kicks is a Portuguese hemp shoe company founded by Bernardo Carreira and his grandmother Otilia.
This week on the hemp podcast we talk to Carreira about the company and why he wanted to make shoes from hemp.
“Cannabis fiber happens to be one of the most sustainable, durable natural fibers in the world,” he said. “And fashion is one of the biggest polluters in the world, so it seems like you have a pretty amazing, clear solution for a very big problem.”
Today's show offers a unique look at the global hemp supply chain and a reminder that China is still the dominant player in hemp for textiles.
“The first hemp we were buying was from France. And then we were buying from Romania,” Carriera said. “But then we realized that the best hemp in the world was in China.”
China is far ahead of the rest of the world on hemp textiles, he said, because the Chinese never banned hemp the way the rest of the world did in the 20th Century. While the world lost 80 years of hemp production and development, China never skipped a beat.
Carreira said he is hopeful that one day he will be able to source his raw materials from European or American producers, thereby cutting down on manufacturing time and shipping cost.
Carreira’s grandmother Otilia, co-founder of the company, has a lifetime of experience working in the textile industry in Portugal, but Carreira said she was not at all on board with his original idea of making shoes from hemp because of the marijuana stigma around hemp.
But examining hemp fabric first hand she saw that hemp had nothing to do with drugs and was a very interesting material, full of possibilities, Carreira said.
8000 Kicks makes several lines of men's and women's shoes and boots, as well as various accessories like backpacks, hats, wallets and socks.
Carreira has offered to giveaway a pair of hemp boots to one lucky listener of the podcast. Get the details by listening to the whole show at lancasterfarming.com or by phone at 857-385-7946 or wherever you get your podcasts.
8000Kicks
https://www.8000kicks.com/
8000 Kicks Chelsea Boot Kickstarter
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dopekicks/8000kicks-the-waterproof-vegan-boots
Industrial Hemp Podcast Instagram Page https://www.instagram.com/industrialhemppodcast/
News Nuggets
NoCo Hemp Expohttps://www.nocohempexpo.com/
March 8 is National Bio-based Products Dayhttps://www.biopreferred.gov/BioPreferred/faces/pages/NBPD.xhtml
USDA's Value-Added Producer grant Programhttps://www.rd.usda.gov/programs-services/business-programs/value-added-producer-grants
More Grant's from USDA's Local Agriculture Market Program (LAMP)https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/grants/lamp
Thanks to Our Sponsors: Mpactful Ventures https://www.mpactfulventures.org/
INDHEMP https://indhemp.com/
This week on the hemp podcast, we talk to Herb Grove, hemp farmer and bison rancher from Centre County, Pennsylvania.
Grove’s family has been farming the land around Brush Mountain for generations, but Grove didn't get into raising bison until 2011.
“We started out with two cows, two yearlings and two calves,” Grove said. “That was our first six animals and we had no clue what we were getting into.”
After getting into it without any information whatsoever, Grove said, he joined the EBA — the Eastern Bison Association, and started networking with a lot of local bison farmers. He “fell in love with the people and what the purpose was, and from that point on it’s just kind of history,” he said.
Grove now has one the larger bison herds east of the Mississippi with over 220 head, he said.
Grove got his start growing hemp in 2019 when he contracted with Groff North America in Red Lion, York County, to grow about 150 acres of fiber hemp. He also tried his hand at growing hemp for grain, which he took to Susquehanna Mills in Muncy to press for oil.
“At that point we had the byproduct of the seeds after the oil’s out of it, and what better opportunity to do then start feeding it to your animals,” he said.
The bison didn't like the seed cake on it’s own, so Grove grinds it up and puts in the ration. He teamed up with Penn State to do feeding trials to study the effects of hemp on the herd.
“Unfortunately, because it's not legal to sell a finished animal for protein being fed on hemp, we can continue to feed hemp up until the last three months. And then we have to pull the hemp out of the feed rations at this point and supplement a different protein,” Grove said.
The first time he took hemp-fed animals to his local processor, “the state got wind of it, you know, they showed up, locked their carcass up in the cooler.”
Grove said the differences in the hemp-fed bison are noticeable. Their coats look shinier, the animals look healthier. And he said he can even tell the difference in the taste of the meat.
Grove is now working with the Hemp Fed Coalition to change the policies around using hemp as a livestock feed.
More information on Brush Mountain Bison https://www.facebook.com/brushmountainbison
Buck Wild Bison https://buckwildbison.com/
Hemp Feed Coalition https://hempfeedcoalition.org/
Eastern Bison Association https://www.ebabison.org/
Susquehanna Millshttps://susquehannamills.com/
Healthy Oil Seeds https://healthyoilseeds.com/
News Nuggets
Hempitecture opens first industrial hemp manufacturing plant in U.S. https://www.kivitv.com/ksaw/hempitecture-opens-first-industrial-hemp-manufacturing-plant-in-u-s Hemp growers say industry 'stymied' in Nebraska https://www.ketv.com/amp/article/nebraska-hemp-growers-say-industry-stymied/43016425 Zimbabwe strikes hemp from drugs list, sets THC limit at 1.0% https://hemptoday.net/zimbabwe-strikes-hemp-from-drugs-list-sets-thc-limit-at-1-0/ In Search for Sustainable Materials, Developers Turn to Hemp https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/21/business/hemp-construction-buildings.html Illinois Hemp Growers Association https://www.illinoishga.com/ Thanks to our Sponsors
National Hemp Association https://nationalhempassociation.org/ IND HEMP https://indhemp.com/
This week on the Lancaster Farming Hemp Podcast, we talk with James Forbes and Rich Selby from Tiber Fiber, a hemp processor near St. Louis with one facility in Fenton, Missouri, and another just across the Mississippi River in Sauget, Illinois.
“We have a unique symbiotic relationship with our farmers in which we extend grower contracts and agreements along with feedstock and agronomy support to ensure that our farmers here in the Midwest are successful in growing the crop that we need to feed our hemp fiber processing plant,” said Forbes, co-founder and chief operations officer at Tiger Fiber.
Selby is a co-founder of the company, the de facto chief financial officer, and he manages the agronomy program with Forbes.
The partners met at the University of Missouri and founded Tiger Fiber with Jerred Killoren in 2018.
In this episode, Selby and Forbes tell the story of the company, describe the processing facilities, explain how they contract with farmers, and share how they handle the challenge of building a company in a new industry.
Selby said one of the options their farmers can choose is price per pound. He said they’re contracting with a farm in Illinois that knocked it out of the park.
“They showed me and all the rest of us how to farm it,” he said. “And they did 50 acres and they chose the price per pound option. And they made more money than they could make with corn and soybeans.”
Tiger Fiber https://tigerfiberhemp.com/
Tiger Fiber on the Socials LI: tiger-fiber-hemp-company
FB: tigerfiberhemp
IG: @tigerfiber Thanks to our sponsors: Mpactful Ventures https://www.mpactfulventures.org/
IND HEMP https://indhemp.com/
This week on the hemp podcast we talk to Seth Boone, vice president of business development at PanXchange, a Colorado-based market structures solutions company and a leading benchmark price provider and analyst in the hemp industry.
PanXchange also facilitates a trade platform, which Boone sees becoming “a central marketplace for the main products in hemp — fiber and grain, as well as cannabinoids,” he said.
Boone is the lead author of an in-depth report titled US Industrial Hemp Fiber: Processor Capacity and Margins, which provides an overview of the domestic market, including supply and demand figures, anticipated trends, and a competitive landscape with price comparisons of incumbent materials.
Published in December 2022, the report showcases the significant growth of hemp fiber industry in the few short years since the 2018 Farm Bill brought hemp back into the fold of industrial crops.
Boone said there is tremendous opportunity on fiber side, which “lead us into doing that report, as well as just what we are seeing emerging in the U.S. in the fiber industry,” he said. “It seems like there's so many people really waiting on green lights to come in and tackle this industry.”
What are those green lights?
“Everyone's waiting on a supply chain to be built, Boone said. “And this year would be the first year that we had significant decortication capacity.”
Processing capacity in the U.S. has been scant, with only a handful of facilities in operation.
“Maybe five processors that have been working on proof of concept,” he said, but this year those five processors are ready for scale production and have plans to plant the acreage necessary.
And right at their heels are another “twenty or so processors that are scaling into that right now and over the next five years,” he said.
But what’s missing, he said, are second and third tier processing levels, like spinning, roving, carding and cottonization, a process that adapts hemp fibers so they can be blended with cotton and wool fibers.
Boone sees 2023 as a pivotal time for the industry as processing capacity starts to scale.
“This will be the first year that there's really an opportunity to have supply to work with in the U.S.,” he said.
For Boone, that’s one of the reasons PanXchange published the report in the first place:
“Honestly, we really kind of need to show them that the green light is there,” said Boone.
PanXchange https://panxchange.com/ US Industrial Hemp Fiber: Processor Capacity and Margins The following link will give you 5% off purchase price simply for being a loyal listener to our podcast: https://panxchange.com/purchase-us-industrial-hemp-fiber-processor-capacity-and-margins-lancaster/ News Nuggets or Calendar Items, You Decide Wisconsin Cannabis Industry and Policy Summit February 15, 2023 https://www.indigenouscannabis.org/wisconsin-cannabis-summit Virtual 2023 Vermont Industrial Hemp Conference February 23, 2023 https://www.uvm.edu/sites/default/files/Northwest-Crops-and-Soils-Program/2023%20Events/Industrial%20Hemp%20Conf/2023_HempConf_Brochure.pdf Illinois Department of Ag Hemp Summit March 15, 2023 Save the date. Fingers crossed, more info to come.
Illinois Dept of Ag https://www2.illinois.gov/sites/agr/Plants/Pages/Industrial-Hemp.aspx
Send the Illinois Department of Agriculture an email asking about the event. Seriously it's like 5 weeks away and there's absolutely no information online about it. And if no one shows up, they'll scratch their government heads as to why it was so poorly attended. Sorry, Illinois, I don't mean to be so passive aggressive towards your Department of Ag. It's just that there are actual and concrete things they can do as a department to show they support the industry and are taking hemp seriously, one of which is promoting their own event. https://www2.illinois.gov/sites/agr/About/Pages/ContactUs.aspx For More information about growing hemp in the Land of Lincoln, contact: Illinois Hemp Growers Association https://www.illinoishga.com/ Virtual Nebraska Hemp Conference and Trade ShowSorry, I forgot to mention this one on the show, but it's coming up soon too. March 25-26, 2023 https://www.bionebraska.org/nebraska-hemp-conference-and-trade-show/ Noco Hemp Expo March 29-21, 2023 Colorado Springs, CO https://www.nocohempexpo.com/ Thanks to our sponsors IND HEMP https://indhemp.com/ King's Agriseeds https://kingsagriseeds.com/
In the second episode of season three we talk with Pennsylvania state Sen. Tim Kearney of Delaware County, who recently introduced a bill that would rewrite Pennsylvania's definition of hemp so it matches the federal definition and would remove hemp from the state’s list of controlled substances.
The 2018 Farm Bill removed industrial hemp from the federal list of controlled substances, but industrial hemp is still considered a controlled substance at the state level in Pennsylvania, creating a potentially precarious legal situation for hemp growers in the state.
“That's important,” Kearney said, “because we don't want anybody to fear prosecution in interactions with the police over a legal product."
“Hemp entrepreneurs should not have to fear whether they're going to get tangled up in legal proceedings over their farms or their businesses,” he said.
PA Senate Memorandum: Removing Industrial Hemp from PA's Schedule of Controlled Substances
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=S&SPick=20230&cosponId=39116
How to contact your state representatives in Pennsylvania
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/findyourlegislator/index.cfm
News Nuggets
USDA Issues First National Hemp Report Announcement
https://www.ams.usda.gov/press-release/usda-issues-first-national-hemp-report
USDA's First National Hemp Report
https://www.ams.usda.gov/mnreports/fvhemp.pdf
Shapiro Administration Awards $200,000 to Grow Hemp Industry; Invites Proposals for $392,000 in Grants
https://www.media.pa.gov/Pages/Agriculture_details.aspx?newsid=1298
FDA Concludes that Existing Regulatory Frameworks for Foods and Supplements are Not Appropriate for Cannabidiol, Will Work with Congress on a New Way Forward
https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-concludes-existing-regulatory-frameworks-foods-and-supplements-are-not-appropriate-cannabidiol?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery
Mariposa Investment Opportunity
https://wefunder.com/mariposa.technology.inc/
Special Thanks to our Sponsors:
Mpactful Ventures
https://www.mpactfulventures.org/
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
This is the first episode of season three of the Industrial Hemp Podcast, in which we zoom out a bit and talk about the basics: what industrial hemp is, how it’s used, and why it’s important.
In this episode you will hear podcast host Eric Hurlock explain from his unique perspective the following things and more:
• What hemp is
• How it differs from marijuana
• The history of hemp
• The importance of hemp in ancient times
• How cannabis prohibition came about
• The legal definition of hemp
• The parts of the cannabis plant
• Various uses of the plant, specifically the fiber, hurd and grain
• Nutritional value of hemp
• How hemp can help mitigate climate change
• How much carbon hemp can sequester
• Industry challenges
• Much, much more
More information about topics covered in this episode:
Greg Wilson, HempWood
Bruce Dietzen, Renew Hemp Sports Car
IND HEMP in Montana
Nutritional Value of Hemp
History of Hemp
Thanks to our sponsor:
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
Here's part two of our 2022 Year in Review, in which we listen back to episodes 26 through 49.
On part one of our year in review, we listen back to the first 25 hemp podcast episodes of 2022.
This week on the Hemp Podcast, we check back in with hempcrete builder Cameron McIntosh, who has had a busy year building projects around the country, hosting workshops, and lecturing for universities and organizations like the American Institute of Architects.
He gives an overview of the building projects he completed this year, including several in Pennsylvania and a few on the West Coast.
Earlier in this year, hempcrete construction was added to the International Residential Code index, which he says is a great first step toward gaining approval for hempcrete for commercial building.
“It's a good step in that direction, saying that we've got good, prescriptive guidance on how to do this properly,” he said.
His company, Americhanvre Cast-Hemp, imports hemp hurd from France because the domestic market is not fully developed, but McInstosh said American producers are getting close.
His company is the North American distributor of the Ereasy Spay Applied Hempcrete System.
McIntosh also addresses concern brought up by a previous podcast guest who had an issue with the lack of R-value testing on hempcrete.
Americhanvre Cast-Hemp https://americhanvre.com/ Video: Cameron Explains the Ereasy Spray Applied Hempcrete System https://www.lancasterfarming.com/community/videos/cameron-mcintosh-explains-the-ereasy-spray-applied-hempcrete-system/video_e8114c8c-03d8-11eb-821e-e7627e6e69c7.html
News Nuggets Sen. Hinchey’s bill to expand use of industrial hemp signed into law https://westchester.news12.com/sen-hincheys-bill-to-expand-use-of-industrial-hemp-signed-into-law Hemp: Growing A Made-In-USA Industry https://www.textileworld.com/textile-world/features/2022/12/hemp-growing-a-made-in-usa-industry/ Texas researchers say they’ll have new hemp varieties ready by 2024 https://hemptoday.net/texas-researchers-say-theyll-have-new-hemp-varieties-ready-by-2024/ Thanks to our Sponsors: IND HEMP https://indhemp.com/ Mpactful Venture https://www.mpactfulventures.org/
Last week, in Bangkok, Thailand, a delegation from the American hemp industry took part in the 2022 Asia International Hemp Expo.
On this special edition of the podcast, we hear from three members of that delegation about why they went, what was accomplished, and what the overall experience was like.
We talk to Morris Beegle, the founder of the NoCo Hemp Expo; Gregg Gnecco, marketing director at IND HEMP in Montana; and Mandi Kerri, CEO of the Global Hemp Association.
On this week’s hemp podcast, we talk to Sarah Stephens, CEO of Midwest Hemp Technology, a hemp processing company in Augusta, Kansas, that contracts local farmers to grow hemp grain and fiber to produce hemp seed food and oil, as well as long-strand fiber.
Stephens’ journey into hemp started with CBD, but she realized that the potential for long-term growth was on the fiber and grain side, especially in Kansas with it’s ample farmland and existing agriculture infrastructure.
“I grew for CBD the first two seasons, like 95% of all licenses in Kansas were designated for,” she said. “And I was going to some of these events and farmers were talking about walking their fields and pulling out males and drip tape. And it just did not equate to what I see as traditional production farming.”
While overall fiber and grain acreage in the Sunflower State is still relatively low, there is increasing interest among farmers.
Midwest Hemp Technology is one of several hemp processors in Kansas, including South Bend Industrial Hemp and Prairie Band Ag.
Stephens said the Kansas Department of Agriculture is supportive of the hemp program and she gets the sense that the state wants it to succeed, but the department’s hands are sometimes tied when it comes to regulations.
“But I see them advocating for rural changes and easing of restrictions and more commonsense approaches,” she said.
Midwest Hemp Technology
https://www.midwesthemptech.com/
"Harvest & Hemp on the Horizon"
4th Annual Kansas Hemp Conference Q4 Webinar
Register here:
https://secure.touchnet.com/C21797_ustores/web/store_cat.jsp?STOREID=34&CATID=519&SINGLESTORE=true
News Nuggets
UN report on hemp marks path to an $18 billion global industry
https://hemptoday.net/un-report-on-hemp-marks-path-to-an-18-billion-global-industry/
UN Report on Hemp
https://unctad.org/webflyer/commodities-glance-special-issue-industrial-hemp
Update: SD Hemp Industry Is On The Grow
https://www.yankton.net/community/article_6630eaf8-751c-11ed-923e-8b7e55627eb9.html
Newly formed global hemp body names Australian on inaugural board
https://www.cannabiz.com.au/newly-formed-global-hemp-body-names-australian-to-inaugural-board/
Thanks to our Sponsors:
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
New Holland Ag
https://agriculture.newholland.com/nar/en-us
On this week’s hemp podcast, we talk to Morgan Tweet, executive director of the Hemp Feed Coalition, who recently participated in a two-day hemp feed workshop co-hosted by the coalition, Oregon State University and the Hemp Innovation Center.
There was a strong showing of university researchers at the event, along with representatives of FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine and the Association of American Feed Control Officials.
“We felt like the best way to have a productive dialog between research, regulators and industry,” Tweet said, “was to bring everyone into one room to review what current research there was, have the discussion about what was needed, and then identify steps forward.”
Hemp grain was given GRAS (generally regarded as safe) status for human consumption by the FDA many years ago, but it is not federally legal to feed hemp grain to livestock.
Some states, like Montana, have written laws to allow hemp grain to be used in feed for companion animals, but the process to gain widespread approval for hemp as a livestock feed for production animals involves time-consuming and expensive testing, Tweet said.
Hemp grain has an attractive nutritional profile — high in protein and amino acids — and is often referred to as a superfood, but without opening up the livestock feed markets, hemp grain producers have nowhere to go with their seed cake byproducts after crushing the grain for oil, hampering the growth of the industry.
Tweet said there is reason to be optimistic and pointed to Pennsylvania, where Wenger Feeds was given special permission to market its Chiques Creek Hemp-Fed Eggs within the borders of the state.
Hemp Feed Coalition
https://hempfeedcoalition.org/
Kansas State Study on Hemp Feed
https://www.lancasterfarming.com/farming-news/hemp/short-term-feeding-of-industrial-hemp-with-a-high-cannabidiolic-acid-cbda-content-increases-lying/pdf_4a0c6adc-70df-11ed-855c-a3c50f8c0b4c.html
News Nuggets
Hemp Can Be Crucial To Control Climate Change And It's Destined To Be Wildly Profitable, Win-Win?
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/hemp-crucial-control-climate-change-191728600.html
Could hemp be a key tool in fight against climate change?
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/nov/24/could-hemp-be-a-key-tool-in-fight-against-climate-change
Home Office hampering potential of Scotland's hemp farmers
https://www.thenational.scot/news/23152035.home-office-hampering-potential-scotlands-hemp-farmers/
CBD for Arthritis in Seniors
https://www.greenstate.com/explained/cbd-for-arthritis-in-seniors/
Hemp Innovations Foundation Funds Hemp Recycles Research Study
https://www.cannabisbusinesstimes.com/article/hemp-innovations-foundation-awards-grant-hemp-recycles-research-project/
Where Does All the Cardboard Come From? I Had to Know.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/28/magazine/cardboard-international-paper.html
Hempitecture awarded $500,000 in Grow-NY Food and Agriculture Competition
https://www.localsyr.com/news/local-news/grow-ny-announces-winners-from-global-competition/
Thanks to our Sponsor IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
“During the Civil War, there was a battle in Lexington, Missouri. It was occurring around the Masonic College, right on the Missouri River. Soldiers found some hemp bales that were about to be shipped downstream. They used these hemp bales as a movable breastwork and pushed them up the hill to win the battle that became known as the Battle of the Hemp Bales.”
That’s just one of the interesting tales told by hemp historian John Dvorak on this week’s hemp podcast.
Dvorak has been researching the history of hemp for over thirty years and has archived his work at Hempology.org, where you can find a trove of historical documents and images from American and world history.
Dvorak uses his research to educate and advocate for sensible hemp and cannabis reform. He gives talks at universities around the country, sharing what he calls his “Cannabis Curriculum" with students, encouraging them to dig deeper into the history of the hemp plant.
“I've been all around all sorts of different colleges talking to the students, letting them know that no matter what class they're taking, they can apply it to cannabis, hemp, marijuana or the drug war,” he said.
Dvorak said his research contradicts the standard narrative of why hemp was prohibited in the 1930s, that it wasn't a diabolical conspiracy by industry tycoons who saw hemp as a threat to their fortunes.
“Hemp was not a threat to anybody in the 1930s. It was an afterthought. So that was one of the biggest surprises that I found doing my research is that it just wasn't a conspiracy,” he said.
Dvorak got his start researching hemp in the 1990s and credits a handful of hemp pioneers with laying the groundwork for the modern hemp industry, folks like Jack Herer, Don Wirtshafter, and Eric Steenstra.
John Dvorak's Hempology
http://hempology.org/
Hemp Hemp Hooray! Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJagE1r4EpE
Ellora Caves
https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/243/
The Battle of the Hemp Bales
https://civilwaronthewesternborder.org/encyclopedia/first-battle-lexington-or-battle-hemp-bales
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's Ropewalk
https://www.hwlongfellow.org/poems_poem.php?pid=139
A Day in the Ropewalk at Mystic Seaport
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LU_8-ILJRM
News Nuggets
Evacuation orders lifted after hemp plant fire in Grass Valley
https://www.koin.com/news/oregon/hemp-plant-fire-in-grass-valley-oregon-burns-5-prompts-evacuations/
Cows That Ate Hemp Produced Milk With THC and CBD
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/cows-that-ate-hemp-produced-milk-with-thc-and-cbd-180981131/
Food sector is chance for Colorado hemp to rebound, U.S. group says
https://hemptoday.net/food-sector-is-chance-for-colorado-hemp-to-rebound-u-s-group-says/
Thanks to our Sponsors!
Mpactful Ventures
https://www.mpactfulventures.org/
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
This week’s Hemp Podcast is a recap of the Pennsylvania Hemp Summit that took place at the Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg, Pa., November 14 -15.
We hear opening remarks from Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding, highlights from the keynote speech by Ken Elliott from IND HEMP, as well as selected audio from a fiber and grain panel discussion and a cannabinoid panel discussion.
Speakers include:
Dr. Raj Kasula from Wenger Feeds,
David Cook from Tuscarora Mills,
Cameron McIntosh from Americhanvre Cast-Hemp,
Lori Daytner from DON Services,
Dr. Allison Justice from The Hemp Mine,
Erica Stark from the National Hemp Association,
Tom Trite from PA Options for Wellness,
Steve Groff from Cedar Meadow Farms, and
Justin DeAngelis from Rhino BioTech
Thanks to our Sponsor:
IND HEMP
Since the the 2014 Farm Bill established the legal framework for industrial hemp to return to the farm fields of the America, the commonwealth of Kentucky has been on the forefront.
For much of that time, Ag Commission Ryan Quarles has led the department in charge of the hemp program.
Quarles was elected ag commissioner in 2016 and is currently serving his second and final term.
He said Kentucky was an early leader on hemp, “because we were the hemp state historically.”
“A lot of farm families have hemp backgrounds,” he said. “You don’t have to look very far to see the fingerprints of what used to be a big cash crop.”
Quarles is a ninth-generation Kentuckian and grew up on the farm where his family grew hemp in the 1940s to support the wart effort.
Having a history of hemp cultivation was helpful, but there were still challenges in bringing the crop back, he said.
“I think the No. 1 issue with hemp in the early days was just the education of what hemp is and what hemp is not,” he said. “And so for a lot of us in the agriculture sphere, we knew that it was an industrial crop primarily used for its fiber and grain production.”
Something else that set Kentucky apart was how the state program was structured. “We knew if we're going to bring this crop back from the dead, we needed to have a legal framework that was user friendly, that involved law enforcement, but also allowed people who want to grow it or process it an opportunity to take that risk,” he said.
That legal framework set an example for other states to follow.
“We've been replicated to most across the country because I think we were really the first state, in my opinion, that really got a legal framework that passed through our General Assembly, that our agriculture community adopted,” Quarles said.
As the industry navigates the post-CBD craze market, Quarles would like to see some definitive language from the Food and Drug Administration.
“The No. 1 impediment of hemp in America is the FDA. The FDA needs to do their job and give us guidelines on what their view is on the potential regulatory aspects of CBD and other cannabinoids,” he said.
He said interest in fiber and grain production is growing in Kentucky, and he referred to two companies that are making great strides: HempWood and EcoFiber.
How does he feel about a possible exemption to lift the burdensome regulations from fiber and grain growers?
Listen and find out.
Kentucky's Hemp Program
https://www.kyagr.com/marketing/hemp-pilot.html
Hemp Policy Item Tabled Amid Concerns at Meeting of U.S. Ag Regulators
https://cannabiswire.com/2022/09/29/hemp-policy-item-tabled-amid-concerns-at-meeting-of-u-s-ag-regulators/
News Nuggets
Who’s Driving Climate Change? New Data Catalogs 72,000 Polluters and Counting
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/09/climate/climate-change-emissions-satellites.html
Heartland Completes First Industrial Hemp Fiber LCA For Carbon Negative Plastic Additives
https://www.einnews.com/pr_news/599999283/heartland-completes-first-industrial-hemp-fiber-lca-for-carbon-negative-plastic-additives
National Industrial Hemp Council Urges FDA to Approve Hemp Seed for Animal Feed
https://www.cannabisbusinesstimes.com/article/national-industrial-hemp-council-writes-letter-fda-urging-approval-hemp-seed-animal-feed/
Go to the Pennsylvania Hemp Summit, Nov. 14-15
https://pahempsummit.com/
Thanks to our Sponsors:
Americhanvre Cast Hemp
https://americhanvre.com/
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
Our guest on the podcast this week is Dr. Heather Grab, senior lecturer at Cornell University’s School of Integrative Plant Science, where she focuses on hemp cultivation and processing.
On Nov. 15, Grab will be participating in a free online event, The National Hemp Industry Needs Workshop, co-hosted by The Global Hemp Innovation Center at Oregon State University and USDA.
The workshop will cover all aspects of hemp from genetics, sustainable ag practices, harvesting and processing to manufacturing, supply chains, economics, regulations, compliance testing and more with interactive sessions led by experts in the hemp space (many of whom will be familiar to regular listeners of this podcast).
The workshop is free but you must register at hempindustryresearchneeds.org by Nov. 11.
The goal of the workshop is to bring together many voices “to contribute to the synthesis of knowledge and to understand what the needs are and how we can work together as public institutions with private partners in order to build our knowledge and put that to use,” Grab said.
Cornell’s College of Agriculture and Life Science’s hemp program has been a leading source of research in hemp genetics, pest and diseases, supply chain development and processing.
Contact Dr. Heather Grab
Cornell University profile page: https://cals.cornell.edu/heather-grab
email: heathergrab@cornell.edu
insta: @heather.grab
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heather-grab/
Cornell's Hemp Program
https://hemp.cals.cornell.edu/
Hemp Industry Research Needs Workshop
https://hempindustryresearchneeds.org/
Dr. Grab's article about Retting for Lancaster Farming newspaper, April 25, 2025
https://www.lancasterfarming.com/farming-news/retting-hemp-fiber-from-the-stalk/article_d40a884d-83f4-53c8-a196-81b8ef346611.html
News Nuggets
Company commits $17.5 million to make Virginia hemp manufacturing center
https://www.wavy.com/news/virginia/company-commits-17-5-million-to-make-virginia-hemp-manufacturing-center/
Hemp grain and fiber processing facility opening in Augusta, KS
https://www.kwch.com/2022/11/02/hemp-grain-fiber-processing-facility-opens-augusta/
Pennsylvania Hemp Summit, November 14-15
https://pahempsummit.com/
Thanks to our Sponsors
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
King's AgriSeeds
https://kingsagriseeds.com/
This week on the hemp podcast, we talk to Shane Pritchard and Bill Brill from Hemp Processing Partners, a Colorado-based company focused on providing processing solutions for fiber, grain and floral hemp production around the world.
Pritchard, chief engineer and co-founder of Hemp Processing Partners, said he sees how passionate people are about farming and genetics on one hand, and how other people are focused on what the hemp plant can be used for.
“But,” he said, “there’s kind of a void in the equipment space there in the middle to get you from the great farming practices to the great uses of hemp.”
Hemp Processing Partners, he said, was created to fill that void and provide industrial knowledge. The company started out providing processing solutions for the floral side of the industry, but has expanded into fiber and grain processing.
A vice president of business development at HPP, Brill said he sees the momentum building and soon the hemp industry will reach critical mass.
“People around the world, entities around the world, governments around the world — both domestically and internationally — are inquiring about large scale solutions,” he said. “Lately, there’s been so much smoke, we know fire’s coming.”
In this interview we talk about the company’s goals and values, how it got started and where it’s headed. The conversation also veers into interesting territory of ESG investing, carbon sequestration, changing the stigma around industrial hemp and much more.
After the interview with Hemp Processing Partners, we check in with Deputy Ag Secretary Fred Strathmeyer from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture to hear what’s in store this year at the Pennsylvania Hemp Summit in Harrisburg Nov. 14-15.
Hemp Processing Partnershttps://hempprocessingpartners.com/
Bill Brill's LinkedIn Page
https://www.linkedin.com/in/william-brill-24143314/
Hemp Industry Research Needs Work Shop
https://hempindustryresearchneeds.org/
Register for the Pennsylvania Hemp Summit
https://pahempsummit.com/register
Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture's Hemp Programhttps://www.agriculture.pa.gov/Plants_Land_Water/hemp/Pages/default.aspx
Thanks to our Sponsors!
New Holland Agriculturehttps://agriculture.newholland.com/nar/en-us
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
This week on the hemp podcast, we talk to Shane Pritchard and Bill Brill from Hemp Processing Partners, a Colorado-based company focused on providing processing solutions for fiber, grain and floral hemp production around the world.
Pritchard, chief engineer and co-founder of Hemp Processing Partners, said he sees how passionate people are about farming and genetics on one hand, and how other people are focused on what the hemp plant can be used for.
“But,” he said, “there’s kind of a void in the equipment space there in the middle to get you from the great farming practices to the great uses of hemp.”
Hemp Processing Partners, he said, was created to fill that void and provide industrial knowledge. The company started out providing processing solutions for the floral side of the industry, but has expanded into fiber and grain processing.
A vice president of business development at HPP, Brill said he sees the momentum building and soon the hemp industry will reach critical mass.
“People around the world, entities around the world, governments around the world — both domestically and internationally — are inquiring about large scale solutions,” he said. “Lately, there’s been so much smoke, we know fire’s coming.”
In this interview we talk about the company’s goals and values, how it got started and where it’s headed. The conversation also veers into interesting territory of ESG investing, carbon sequestration, changing the stigma around industrial hemp and much more.
After the interview with Hemp Processing Partners, we check in with Deputy Ag Secretary Fred Strathmeyer from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture to hear what’s in store this year at the Pennsylvania Hemp Summit in Harrisburg Nov. 14-15.
Hemp Processing Partnershttps://hempprocessingpartners.com/
Bill Brill's LinkedIn Page
https://www.linkedin.com/in/william-brill-24143314/
Hemp Industry Research Needs Work Shop
https://hempindustryresearchneeds.org/
Register for the Pennsylvania Hemp Summit
https://pahempsummit.com/register
Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture's Hemp Programhttps://www.agriculture.pa.gov/Plants_Land_Water/hemp/Pages/default.aspx
Thanks to our Sponsors!
New Holland Agriculturehttps://agriculture.newholland.com/nar/en-us
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
On this week’s hemp podcast, Lancaster Farming talks to Kevin Schultz, co-founder and president of 357 Hemp Logistics, a company that specializes in transportation and supply chain management solutions for companies in the hemp industry.
According to Schultz, there’s a whole lot more to logistics and supply chain management than most people realize.
“Logistics is sometimes a thankless job, you know, because everyone assumes it should go perfect,” Schultz said. “And when it does, a lot of times behind the scenes, there was a lot going on to make that go smooth.”
He compared logistics to a referee in sports. “If you don't know the ref is there, they probably did a pretty good job. But if all you're talking about is the referee the next day, they probably blew a call.”
Since the founding of the company in 2019, one of the challenges with the logistics of shipping hemp, Schultz said, has been unreliable paperwork and a lack of transparency.
Hemp companies are required to provide certificates of analysis, commonly called COAs, when shipping hemp products.
“We do a lot of work trying to make sure that the COAs we're getting are not tampered with,” Schultz said. “There's a lot of COAs I feel that when we see them have been edited, so we have to verify with the labs that that product is what the lab says it is.”
Schultz said he has seen fewer of these doctored certificates as the industry has matured, but it still happens.
A solution to this problem, he said, would be a tracking and tracing system similar to the cannabis industry with full seed-to-sale transparency.
“And boy, that would make our life so much easier,” he said.
357 Hemp Logistics was also recently named as a partner in a USDA-funded Climate Smart Commodities project, spearheaded by Iconoclast Industries, that will receive a $15 million grant to provide open-access industrial fiber and grain supply chain data in a digital marketplace.
357 Hemp Logistics
https://357company.com/
News Nuggets
Hemp Feed Workshop, October 26-27
https://blogs.oregonstate.edu/hempfeedworkshop/registration/
Rodale Institute Celebrates 75th Anniversary
https://www.lancasterfarming.com/farming-news/news/rodale-institute-celebrates-75-years-of-organic-education-and-research/article_7404139c-442c-11ed-8c63-f3df53c016df.html
Register for the PA Hemp Summithttps://pahempsummit.com/register
Apply for a Hemp Summit Scholarship
https://pasa.tfaforms.net/1173
Thanks to our generous sponsors
Mpactful Ventures
https://www.mpactfulventures.org/
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
On this week’s hemp podcast, Lancaster Farming talks to Kevin Schultz, co-founder and president of 357 Hemp Logistics, a company that specializes in transportation and supply chain management solutions for companies in the hemp industry.
According to Schultz, there’s a whole lot more to logistics and supply chain management than most people realize.
“Logistics is sometimes a thankless job, you know, because everyone assumes it should go perfect,” Schultz said. “And when it does, a lot of times behind the scenes, there was a lot going on to make that go smooth.”
He compared logistics to a referee in sports. “If you don't know the ref is there, they probably did a pretty good job. But if all you're talking about is the referee the next day, they probably blew a call.”
Since the founding of the company in 2019, one of the challenges with the logistics of shipping hemp, Schultz said, has been unreliable paperwork and a lack of transparency.
Hemp companies are required to provide certificates of analysis, commonly called COAs, when shipping hemp products.
“We do a lot of work trying to make sure that the COAs we're getting are not tampered with,” Schultz said. “There's a lot of COAs I feel that when we see them have been edited, so we have to verify with the labs that that product is what the lab says it is.”
Schultz said he has seen fewer of these doctored certificates as the industry has matured, but it still happens.
A solution to this problem, he said, would be a tracking and tracing system similar to the cannabis industry with full seed-to-sale transparency.
“And boy, that would make our life so much easier,” he said.
357 Hemp Logistics was also recently named as a partner in a USDA-funded Climate Smart Commodities project, spearheaded by Iconoclast Industries, that will receive a $15 million grant to provide open-access industrial fiber and grain supply chain data in a digital marketplace.
357 Hemp Logistics
https://357company.com/
News Nuggets
Hemp Feed Workshop, October 26-27
https://blogs.oregonstate.edu/hempfeedworkshop/registration/
Rodale Institute Celebrates 75th Anniversary
https://www.lancasterfarming.com/farming-news/news/rodale-institute-celebrates-75-years-of-organic-education-and-research/article_7404139c-442c-11ed-8c63-f3df53c016df.html
Register for the PA Hemp Summithttps://pahempsummit.com/register
Apply for a Hemp Summit Scholarship
https://pasa.tfaforms.net/1173
Thanks to our generous sponsors
Mpactful Ventures
https://www.mpactfulventures.org/
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
Image if you had a device to scan your hemp to determine not only the sex of your plants, but CBD and THC content too.
If this sounds like a game changer to you, then be prepared for the game to change.
New Orleans-based Mariposa Technology’s PAMAP does just that. It will not only sex your plants, but can give you accurate information on your cannabinoid levels, as well as other useful data for your growing operation.
PAMAP is short for “predictive analytical modeling application for plants” and was designed by Mariposa Technology to help with some of the common pain points in floral hemp production: sexing and testing.
This week on the Hemp Podcast, we talk to Mariposa Technology co-founder and CEO John Roberts and COO Michael Dalle Molle, who explain the new technology.
PAMAP is a handheld device that uses an agilent resolve spectrometer that shoots a laser to excite the molecules in a hemp plant, creating a molecular fingerprint.
“And when you have that structural knowledge of the living plant,” Roberts said, “then you can make all types of determinations about its health and other characteristics and chemical makeup.”
The device has implications for other ag sectors beyond the cannabis plant, but hemp was a logical place for the company to start.
“We really wanted to focus on hemp because we see the pain points in the hemp industry as being the most significant and, to be quite honest, the most easily fixed by our device,” Dalle Molle said.
Mariposa Technology
https://mariposatechnology.com/
Molecules article referenced in interview: Non-Invasive and Confirmatory Differentiation of Hermaphrodite from Both Male and Female Cannabis Plants Using a Hand-Held Raman Spectrometer
https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/27/15/4978
News Nuggets
Blue-Ribbon Day for Hemp at Unionville Fair
https://www.lancasterfarming.com/country-life/fairs-and-shows/blue-ribbon-day-for-hemp-at-unionville-fair/article_17bfc954-0b1b-54f4-957e-a83f6fc9e4d8.html
Hemp-Alternative
https://hemp-alternative.com/
Man claims Lexington store sold him delta-8 instead of CBD causing him to crash into bus
https://www.wkyt.com/2022/10/05/man-claims-lexington-store-sold-him-delta-8-instead-cbd-causing-him-crash-into-bus/
Investigators believe they know cause of metro-east industrial park fire, chief sayshttps://www.bnd.com/news/local/article266422626.html
Pennsylvania Hemp Summit
https://pahempsummit.com/
Thanks to our sponsor:
https://indhemp.com/
Image if you had a device to scan your hemp to determine not only the sex of your plants, but CBD and THC content too.
If this sounds like a game changer to you, then be prepared for the game to change.
New Orleans-based Mariposa Technology’s PAMAP does just that. It will not only sex your plants, but can give you accurate information on your cannabinoid levels, as well as other useful data for your growing operation.
PAMAP is short for “predictive analytical modeling application for plants” and was designed by Mariposa Technology to help with some of the common pain points in floral hemp production: sexing and testing.
This week on the Hemp Podcast, we talk to Mariposa Technology co-founder and CEO John Roberts and COO Michael Dalle Molle, who explain the new technology.
PAMAP is a handheld device that uses an agilent resolve spectrometer that shoots a laser to excite the molecules in a hemp plant, creating a molecular fingerprint.
“And when you have that structural knowledge of the living plant,” Roberts said, “then you can make all types of determinations about its health and other characteristics and chemical makeup.”
The device has implications for other ag sectors beyond the cannabis plant, but hemp was a logical place for the company to start.
“We really wanted to focus on hemp because we see the pain points in the hemp industry as being the most significant and, to be quite honest, the most easily fixed by our device,” Dalle Molle said.
Mariposa Technology
https://mariposatechnology.com/
Molecules article referenced in interview: Non-Invasive and Confirmatory Differentiation of Hermaphrodite from Both Male and Female Cannabis Plants Using a Hand-Held Raman Spectrometer
https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/27/15/4978
News Nuggets
Blue-Ribbon Day for Hemp at Unionville Fair
https://www.lancasterfarming.com/country-life/fairs-and-shows/blue-ribbon-day-for-hemp-at-unionville-fair/article_17bfc954-0b1b-54f4-957e-a83f6fc9e4d8.html
Hemp-Alternative
https://hemp-alternative.com/
Man claims Lexington store sold him delta-8 instead of CBD causing him to crash into bus
https://www.wkyt.com/2022/10/05/man-claims-lexington-store-sold-him-delta-8-instead-cbd-causing-him-crash-into-bus/
Investigators believe they know cause of metro-east industrial park fire, chief sayshttps://www.bnd.com/news/local/article266422626.html
Pennsylvania Hemp Summit
https://pahempsummit.com/
Thanks to our sponsor:
https://indhemp.com/
Could industrial hemp be a useful feedstock for anaerobic digesters to produce renewable natural gas?
According to Nick Walters, managing partner at National Hemp Growers Cooperative, the answer is a resounding yes.
Walters shared with Lancaster Farming the executive summary of a white paper to be released next week that shows that hemp not only can compete with other energy crops, but that it surpasses other crops in its input-output ratio. That means hemp requires fewer inputs than traditional biofuel crops like corn and beets but produces a higher-energy fuel than them.
Walters said hemp has the potential to produce 208 million Btu per acre, which is the equivalent of 60,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity, enough to run a clothes dryer 24 hours a day for 27 months, based on research by his team, which is led by agronomist David Cornett and Eberhard Lucke, CEO of Lucke Consulting Technology Services.
Apart from its energy potential, hemp grown regeneratively (with no-till, cover crops etc.) can pull carbon from the atmosphere and lock that carbon into the soil, thereby being a method for carbon sequestration and climate change mitigation.
Hemp is also an attractive energy source, Walters said, because it doesn’t “enter the food versus fuel conversation. You are squarely in the food versus fuel conversation as it relates to fodder beets, because those are getting fed primarily to livestock.”
As to why the co-op is publishing this study, Walters says it’s part of its “very unique business model that enables our members and our investors to be involved in multiple value-added processing facilities for the various uses of hemp all throughout the country. And we are focused on building wealth for our members through regenerative agriculture and sustainable development.”
Plus, we talk to Lori Daytner from DON Services in New Castle, Pennsylvania, where work has been completed on the Project PA Hemp Home. She gives us an update on the project, including how they turned locally hemp grown into HempWood flooring.
National Hemp Growers Coop
https://nationalhempcoop.us/
DON Services
https://www.doninc.org/
DON Processing
https://processing.doninc.net/
Project PA Hemp Home
https://healthymaterialslab.org/projects/pa-hemp-home
Register for the Pennsylvania Hemp Summit
https://pahempsummit.com/
Thanks to our Sponsors
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
King's Agriseeds
https://kingsagriseeds.com/
Could industrial hemp be a useful feedstock for anaerobic digesters to produce renewable natural gas?
According to Nick Walters, managing partner at National Hemp Growers Cooperative, the answer is a resounding yes.
Walters shared with Lancaster Farming the executive summary of a white paper to be released next week that shows that hemp not only can compete with other energy crops, but that it surpasses other crops in its input-output ratio. That means hemp requires fewer inputs than traditional biofuel crops like corn and beets but produces a higher-energy fuel than them.
Walters said hemp has the potential to produce 208 million Btu per acre, which is the equivalent of 60,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity, enough to run a clothes dryer 24 hours a day for 27 months, based on research by his team, which is led by agronomist David Cornett and Eberhard Lucke, CEO of Lucke Consulting Technology Services.
Apart from its energy potential, hemp grown regeneratively (with no-till, cover crops etc.) can pull carbon from the atmosphere and lock that carbon into the soil, thereby being a method for carbon sequestration and climate change mitigation.
Hemp is also an attractive energy source, Walters said, because it doesn’t “enter the food versus fuel conversation. You are squarely in the food versus fuel conversation as it relates to fodder beets, because those are getting fed primarily to livestock.”
As to why the co-op is publishing this study, Walters says it’s part of its “very unique business model that enables our members and our investors to be involved in multiple value-added processing facilities for the various uses of hemp all throughout the country. And we are focused on building wealth for our members through regenerative agriculture and sustainable development.”
Plus, we talk to Lori Daytner from DON Services in New Castle, Pennsylvania, where work has been completed on the Project PA Hemp Home. She gives us an update on the project, including how they turned locally hemp grown into HempWood flooring.
National Hemp Growers Coop
https://nationalhempcoop.us/
DON Services
https://www.doninc.org/
DON Processing
https://processing.doninc.net/
Project PA Hemp Home
https://healthymaterialslab.org/projects/pa-hemp-home
Register for the Pennsylvania Hemp Summit
https://pahempsummit.com/
Thanks to our Sponsors
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
King's Agriseeds
https://kingsagriseeds.com/
What do HempWood in Murray, Kentucky, and Cedar Meadow Farm in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, have in common?
Both are hemp businesses involved in projects selected by USDA to receive funding in the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities program.
Does this mean that Cedar Meadow Farm and HempWood each get a big bag of money from the government?
Nope, that’s not how it works, but on this week’s podcast we dig in and try to find out what it all means.
First, Greg Wilson, founder of HempWood, talks about his connection to the Lincoln University project that was awarded $5 million in the program to scale the hemp supply chain as a carbon negative feedstock for fiber and fuel.
Wilson said he is especially enthusiastic about the educational aspects of the project.
“If more people know how to grow hemp and it de-risks the situation, it will help our supply chain for making building materials,” he said.
HempWood produces flooring made from hemp stalks held together by a soy-based glue in a carbon-negative facility in Murray, Kentucky.
“It’s the only carbon negative flooring that’s made in America that is certified by the USDA as well as three nonpartisan certifying bodies for our lifecycle analysis and environmental product declaration that have just been formally published by ASTM last month,” Wilson said.
Then, we check in with Lancaster County hemp farmer and cover crop expert Steve Groff, whose Cedar Meadow Farm is a partner in a project awarded $15 million to develop the fiber and grain sectors of the industry.
Groff said he is excited about the project because its goals match what he’s doing on his farm.
“Growing all kinds of hemp — CBD, fiber and grain — and to do that in a way that’s, well, climate-smart,” he said.
HempWood
https://hempwood.com/
Cedar Meadow Farm
https://cedarmeadow.farm/
Check out Lancaster Farming's Hemp Special Section
https://lancasterfarming-pa.newsmemory.com/?special=Hemp
Lancaster Farming Visits HempWood in Murray, KY: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uua964Y6BbA
What is HempWood in 60 Seconds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqIZZqZx43Q
Thanks to our Sponsors:
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
Mpactful Ventures
https://www.mpactfulventures.org/
What do HempWood in Murray, Kentucky, and Cedar Meadow Farm in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, have in common?
Both are hemp businesses involved in projects selected by USDA to receive funding in the Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities program.
Does this mean that Cedar Meadow Farm and HempWood each get a big bag of money from the government?
Nope, that’s not how it works, but on this week’s podcast we dig in and try to find out what it all means.
First, Greg Wilson, founder of HempWood, talks about his connection to the Lincoln University project that was awarded $5 million in the program to scale the hemp supply chain as a carbon negative feedstock for fiber and fuel.
Wilson said he is especially enthusiastic about the educational aspects of the project.
“If more people know how to grow hemp and it de-risks the situation, it will help our supply chain for making building materials,” he said.
HempWood produces flooring made from hemp stalks held together by a soy-based glue in a carbon-negative facility in Murray, Kentucky.
“It’s the only carbon negative flooring that’s made in America that is certified by the USDA as well as three nonpartisan certifying bodies for our lifecycle analysis and environmental product declaration that have just been formally published by ASTM last month,” Wilson said.
Then, we check in with Lancaster County hemp farmer and cover crop expert Steve Groff, whose Cedar Meadow Farm is a partner in a project awarded $15 million to develop the fiber and grain sectors of the industry.
Groff said he is excited about the project because its goals match what he’s doing on his farm.
“Growing all kinds of hemp — CBD, fiber and grain — and to do that in a way that’s, well, climate-smart,” he said.
HempWood
https://hempwood.com/
Cedar Meadow Farm
https://cedarmeadow.farm/
Check out Lancaster Farming's Hemp Special Section
https://lancasterfarming-pa.newsmemory.com/?special=Hemp
Lancaster Farming Visits HempWood in Murray, KY: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uua964Y6BbA
What is HempWood in 60 Seconds: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqIZZqZx43Q
Thanks to our Sponsors:
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
Mpactful Ventures
https://www.mpactfulventures.org/
Carrfields, one of the leading agricultural companies in New Zealand, has operations spanning Kiwi agriculture, from machinery to seed production and distribution, irrigation, precision ag technology and everything in between.
Craig Carr, group managing director and guest on this week’s Hemp Podcast, said his father started the business over 40 years ago with a handful of straw contracts in the Canterbury region of the South Island of New Zealand.
Moving into machinery service and seed production in the 1990s, the business really took off in the 2000s when the Kiwi dairy industry went through a period of growth.
“It was a big time in New Zealand of change, of farming. Dairy was really starting to grow,” he said. “And with that our business grew also.”
This growth enabled Carrfields to acquire several other ag businesses, making them a major player in New Zealand agriculture.
Carrfields has been working in the hemp sector for over 20 years, with an early focus on oil seed production and combine harvesters, and has since been working with fiber hemp for industrial uses.
Carr attended the Montana Hemp Summit in August and was impressed with the level of cooperation and collaboration among the U.S. hemp industry in the grain and fiber sectors.
“What probably stood out to me the most was the willingness of IND HEMP and others to actually work together for the benefit of the industry,” he said.
“Even though we’re way down here in New Zealand, there’s a huge opportunity for us to share learnings and to actually share information around what has worked and what hasn’t worked, because when you’re dealing with a product like hemp — and particularly hemp fiber — you know, you’re very reliant, as most people will note, on Mother Nature.”
Carr said the biggest challenge the industry faces, in New Zealand and abroad, is making it profitable for producers.
“Because if the crop is not sustainably profitable, then we are not going to have that supply base in the future,” he said. “We need to ensure that all of the financial metrics go back and start with the farmer.”
Carrfields
https://www.carrfields.co.nz/
New Zealand Natural Fibers
https://nznaturalfibres.co.nz/
Connect with Carrfields on Social Media
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CarrfieldsNZ & https://www.facebook.com/contactNZNF
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carrfieldsnz/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/carrfields-nz/ & https://www.linkedin.com/company/nz-natural-fibres
Hemp News Nuggets
Police Raid German Hemp Farm
https://businesscann.com/european-round-up-police-raid-german-hemp-farm-tilray-in-talks-with-cannabis-czar-new-european-thc-levels-approved-et-al/
Regulations for the Production of Industrial Hemp are Established in Costa Rica
https://thecostaricanews.com/regulations-for-the-production-of-industrial-hemp-are-established-in-costa-rica/
Why Hemp Is Entering the Mainstream and Adding Value to Business
https://www.rollingstone.com/culture-council/articles/why-hemp-is-entering-mainstream-and-adding-value-to-business-1234588120/
National Hemp Growers Coop partners with Troy University Manufacturing Sciences
https://www.wtvy.com/2022/09/08/national-hemp-growers-partner-with-troy-university-manufacturing-sciences/
National Hemp Growers Cooperative
https://nationalhempcoop.us/
Billionaire No More: Patagonia Founder Gives Away the Company
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/14/climate/patagonia-climate-philanthropy-chouinard.html
Climate Projects Tied to Pennsylvania Get $900 Million
https://www.lancasterfarming.com/farming-news/conservation/climate-projects-tied-to-pennsylvania-get-900-million/article_dd2cf622-3473-11ed-a221-179b31d68ee2.html
Climate-Smart Commodities Grant Recipients
https://www.usda.gov/climate-solutions/climate-smart-commodities/projects
Thanks to our Sponsors
Americhanvre Cast-Hemp
https://americhanvre.com/
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
All Walks Hemp Pet Products
https://allwalkspet.com/
Carrfields, one of the leading agricultural companies in New Zealand, has operations spanning Kiwi agriculture, from machinery to seed production and distribution, irrigation, precision ag technology and everything in between.
Craig Carr, group managing director and guest on this week’s Hemp Podcast, said his father started the business over 40 years ago with a handful of straw contracts in the Canterbury region of the South Island of New Zealand.
Moving into machinery service and seed production in the 1990s, the business really took off in the 2000s when the Kiwi dairy industry went through a period of growth.
“It was a big time in New Zealand of change, of farming. Dairy was really starting to grow,” he said. “And with that our business grew also.”
This growth enabled Carrfields to acquire several other ag businesses, making them a major player in New Zealand agriculture.
Carrfields has been working in the hemp sector for over 20 years, with an early focus on oil seed production and combine harvesters, and has since been working with fiber hemp for industrial uses.
Carr attended the Montana Hemp Summit in August and was impressed with the level of cooperation and collaboration among the U.S. hemp industry in the grain and fiber sectors.
“What probably stood out to me the most was the willingness of IND HEMP and others to actually work together for the benefit of the industry,” he said.
“Even though we’re way down here in New Zealand, there’s a huge opportunity for us to share learnings and to actually share information around what has worked and what hasn’t worked, because when you’re dealing with a product like hemp — and particularly hemp fiber — you know, you’re very reliant, as most people will note, on Mother Nature.”
Carr said the biggest challenge the industry faces, in New Zealand and abroad, is making it profitable for producers.
“Because if the crop is not sustainably profitable, then we are not going to have that supply base in the future,” he said. “We need to ensure that all of the financial metrics go back and start with the farmer.”
Carrfields
https://www.carrfields.co.nz/
New Zealand Natural Fibers
https://nznaturalfibres.co.nz/
Connect with Carrfields on Social Media
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CarrfieldsNZ & https://www.facebook.com/contactNZNF
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carrfieldsnz/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/carrfields-nz/ & https://www.linkedin.com/company/nz-natural-fibres
Hemp News Nuggets
Police Raid German Hemp Farm
https://businesscann.com/european-round-up-police-raid-german-hemp-farm-tilray-in-talks-with-cannabis-czar-new-european-thc-levels-approved-et-al/
Regulations for the Production of Industrial Hemp are Established in Costa Rica
https://thecostaricanews.com/regulations-for-the-production-of-industrial-hemp-are-established-in-costa-rica/
Why Hemp Is Entering the Mainstream and Adding Value to Business
https://www.rollingstone.com/culture-council/articles/why-hemp-is-entering-mainstream-and-adding-value-to-business-1234588120/
National Hemp Growers Coop partners with Troy University Manufacturing Sciences
https://www.wtvy.com/2022/09/08/national-hemp-growers-partner-with-troy-university-manufacturing-sciences/
National Hemp Growers Cooperative
https://nationalhempcoop.us/
Billionaire No More: Patagonia Founder Gives Away the Company
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/14/climate/patagonia-climate-philanthropy-chouinard.html
Climate Projects Tied to Pennsylvania Get $900 Million
https://www.lancasterfarming.com/farming-news/conservation/climate-projects-tied-to-pennsylvania-get-900-million/article_dd2cf622-3473-11ed-a221-179b31d68ee2.html
Climate-Smart Commodities Grant Recipients
https://www.usda.gov/climate-solutions/climate-smart-commodities/projects
Thanks to our Sponsors
Americhanvre Cast-Hemp
https://americhanvre.com/
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
All Walks Hemp Pet Products
https://allwalkspet.com/
This week we talk to the new executive team at the U.S. Hemp Building Association, President Henry Gage Jr. and Vice President Ryan Doherty.
Gage had previously been the director of certification for the association. He has a background in engineering, problem solving and green building, and he constructed the first hempcrete retro-fit house in New York.
Doherty had been the director of supply chains, and will continue working in supply chain development as vice president.
The association has aimed a lot of resources at gaining approval for hempcrete as a building material from the International Code Council. ICC accepted a proposal in April and will be making a final recommendation later this month.
Once added to the building codes, hempcrete will give contractors another option for building energy efficient homes while further developing the market for domestically grown hemp.
US Hemp Building Association
https://ushba.org/
Liberate Hemp
https://www.buildgreennow.net/liberate-hemp.html
Have You Hurd Podcast
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGyyRO1kRxs
Hemp Ventures
https://hempventures.org/
News Nuggets
Estonia Now Allowing Farmers to Grow Hemp With Higher THC
https://cannatechtoday.com/estonia-now-allowing-farmers-to-grow-hemp-with-higher-thc/
Hemp was supposed to save Texas farmers during a drought. It hasn’t yet.
https://www.texastribune.org/2022/09/07/texas-hemp-drought-agriculture/
Thanks to our Sponsors
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
All Walks Hemp Bedding
https://allwalkspet.com/
Americhanvre
https://americhanvre.com/
This week we talk to the new executive team at the U.S. Hemp Building Association, President Henry Gage Jr. and Vice President Ryan Doherty.
Gage had previously been the director of certification for the association. He has a background in engineering, problem solving and green building, and he constructed the first hempcrete retro-fit house in New York.
Doherty had been the director of supply chains, and will continue working in supply chain development as vice president.
The association has aimed a lot of resources at gaining approval for hempcrete as a building material from the International Code Council. ICC accepted a proposal in April and will be making a final recommendation later this month.
Once added to the building codes, hempcrete will give contractors another option for building energy efficient homes while further developing the market for domestically grown hemp.
US Hemp Building Association
https://ushba.org/
Liberate Hemp
https://www.buildgreennow.net/liberate-hemp.html
Have You Hurd Podcast
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGyyRO1kRxs
Hemp Ventures
https://hempventures.org/
News Nuggets
Estonia Now Allowing Farmers to Grow Hemp With Higher THC
https://cannatechtoday.com/estonia-now-allowing-farmers-to-grow-hemp-with-higher-thc/
Hemp was supposed to save Texas farmers during a drought. It hasn’t yet.
https://www.texastribune.org/2022/09/07/texas-hemp-drought-agriculture/
Thanks to our Sponsors
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
All Walks Hemp Bedding
https://allwalkspet.com/
Americhanvre
https://americhanvre.com/
Hi all,
we're taking a break from the show his week, but we'll be back next week. Hope you have a great weekend.
-eric
Hi all,
we're taking a break from the show his week, but we'll be back next week. Hope you have a great weekend.
-eric
This week, we talk to Freya Bartles from Hemp Cooperative Ireland, a group that is helping to facilitates the growth of the Irish hemp industry, which has many of the same challenges and opportunities that we see here in the U.S.
There is great interest in the crop among Irish farmers and entrepreneurs who see it as a way to bring prosperity and healing to the land and the rural communities that live off that land.
According to Freya Bartels, board member of Hemp Cooperative Ireland, hope is high for hemp in Ireland despite the lack of processing capacity and viable markets.
Part of the challenge of building the hemp industry is cutting through the hype and stigma, she said.
On one hand, you’ve got the marijuana association. On the other, you’ve got the hype about how hemp can save the world with the 50 million things hemp can do.
To cut though the noise, Hemp Cooperative Ireland has developed an educational framework they call the Seven Pillars of Hemp, which Bartels described as a way of “dividing the overwhelming benefits of hemp down into chapters on what hemp can do for you.”
Learn more about Hemp Cooperative Ireland and the Seven Pillars of Hemp
https://hempcooperativeireland.com/
IG, FB, TW: @hemp_cooperative_ireland
Please support One Plant, a documentary film series
https://www.oneplant.film/
Join PA Farmers Union, Win Deluxe Farm Aid Concert Package
Thanks to our sponsors
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
King’s Agriseeds
https://kingsagriseeds.com/hemp
This week, we talk to Freya Bartles from Hemp Cooperative Ireland, a group that is helping to facilitates the growth of the Irish hemp industry, which has many of the same challenges and opportunities that we see here in the U.S.
There is great interest in the crop among Irish farmers and entrepreneurs who see it as a way to bring prosperity and healing to the land and the rural communities that live off that land.
According to Freya Bartels, board member of Hemp Cooperative Ireland, hope is high for hemp in Ireland despite the lack of processing capacity and viable markets.
Part of the challenge of building the hemp industry is cutting through the hype and stigma, she said.
On one hand, you’ve got the marijuana association. On the other, you’ve got the hype about how hemp can save the world with the 50 million things hemp can do.
To cut though the noise, Hemp Cooperative Ireland has developed an educational framework they call the Seven Pillars of Hemp, which Bartels described as a way of “dividing the overwhelming benefits of hemp down into chapters on what hemp can do for you.”
Learn more about Hemp Cooperative Ireland and the Seven Pillars of Hemp
https://hempcooperativeireland.com/
IG, FB, TW: @hemp_cooperative_ireland
Please support One Plant, a documentary film series
https://www.oneplant.film/
Join PA Farmers Union, Win Deluxe Farm Aid Concert Package
Thanks to our sponsors
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
King’s Agriseeds
https://kingsagriseeds.com/hemp
This week on the hemp podcast, we talk to best-selling food writer and James Beard Award recipient, Sandor Katz, author of the modern food classic “Wild Fermentation.”
After making his first crock of sauerkraut from homegrown cabbages, Katz embarked on a fermentation journey that has taken him all over the world, learning about fermented foods and the cultures that produce them.
“That first batch of sauerkraut? I mean, first of all, I couldn’t believe how simple the process was. You know, I couldn’t believe how delicious the lightly fermented sauerkraut was after just a couple of weeks. And then, you know, I just started experimenting,” Katz said.
Katz has a become a world-renowned expert on fermentation and has educated tens of thousands of people about the simple joys and health benefits of fermented foods.
From the history of agriculture to the philosophical definition of cultures, this interview has a lot to offer. But what does it have to do with hemp? Listen to the episode to find out.
Learn more about Sandor Katz and the Art Fermentation
https://www.wildfermentation.com/
Here's my story about King's AgriSeeds' hemp Field Day
https://www.lancasterfarming.com/farming/industrial_hemp/industrial-hemp-has-a-field-day-to-discuss-farming-techniques/article_ffc977c8-1eed-11ed-bdc7-2fa84573dd7a.html
Thanks to our sponsors:
IND HEMP
https://allwalkspet.com/
All Walks Small Pet Bedding
https://indhemp.com/
New Holland Agriculture
https://agriculture.newholland.com/nar/en-us
On this week's show, Eric Hurlock reports from Fort Benton, Montana, home of IND HEMP, the host and coordinator of the Summer Summit.
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
Sunflower Film's One Plant
https://sunflower.film/work
Mpactful Ventures
https://www.mpactfulventures.org/
National Hemp Association
https://nationalhempassociation.org/
Support the Hemp Exemption
https://www.hempexemption.com/
Global Hemp Association
https://globalhempassociation.org/
Last week, the House Agriculture Subcommittee on Biotechnology, Horticulture, and Research held a hearing to examine the USDA Hemp Production Program.
The subcommittee heard from a panel of producers, researchers, tribal members, and state ag commissioners that gave an overview of the hemp industry and offered insight toward the 2023 Farm Bill.
Noting the absence of representatives from USDA and FDA, ranking member Jim Baird from Indiana said, “I do believe it is a missed opportunity that we don’t hear from the federal agencies tasked with implementing provisions on hemp today.”
On this week’s podcast, we will listen to highlights from the hearing, including testimony from Colorado Ag Commissioner Kate Greenberg, who offers five recommendations for how Congress can provide support to federal agencies to allow for greater flexibility and improve state-run hemp programs. First on her list is removal of DEA requirements for testing labs.
“Our state-of-the-art laboratory began the process of obtaining DEA certification in 2019. However, as of this hearing we still await their approval,” Greenberg said.
All panel experts expressed the need for clarification from the FDA concerning the regulation and use of CBD.
Also on this week’s show, we check in with Lancaster County hemp farmer and cover crop coach Steve Groff, who this week used a sickle bar mower to cut 5 acres of hemp on his farm in Holtwood, Pennsylvania.
Groff’s hemp was direct-seeded in 15-inch rows, roughly 50 pounds per acre, into a cover crop of black oats and hairy vetch on May 18. The crop reached a height of 12 feet in 75 days and had not started to flower before being cut. He will rake the cut hemp into narrow swaths and turn it a few times, allowing the stalks to ret before baling with a New Holland wet baler.
Lancaster Farming also talks to Morris Beegle, organizer of the fourth annual Southern Hemp Expo, taking place in Nashville Aug. 18-20.
Learn More:
Watch the Congressional Hearing
https://www.lancasterfarming.com/farming/industrial_hemp/an-examination-of-the-usda-hemp-production-program/video_24fe545c-14d8-11ed-8f65-b7c948bba48f.html
Watch Steve Groff Cutting Fiber at Cedar Meadow Farm
https://www.lancasterfarming.com/community/videos/cutting-hemp-fiber-at-cedar-meadow-farm/video_b16f1980-14ce-11ed-acf3-fbdebeb1cdb1.html
Southern Hemp Expo, Nashville, Tennessee, August 18-20, 2022
https://www.southernhempexpo.com/
Kings Agriseed’s Field Day, August 16-17, 2022
https://kingsagriseeds.com/
Penn State’s Twilight Hemp Walk August 16, 2022
https://extension.psu.edu/hemp-research-field-walk
Thanks to our Sponsors
All Walks Hemp Bedding
https://allwalkspet.com/
IND HEMP
https://www.indhemp.com/
This week on the podcast, Tim Fritz and Sarah Mitchell from King's Agriseeds talk about the upcoming hemp field day August 16-17 at the research farm in Christiana, Pennsylvania, where they are trialing varieties of fiber and grain hemp, as well as experimenting with different growing techniques such are fore-cropping and nurse-cropping.
Then we talk to Segue Fischlin, a builder in the Puget Sound area of Washington State, where she is hosting a hempcrete workshop in early September. We talk about the workshop, but the main thrust of the conversation is about the language we use when we talk about hemp, and how certain language might be undermining the industry.
Links
King's Agriseeds' Field Day, August 16-17, 2022
https://kingsagriseeds.com/
Penn State’s Twilight Hemp Walk August 16, 2022
https://web.cvent.com/event/3b269a07-6c81-4d08-bc89-d3a22cba8785/summary
Segue Fischlin’s Hempcrete Work
https://www.svarajasthan.net/FLZ/HempcreteWorkshopFlyer.jpg
News Nuggets
Congressional Hearing: “An Examination of the USDA Hemp Production Program”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09VlD40Nt2k
AAFCO details new webinar on the usage of hemp
https://www.petfoodprocessing.net/articles/16023-aafco-details-new-webinar-on-the-usage-of-hemp
State ag secretary, senator visit hemp house
https://www.ncnewsonline.com/news/local_news/state-ag-secretary-senator-visit-hemp-house/article_4515f682-0eb6-11ed-8648-2beb70e7769a.html
Thanks to our sponsor IND HEMP!
https://indhemp.com/
After thirty plus years in the industry, Chris Boucher knows a thing or two about hemp. These days he’s the CEO of Farmtiva, a California-based hemp company that specializes in consulting, seed sales, and a hemp juice powder called JuiceTiva, but his journey with hemp started long before the Farm Bill created the pathway for the modern hemp industry.
He started a business in 1990 called the Hempstead Co. that made hemp wallets, hats, bags and such.
“Back then the only place you could get hemp was either in China, Hungary, Romania or Poland. And so I went over to China in ’92, and we sourced the hemp there,” he said during this week’s episode.
Boucher wanted to source his hemp in the U.S., and so in 1994 he secured permission from the USDA and became the first person to grow hemp in the U.S. in decades. But before the crop was harvested, local narcotics agents in California destroyed it by plowing it under, and the dream of U.S.-grown hemp had to wait.
Along the way he also co-founded the Hemp Industries Association, wrote an influential legal opinion about CBD, and imported the first CBD oil into the U.S.
He traces his career in hemp back to a chance encounter in 1990 when he was asked to sign a petition to legalize hemp by a man who had just published a book that explained the history and potential of hemp. That man was Jack Herer, author of the seminal hemp book “The Emperor Wears No Clothes.” The two became lifelong friends.
As the current director of the California Hemp Growers Guild, an advocacy group for hemp farmers, Boucher sees first hand the detrimental effect recent state legislation is having on California's hemp farmers.
He said it’s a big win for the marijuana industry and a big loss for the hemp industry. Hemp now falls under the jurisdiction of the California Bureau of Cannabis Control instead of the California Department of Agriculture.
Boucher said that the agency’s fee structure and regulations make it nearly impossible for hemp farmers to compete, and many have stopped growing hemp altogether.
“We’ve lost 90% of hemp farmers in California. We went from 800 farmers down to 120,” he said.
He said these new regulations will also make it very expensive for any out-of-state hemp companies wishing to do business in California.
Also in this episode, host Eric Hurlock reads a summary of the new definition of hemp set forth in the recently introduced Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act, Chuck Schumer's bill to federally legalize cannabis.
All this and more.
Be sure to check out all of these links.
Farmtiva
https://www.farmtiva.com/
JuiceTiva
https://www.farmtiva.com/juicetiva-hemp-juice-powder
Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act Summary
https://www.democrats.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/caoa_overview_summary1.pdf
Thanks to our generous sponsors
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
Mpactful Ventures
https://www.mpactfulventures.org/
Music by Tin Bird Shadow
https://tinbirdshadow.bandcamp.com/releases
For news nuggets links and more information, go to LancasterFarming.com
The theme of this week’s hemp podcast is education.
First we talk to economist Beau Whitney, who says the deliberate miseducation of lawmakers is causing a big and expensive headache in the fiber and grain sector. He said a concerted effort by Big Cannabis (aka the marijuana industry) is distorting the narrative around industrial hemp, confusing lawmakers, stifling competition, and is costing the fiber and grain sectors nearly $20 billion a year.
“Well-funded cannabis companies have access to legislators and policymakers, and as a result they have leveraged their connections and influence in order to narrowly define hemp as a drug, rather than looking at it as a commodity crop with industrial applications,” Whitney said.
Then we talk to Eric Kleffner, a hemp grower and game developer who is working on a “play-to-earn” video game called Hemptopia. Players can earn cryptocurrency.
Inspired by his own experience as a hemp grower, Kleffner said, “I wanted to create a game to educate people about all the ins and outs and how hard it is to farm hemp, and all the uses of hemp as well.”
And finally, we check in with Rachel Berry, hemp farmer, founder of the Illinois Hemp Growers Association, and the director of regional leaders for the U.S. Hemp Building Association.
Berry talks about her farm in Princeton, Illinois, her work with USHBA, and the various opportunities she has to educate the public on the uses of industrial hemp.
“I have been invited to join the Illinois Department of Agriculture in the Ag Tent at the State Fair this year,” Berry said. “That’s the second and third week of August and I am absolutely thrilled to be involved in that work.”
Pennsylvania Hemp Summit
https://pahempsummit.com/
Duped By Big Dope: How Big Cannabis' Attack On Hemp Has Cost The Fiber And Grain Industry $20 Billion A Year
https://www.benzinga.com/markets/cannabis/22/07/27991342/duped-by-big-dope-how-big-cannabis-attack-on-hemp-has-cost-the-fiber-and-grain-industry-20-billi
Whitney Economics
https://whitneyeconomics.com/
Hemptopia Play-to-Earn Video Game
https://hempt.org/
Learn more about Hemptopia Crypto Farming Game
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-Ggts6CerteKU1tAeqpC_Q
Illinois Hemp Growers Association
https://www.illinoishga.com/
U.S. Hemp Building Association
https://ushba.org/
Hemp Education Events with Rachel Berry
Illinois Cannabis Training Center 7/21:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cannabiz-resource-networking-night-tickets-327645465407
IL State Fair IDOA tent 8/ 15 - 21:
https://www2.illinois.gov/statefair/ridesattractions/Pages/AgricultureTent.aspx
Thank you to our sponsors
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
Americhanvre Cast Hemp
https://americhanvre.com/
Check out the Hempcrete Workshop in Washington State on the Beautiful Kitsap Peninsula
https://www.svarajasthan.net/hempcrete
New Holland Agriculture
https://agriculture.newholland.com/nar/en-us
Lancaster Farming’s YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRbHPEPB5Av1xUS-L3ecT1Q
Dan Juleff’s Comment about the Music:
hi mate sorry for the criticism but do you need to have the music on all the time even when you are talking it is so annoying when i just want to hear what you are saying i just want to hear you...you don't need extra..when you start the show cool have your music but when you start talking kill the music your show will be 100% better... please do one show for me without the music thank you
Support the Tin Bird Shadow
https://tinbirdshadow.bandcamp.com/releases
Bill Althouse believes hemp has great potential to change the world, but he cautions against the common rhetoric — that hemp can magically fix all the world’s problems.
Instead, he said, the industry must focus on legitimization.
“This means meeting all the rules, regulations, material specifications and testing standards of the non-hemp materials we’re trying to replace with hemp,” he said.
For hemp to succeed, it must be seen as legitimate in the eyes of the people outside of the hemp space — builders, engineers, textile manufacturers, etc.
“After legitimization, we must compete, delivering higher performance at a lower price,” he added.
On the Hemp Podcast this week, Althouse talks about the issues involved with bringing hemp into the mainstream and shares opinions that will make many people in the hemp industry uncomfortable.
For example, he talks about why the American hempcrete industry can’t definitively say what the R-Value of hemp is, and how making claims about hempcrete's insulating properties violates FTC rules.
He describes the value chain of hemp as a textile and makes his case for why, in its current state, it will never be able to compete with cotton.
He calls the hemp industry an “echo chamber,” saying that repeating the same unsubstantiated claims about hemp only damages the future of hemp.
His experience in engineering, green building and hemp farming gives him credibility, and he uses that perspective to inject a shot of realism into the conversation.
He’s not all doom and gloom, though. He sees great promise in hemp, especially in emerging “lignin first” technology that he says has the potential to eliminate the need for decortication and degumming, the two steps in the process currently keeping hemp from competing with cotton.
A voice in the wilderness or a cranky old man with an ax to grind? Decide for yourself.
Learn More about What Bill is up to:
Fat Pig Society
https://fatpigsociety.com/
Industry group aims to develop high-CBD varieties that won’t go hot
https://hempindustrydaily.com/industry-group-aims-to-develop-high-cbd-varieties-that-wont-go-hot/
Cutting out the middleman to help small organic farmers
https://hemptoday.net/cutting-out-the-middleman-to-help-small-organic-farmers/
Thanks to our sponsors!
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
WEST TOWN BANK
https://www.westtownbank.com//hemp
Americhanvre Cast-Hemp
https://americhanvre.com/
Sign up for the Hemp Newsletter
https://www.lancasterfarming.com/newsletters/
This week on the hemp podcast we learn about the Global Hemp Association’s variety trials that span eight states in six geographical regions.
Our first guest is Mandi Kerr, founder and CEO of the Global Hemp Association, which, according to Kerr is “a platform of entrepreneurs, manufacturers, farmers, distributors that have come together to support and build the industrial hemp industry.”
One way GHA is building the hemp industry is by conducting variety trials.
In conjunction with Kansas-based Performance Crop Research, GHA is growing 10 varieties of fiber hemp in various geographical regions across the country with the intent of providing its members with solid data about which varieties do best in each region.
Our second guest is Melissa Nelson-Baldwin — field scientist, hemp farmer and owner of Performance Crop Research — who has assembled a team of crop specialists specifically for these trials.
“We’re working with research scientists within the National Alliance of Independent Crop Consultants,” Nelson-Baldwin said. “This is what everyone does full time. And so we chose crop research scientists that either had hemp experience or a lot of experience within the research space.”
This is the first year for the trials, but they will be conducted over many years to provide as much data as possible for farmers and processors.
Learn More About the National Variety Trials:
Global Hemp Association
https://globalhempassociation.org/
Become a Member: https://globalhempassociation.org/become-a-member/
Friends of Hemp
https://friendsofhemp.org/
Hemp Hallway
https://hemphallway.com/
South Bend Industrial Hemp
https://www.southbendindustrialhemp.com/
News Nuggets
National Hemp Association Partners with Hemp Feed Coalition
https://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2022/06/21/2466338/0/en/National-Hemp-Association-and-Hemp-Feed-Coalition-Join-Forces.html
Hemp, CBD set to get permanent legal status after 11th-hour rescue by NC legislaturehttps://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article263021958.html
Thanks to our Sponsors:
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
West Town Bank
https://www.westtownbank.com/hemp/
This week on the Hemp Podcast, Lancaster Farming talks to Wendy Mosher, president and CEO of New West Genetics, a Colorado-based hemp seed company focused on genomics, seed breeding and agribusiness.
Mosher discusses an initiative the company is working on with several other stakeholders, including International Hemp and King’s AgriSeeds, called “Value the Seed” that promotes certified seed as a way to unburden farmers and assure regulators of compliance.
This policy reform initiative is centered around the fiber and grain sectors of the hemp industry, and Mosher is hopeful it will be adopted in the 2023 Farm Bill.
If the initiative is successful, American hemp farmers who plant certified seed that meets standards set by the Association of Official Seed Certifying Agencies will be exempt from burdensome regulations, excessive fees and THC testing.
New West Genetics
https://newwestgenetics.com/
Learn more about Value the Seed
Watch Eric's interview on Moving Hemp Forward with Mandi Kerr from the Global Hemp Association:
Sign up for the Hemp Newsletter: https://www.lancasterfarming.com/newsletters/
News Nuggets
Homeland Hempcrete plans to buy North Dakota hemp fiber
https://www.agupdate.com/farmandranchguide/news/crop/homeland-hempcrete-plans-to-buy-north-dakota-hemp-fiber/article_14f328f4-e84a-11ec-900f-4fe26113ab3a.html
Hemp farmer builds own house out of hemp fiber
https://www.agupdate.com/theprairiestar/news/state-and-regional/hemp-farmer-builds-own-house-out-of-hemp-fiber/article_d347777e-e836-11ec-96e6-8b2cc87d6cd6.html
Unregulated hemp derivative delta-8 thrives in Pa.’s thorny marijuana landscape
https://www.wesa.fm/economy-business/2022-06-19/delta-8-pennsylvania-law
Scientists predict future ketchup shortage as climate change damages crops
https://katu.com/news/nation-world/scientists-predict-future-ketchup-shortage-as-climate-change-damages-crops-tomatoes-farmers-farming-agriculture-harvest-nature-food-weather-science-study-condiments-italy-denmark-united-states-china-world-supply-paste-sauce-woolf-farms-2050-prediction
Thanks to our sponsors:
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
West Town Bank
https://www.westtownbank.com/hemp
On this week’s hemp podcast, Lancaster Farming continues checking in with hemp producers around the country.
Ray DePriest, from SunRay Hemp, tells us about growing hemp at 62 degrees north latitude in Palmer, Alaska — 60 miles north of Anchorage — where his family’s been farming since the 1930s, first as potato farmers, then dairy. Now they focus primarily on hay. This is Ray’s third year of growing hemp in Alaska.
We hear from Theo Wahquahboshkuk, operations manager at Prairie Band Ag, a hemp company owned and operated by the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation in northeast Kansas, where the business is growing fiber, grain and flower.
Closer to home, we talk with Caleb Kauffman of Lancashire Hemp Farms in Narvon, Pennsylvania. Kauffman prefers to plant his CBD crop later in July. Because Lancashire Farms focuses on “top-shelf smokable flower,” planting later in the season keeps the plants smaller and more manageable.
Katharine Dubansky, co-owner of Back Bone Hemp, checks in from the mountains of Garrett County, Maryland, where she has planted triploid varieties of cannabinoid flower and a small test plot of a fiber variety.
And finally, we hear from Ben Brimlow, lead agronomist at IND HEMP in Montana, where they contract with farmers across the Northwest to grow grain and fiber varieties of hemp.
Links
Backbone Hemp
https://backbonehemp.com/
Prairie Band Ag
https://prairiebandllc.com/
SunRay Hemp
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ray-depriest-0b7947108/
Lancashire Hemp Farms
https://www.lancashirehemp.com/
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
Something to Think About:
What a Dying Lake Says About the Future, by Paul Krugman
"If you aren’t terrified by the threat posed by rising levels of greenhouse gases, you aren’t paying attention — which, sadly, many people aren’t. And those who are or should be aware of that threat but stand in the way of action for the sake of short-term profits or political expediency are, in a real sense, betraying humanity."
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/13/opinion/great-salt-lake.html
Thanks to our sponsors:
West Town Bank
https://www.westtownbank.com/hemp
Mpactful Ventures
https://www.mpactfulventures.org/
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
This week on the Hemp Podcast, Lancaster Farming talks to farmers around the country and the world about spring planting — what they’ve got in the ground, how much hemp they’re growing this year, what conditions are like in the field, and more.
We talk to several Pennsylvania farmers, as well as folks in Missouri, Kansas, North Carolina, Michigan and more, including an exclusive interview with Roman Fedorowycz, an American farmer who’s been living and farming in Ukraine for over 30 years. He runs a 5,000-acre farm in the western part of the country, where he usually grows various grains and vegetables, and, of course, hemp. But things are a little different this year.
Fedorowycz talks about the atrocities committed by the Russian army and how that’s affecting agriculture in Ukraine, considered to be one of the breadbaskets of the world.
“This year, we have a number of issues,” he said. “Number one, since the ports are blocked and Ukraine is one of the biggest exporters...of corn, soybeans, sunflower oil and things like that, we can’t get our products to go out of the main ports in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov because of the Russian blockade.
“The other issue is that where the fighting is going on in the south, the east and the northeast, obviously there’s no spring planting going on and there’ll be no harvest going on.
“And on top of that, many regions west of Kiev and north of Kiev and east of Kiev were mined by the Russians when they were pushed out. I have many friends who have thousands and thousands of acres that they have to be de-mined or remove unexploded artillery and other things out of their fields. So many of those farmers are not planting this year,” Fedorowycz said.
This week's guests include:
Eric Trajtenberg from Paradise Hemp Farm in West Grove Pennsylvania where he’s a growing small batch CBD. https://www.paradisehempfarm.com/ & https://pahemplawyer.com/
Mike Murray from Moka Hemp in Burlington, Pennsylvania, where they focus on smokable CBD flower. https://www.mokahemp.com/
Rusty Peterson with Essen Atlas and Align Agro in Michigan, where they’re growing fiber varieties.
https://www.alignagro.com/
Victor-Alan Weeks from 404 Twenty in Caswell County, North Carolina, where he and his business Partner Jalen Madden are focused on CBD production.
Jeff Limbaugh from Midwest Natural Fiber in Sikeston, Missouri, where they’re growing hundreds of acres of fiber hemp and other crops. https://www.midwestnaturalfiber.com/
Aaron Baldwin from South Bend Industrial Hemp in South Bend Kansas, where they’re working with a network of farmers to grow several thousand acres of dual crop fiber & grain. https://www.southbendindustrialhemp.com/
Roman Fedorowycz from Ukr Hemp Seeds in Ukraine who tells us about the atrocities of Russia’s war on Ukraine and how that’s affecting spring planting there. http://ukrhempseed.online/
Raphael Cutrufello from Hezekiah Jones in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. http://www.hezekiahjones.com/
Steve Groff from Cedar Meadow Farm in Holtwood, PA, where’s got fiber, grain and CBD varieties. https://cedarmeadow.farm/
Dale Norely from Tasunka Farm Organics in Birchrunville, PA, where this year she grew smokable flower in the greenhouse over winter and wholesale seedlings this spring. Right now they are doing maintenance on their fields and will be planting outdoors again next year.
Special Thanks to our sponsors:
IND HEMP https://indhemp.com/
West Town Bank https://www.westtownbank.com/hemp/
This week on the podcast we talk to Mike Leago, founder and CEO of iHempx in Colorado. Formally known as the International Hemp Exchange, iHempx has become one of the industry's go-to sources for genetics, processing equipment, farmer resources and more, serving all sectors of the industry, from cannabinoid flower to fiber and grain and everything in between.
Leago tells the tale of how he started the company in 2016 after seeing the lack of connectivity in the various hemp supply chains. Originally connecting retails to consumers, iHempx has since moved into the wholesale markets and has become an industry leader, at home and abroad.
Leago also talks about a partnership with a new company with an emerging technology focused on industrial hemp decortication and micronization.
“What's really interesting about this technology is that rather than using mechanical forces like most processing technology and size reduction technology, this uses resonance frequency to break things down,” says Leago.
“So it's actually resonance forces and shearing forces that are created inside of a relatively small processing mill that can both decorticate and micronize the plant in a single pass.”
Sounds like this could be a game changer.
Give a listen and learn more.
iHempx https://ihempx.com/
Calendar items
iHemp Michigan’s Midwest Hemp Expo, May 20 & 21
https://ihempmichigan.com/midwest-ihemp-expo/
National Hemp Growers Coop Field Day, June 6 & 7
https://nationalhempcoop.us/2022-spring-field-day/
Thanks to our sponsors!
Mpactful Ventures
https://www.mpactfulventures.org/
Steward
https://gosteward.com/
Check Out IND HEMP’s new and improved website
https://indhemp.com/
Reality TV?
Learn more about the reality television opportunity from Cornwell Casting that was mentioned on this episode:
https://www.lancasterfarming.com/farmer-reality-tv-casting-call/pdf_adc54de0-d7a2-11ec-a68a-df85d17285ca.html
Nominate a farmer: https://farmernomination.castingcrane.com/
Nominate yourself: https://farmercasting.castingcrane.com/age-gate
Be sure to mention that you heard about this on the Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast
On this week’s podcast, Lancaster Farming talks to Jordan Berger, a filmmaker and hemp farmer from Tennessee. His work with the crop has inspired him to embark on a seven-part documentary series to bring the story of hemp to a wider audience.
In 2019, Berger grew his first hemp crop, about an acre of CBD plants at his small farm outside of Chattanooga. He said he learned a lot from growing the crop and talking to other farmers.
“It became clear to me that I needed to make something,” he said. “You know, I’m always asking what could I do? What kind of impact could I make, either as a farmer or a filmmaker? To me, it’s really clear that I could make a bigger impact making a film about (hemp) that the masses could digest and understand and get excited about.”
Apparently, this documentary is the first of its kind.
“It’s just surprising to me that we’re in 2022 and there’s not anything out there like this,” he said. “Most of the cannabis documentaries are all kind of caught up in pot culture or, you know, are only scratching the surface. And there’s so much more to tell.”
This summer, Berger is embarking on a cross-country road trip to document the burgeoning industry, visiting hemp farms and processing facilities to interview the people who are building this industry.
Watch the teaser video for Jordan Berger’s documentary, “One Plant.”
https://vimeo.com/570658603/22715ab1c5
Sunflower
https://sunflower.film/
Head River Farms
https://headriverfarms.com/
Sign up for the Industrial Hemp Newsletter
https://www.lancasterfarming.com/newsletters/
Thank to our Sponsors:
iHemp Michigan Midwest Hemp Expo
https://ihempmichigan.com/midwest-ihemp-expo/
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
Music by Tin Bird Shadow
https://tinbirdshadow.bandcamp.com/releases
“You can’t just run around saying hemp is going to save the planet. You can’t just say it. You have to have some definitive numbers and some science behind it. And that can be shown to the people that are in power. They still may not listen, but when you have hard numbers, it makes your argument a whole lot better.”
That’s what Bruce Dietzen, guest on this week’s Industrial Hemp Podcast, says.
Deitzen is known as the guy who built the body of a sports car out of hemp, but he’s put the hemp car on hold and has embarked on what he considers to be a far more important endeavor — quantifying the potential of hemp.
That’s the idea behind Drawdown Hemp — put hard numbers behind the oft-quoted claims that hemp has the potential to sequester vast amounts of carbon.
“Drawdown Hemp is a think tank that is on a mission to quantify the amount of CO2 that hemp products can either sequester or avoid, Dietzen said. “And the reason for wanting to quantify those hemp products goes back to this idea that hemp can be made into 50,000 different products.”
In the face of a climate crisis, Deitzen said it’s important to determine which of the 50,000 products will have the greatest ability to pull carbon from the atmosphere.
He also talks about his entry into the X Prize Carbon Removal Contest funded by billionaire Elon Musk to identify ways that CO2 can be sequestered at a large scale, at least a gigaton per year on an ongoing basis. The first place winner will receive $50 million.
Drawdown Hemp
https://drawdownhemp.org/
Watch Bruce’s Drawdown Hemp Presentation from NoCo Hemp Expo, March 2022
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4d65nNPbM8&t=927s
News Nuggets May 5, 2022
FDA Issues Warning Letters to Companies Illegally Selling CBD and Delta-8 THC Products
https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-issues-warning-letters-companies-illegally-selling-cbd-and-delta-8-thc-products
The EIHA: Working to Achieve ‘a True Single Hemp Market for Europe’
https://www.cannabisbusinesstimes.com/article/european-industrial-hemp-association-lorenza-romanese-git-skoglund-rob-clarke/
Central Oregon hemp farmers pivot to other crops as market prices tank
https://www.bendbulletin.com/business/central-oregon-hemp-farmers-pivot-to-other-crops-as-market-prices-tank/article_9eb752bc-c5be-11ec-b361-cb313cb7e729.html
Pennsylvania is feeling the pressure of neighboring states’ passage of adult-use marijuana
https://www.cityandstatepa.com/policy/2022/05/pennsylvania-feeling-pressure-neighboring-states-passage-adult-use-marijuana/366409/
Thanks to our Sponsors:
Americhanvre Cast-Hemp
https://americhanvre.com/
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/
This week we give a recap of the 2022 Pennsylvania Hemp Summit Expo that took place in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, April 26 and 27 at the Lancaster County Convention Center.
First we talk to Lancaster Farming's digital content editor Dan Sullivan who covered the event for the newspaper and also emceed the Shark Tank competition.
After the conversation with Dan, we hear Pennsylvania Ag Secretary Russell Redding's opening remarks from the Hemp Summit. The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture has been very supportive of the hemp industry in Pennsylvania, knowing that the potential for Pennsylvania's farmers and entrepreneurs is huge, but of course it's not without it's challenges.
"We know based on what we have seen around the world, that there is potential in hemp and all of its components," Redding told the crowd. "We said at the very first summit that the Pennsylvania hemp industry is defined by the use of all of the plant. It is the fiber, it is the seed, it is the oil, it's the feed, it's the CBD. It is not a single component of the industry. It is all of the plant. And therein lies our challenge."
The two day hemp expo was a precursor to the full summit to be held in November 2022.
Read Dan Sullivan's Hemp Summit story:
Hemp Summit Offers Hope Amid Challenges
Check out the stories from our recent Industrial Hemp Special Section of Lancaster Farming Newspaper:
Hemp Is a Strong Option for Sequestering Carbon
Most Traditional Farm Machinery Fine for Harvesting Hemp
High Schooler Has Hopes for Hemp
Retting Hemp Fiber From the Stalk
Resources for Hemp Growers and Marketers
Why We Need an Industrial Hemp Exemption [Opinion]
What is the Future of Industrial Hemp?
Hemp in Pennsylvania — Don’t Fence Me In
Pennsylvania’s Family Farmers Shouldn't Miss Out on Cannabis Opportunities [Opinion]
Cooking With Hemp
News Nuggets
Hemp structure revealed at Alvernia University's EcoHouse
https://www.wfmz.com/news/area/berks/hemp-structure-revealed-at-alvernia-universitys-ecohouse/article_f84d0072-c4d0-11ec-aa47-b3e7f2b41c32.html
FDACS Celebrates Two Years of Florida’s Hemp Program
https://www.fdacs.gov/News-Events/Press-Releases/2022-Press-Releases/FDACS-Celebrates-Two-Years-of-Florida-s-Hemp-Program
Nation's First Independent Cannabis And Hemp Certification Recognized By Attorneys General Alliance (AGA)
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nations-first-independent-cannabis-and-hemp-certification-recognized-by-attorneys-general-alliance-aga-301531796.html
When it comes to hemp there are two distinct sectors — industrial and floral hemp.
Industrial hemp involves the industrial application for the grain, fiber and hurd of the crop. Floral hemp focuses on harvesting the flowers of the plant for medicinal uses like CBD.
These different arenas of hemp require different farming practices, different genetics, and different equipment. The problem is that there is only one set of rules governing these two very different sectors of the hemp industry.
Our three podcast guests this week would like to change that. Courtney Moran from Agricultural Hemp Solutions, Morgan Elliott Tweet from IND HEMP, and Erica Stark from the National Hemp Coalition have teamed up to create an exemption for industrial hemp, separating it from floral hemp.
The permit costs and testing fees are a barrier for entry to farmers who want to grow hemp grain and fiber. Our guests argue that industrial hemp needs to start being treated as the commodity crop that it’s destined to be.
To learn more about how this exemption would work, read “Why We Need an Industrial Hemp Exemption."
Help Support the Hemp Exemption
https://www.hempexemption.com/
National Hemp Association
https://nationalhempassociation.org/
Agricultural Hemp Solutions
https://www.agriculturalhempsolutions.com/
Hemp Feed Coalition
https://hempfeedcoalition.org/
PA Hemp Summit
https://pahempsummit.com/
News Nuggets
Cone Denim Debuts US Hemp Denim with BastCore
https://sourcingjournal.com/denim/denim-mills/cone-denim-bastcore-hemp-denim-collection-alabama-tennessee-indigo-339207/
40,000 expected at PA Cannabis Festival in Kutztown
https://www.mcall.com/entertainment/mc-ent-pa-cannabis-festival-20220421-g3ybtn4wnffppo2txjueh5exzq-story.html
Bedmaker becomes the UK’s largest hemp grower
https://www.furniturenews.net/news/articles/2022/04/823161547-bedmaker-becomes-uk%E2%80%99s-largest-hemp-grower
PA’s first home made out of ‘hempcrete’ to be unveiled Friday
https://phl17.com/pennsylvania-news/pas-first-home-made-out-of-hempcrete-to-be-unveiled-friday/
Thanks to our Sponsors
iHemp Michigan's Midwest Hemp Expo, May 20 & 21
https://ihempmichigan.com/midwest-ihemp-expo/
IND HEMP
https://www.indhemp.com/
This week on the podcast, Lancaster Farming talks to Blake Alexandre from Alexandre Family Farm in northern California, America’s first certified regenerative dairy.
“We’ve got a phenomenal growing season out here, that is our winter temperatures and our summer temperatures are only 11 degrees apart,” Alexandre said. “So we literally have grass growing all year long and, you know, just very productive soil.”
“We milk about a total of 5,000 cows, including the drys, and get another 4,000 young stock of heifers that are growing up to become milk cows,” he said.
He started off with a Holstein herd but has been introducing other breeds and crossbreeding with Jerseys. Several years ago, the farm introduced a breed called Fleckvieh, a dual-purpose milk and meat breed from Europe.
Alexandre said the Fleckviehs “just literally take care of themselves better out there on forage, and we lean on grass just as much as any dairy in the country in terms of how many days we graze and what percentage of the diet our cows eat.”
Alexandre is also a proponent of A2 milk and explains what that is and why it’s important.
Much of the interview focuses on soil health and regenerative ag practices, and there is very little discussion of hemp, but Alexandre is active in local government and was on the team that wrote the policy for hemp in the county.
Alexandre Family Farm
https://alexandrefamilyfarm.com/
Savory Institute
https://savory.global/
Regenerative Organic Alliance
https://regenorganic.org/
The Pennsylvania Hemp Summit, April 26 & 27
https://pahempsummit.com/
The Midwest iHemp Expo
https://ihempmichigan.com/midwest-ihemp-expo/
Thanks to our Sponsors
New Holland Agriculture
https://agriculture.newholland.com/nar/en-us
IND HEMP
https://www.indhemp.com/
One of the barriers to building residential homes with hempcrete is that there’s no mention of hempcrete in any of the building codes that set the standards for health and safety in the construction industry.
Most municipalities in the U.S. look to the International Code Council for direction. Hempcrete’s absence from these codes leaves local building inspectors scratching their heads when it comes to building with this natural material.
But that’s all about to change.
At an April 2 hearing in New York, the ICC approved the proposal for hempcrete construction to be added to the International Residential Code. This is the first step toward the ICC’s formal adoption of hemp as an officially recognized building material, according to Jacob Waddell, executive director of the U.S. Hemp Building Association.
The proposal must now go through a public comment period. A final vote by the ICC will take place in September, after which the specs for hempcrete building should be adopted.
Waddell is a guest on the Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast this week. He talks about the process his group went through to build the case for hempcrete and what IRC approval would mean for the hemp and construction industries.
Hempcrete — or hemp-lime, which more accurately describes the material — has three basic components. Hemp hurd, which is the inner woody core of the hemp stalk, is mixed with a lime binder and water.
Once the material is cured and dried, it forms a long-lasting building material offering resistance to fire, mold and fungus, and provides high-rated insulating properties and an opportunity to sequester carbon, a strategy for mitigating climate change.
Also, we take a trip to a hempcrete training session hosted by Cameron McIntosh at Americhanvre Cast Hemp.
US Hemp Builders Association
https://ushba.org/
Americhanvre Cast-Hemp
https://americhanvre.com/
News Nuggets
Veterinary research finds ‘de-stressing benefit’ from feeding cattle industrial hemp
https://www.beefcentral.com/lotfeeding/nutrition/veterinary-research-finds-destressing-benefit-from-feeding-cattle-industrial-hemp/
PA Senate Delta-8 Memo
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?Chamber=S&SPick=20210&cosponId=37166
Thanks to our Sponsor IND HEMP in Montana
https://www.indhemp.com/
This is the final installment of a four-part series consisting of conversations recorded at the NoCo Hemp Expo in Denver, CO, on March 24-25, 2022. On this episode we talk to Joe Hickey, a Kentucky businessman who has been in the hemp industry for over 30 years.
He is the founder of the Kentucky Hemp Growers Cooperative and currently works with Halcyon Technology Holding. He also worked with actor Woody Harrelson to test the limits of Kentucky's laws against industrial hemp in the 1990s. Their collaboration can be seen in the documentary film Hempsters: Plant the Seed.
Hickey tells numerous enlightening from those early days in the industry and offers advice to today's industry on how to develop markets through strategic purchase agreements with large manufactures.
Halcyon Technology Holdings
https://halcyon420.com/
Hempsters: Plant the Seed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HBFkXIS0wE
Noco Hemp Expo
https://www.nocohempexpo.com/
This is the third installment of a four-part series consisting of conversations recorded at the NoCo Hemp Expo in Denver, CO, on March 25, 2022.
On this episode we talk to author and photographer Maren Krings, a German storyteller whose most recent book is called H is for Hemp, which documents her travels around the world, visiting 4 continents and conducting hundreds of interviews documenting how various peoples and cultures are using hemp to combat the effects of climate change.
The books is part hemp encyclopedia, part anthropological study, and part personal diary. This engaging book is over 600 pages in length and was printed on specially designed tree-free hemp paper.
Kring shares stories of her travels and her unique perspective on the global hemp industry.
Buy the book H is for Hemp
https://marenkrings.com/
Noco Hemp Expo
https://www.nocohempexpo.com/
This is the second episode in a series of four special episodes of the podcast consisting of conversations recorded at the NoCo Hemp Expo in Denver, Colorado, on March 25, 2022.
We talk to James J.J. Johnson about his work educating the public about industrial hemp. Johnson retired from the US Air Force after 21 years and returned home with debilitating PTSD.
Through his work in the hemp space, he was able to find new purpose through hemp education and healing from PTSD through cannabinoids.
His story is inspiring and his positive attitude is contagious.
Learn more about JJ Johnson’s work, including his Hemp 101 classes:
http://jjgro.com/
Noco Hemp Expo
https://www.nocohempexpo.com/
This is the first episode in a series of four special episodes of the podcast. First we talk to Sergiy Kovalenkov, a Ukrainian hempcrete builder and businessman.
He is the CEO of Hempire and is a founding member of the US Hemp Building Association.
He sat down with Lancaster Farming on March 25, 2022, at the NoCo Hemp Expo in Denver Colorado.
We discuss the hemp building industry in Ukraine and the US, as well as how the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine is affecting life all around.
Hempire
https://hempire.tech/
US Hemp Builders Association
https://ushba.org/
Noco Hemp Expo
https://www.nocohempexpo.com/
Bob Daniell is president and CEO of a small startup company called American Hemp Corporation in Reno, Nevada, where they are working with farmers to build the hemp industry in the Silver State.
Focused on fiber and grain production and processing, Daniell sees huge potential in Nevada and the surrounding region.
“Nevada grows 385,000 acres of the world’s finest alfalfa hay,” Daniell said. “I’d like to take over about 10% of that as a cover crop. If we can get 40,000 acres of industrial hemp growing in Nevada, we’ll have a $300 million industry.”
This week on the Industrial Hemp Podcast, Daniell lays out his vision for the company and the various markets they are developing, from biochar to biodiesel to fish food.
Earlier in his career, Daniell was a VP at Siemens, one of the world’s largest manufacturing corporations, where he oversaw North American supply chains, and he brings that knowledge of supply chain development to the hemp industry in Nevada.
According to Daniell there are three segments to a supply chain. Assured supply, which is where the grower and the farmer come into play. Assured refinement, which is where the off-taker, the processor, the handler, the manufacturer come into play. And finally assured demand, the target customers.
Daniell is also involved with the Nevada Industrial Hemp Fiber Cooperative, which is helping farmers develop markets for fiber hemp.
American Hemp Corpoartion
https://www.amerhempco.com/
Nevada Industrial Hemp Fiber Cooperative
https://www.nihfc.com/
Pennsylvania Hemp Summit, April 26-27
https://pahempsummit.com/
News Nuggets
Australian state to review hemp act as stakeholders say rules are too strict
https://hemptoday.net/australian-state-to-review-hemp-act-as-stakeholders-say-rules-are-too-strict/
Missouri Awards Grants to Four Hemp Fiber Processors
https://www.hempgrower.com/article/missouri-awards-grants-four-hemp-fiber-processorss/
IND HEMP Launches All Walks Hemp Hurd Animal Bedding at Global Pet Expo
https://www.hempgrower.com/article/ind-hemp-launches-all-walks-hemp-hurd-animal-bedding-at-global-pet-expo/
IND HEMP and Hempitecture announce supply partnership for domestically produced hemp fiber nonwoven insulation.
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ind-hemp-and-hempitecture-announce-supply-partnership-for-domestically-produced-hemp-fiber-nonwoven-insulation-301514091.html
Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board reverses decision on CBD edibles
https://www.wgal.com/article/pennsylvania-liquor-control-board-reverses-decision-edible-cbd/39525437
Thanks to our Sponsors
Mpactful Ventures who encourage you to support the US Hemp Building Foundation (USHBF) in their fundraising for the creation and submittal of the proposed Hemp-Lime IRC appendix and accompanying testing.
http://ushba.org/ushbf/
Attend iHemp Michigan’s Midwest Hemp Expo, May 20-21, in Lansing, Michigan
https://ihempmichigan.com/midwest-ihemp-expo/
IND HEMP
https://www.indhemp.com/
Shout out to Dash Hemp in Santa Cruz, California
https://www.dashhemp.com/
Jessica De Luise – The Wellness Kitchenista – joins us on the podcast this week to talk about the nutritional value of hemp seed and hemp oil and how to incorporate these nutritious hemp ingredients into your kitchen routines.
Plus, she shares her latest venture as the co-founder of Intention Lifestyles, a company focused on research, product development, and public education around hemp grain, fiber, and oil, with a mission to create hemp-based food and lifestyle products that can nourish the mind, body, and our surroundings.
Hemp is a “really powerful ingredient. And there's intention in the way we're farming the cultivars…There's intention in the effects that it may have on the Earth. There's intention in the ingredients that we're going to choose to put into our food products when those go to market. So there's intention behind everything that we do, and that's why we named it Intention Lifestyles,” DeLuise said.
IN 2021 DeLuise won an Emmy Award for her lifestyle reality series Eat Your Way to Wellness.
Learn more about the Wellness Kitchenista:
thewellnesskitchenista.com/reel
tiktok.com/@thewellnesskitchenista
instagram.com/thewellnesskitchenista
Then we talk to Lancaster County dairyman and hemp farmer Abner Stoltzfus about his farming operation and his work as the farmer coordinator for Keystone Hemp Growers, who, by the way, are looking to sign up more growers for the 2022 season.
Thanks to our sponsor
IND HEMP
https://www.indhemp.com/
On this week’s podcast, we continue what appears to be an annual tradition on the show — the Steve Groff Squared episode.
First we talk to Dr. Steve Groff from Groff North America, who made an early yet bold move in the Pennsylvania hemp space by contracting 2,000 acres of fiber hemp in 2019 and also brought the first large scale decorticator — the HempTrain — to the state.
Last year, he made an interesting pivot by applying for and receiving authorization from DEA to grow federally legal cannabis for federally authorized research, drug development, drug manufacturing and export. Groff is also a licensed medical doctor who now specializes in cannabinoid therapy.
Then we check in with Steve Groff, Lancaster County farmer, cover crop pioneer and hemp innovator. He talks about how farmers can overcome the barriers that keep them from implementing soil health practices (hint: it’s the mindset), and what he means when he says “cover crops make good farmers better and bad farmers worse.”
He talks about building his CBD brand Cedar Meadow.Farm and his plans for growing hemp this season, and why he’s not putting in a hemp maze this year. He throws down the gauntlet, challenging other farmers to pick up the hemp maze mantle.
We also talk to Pennsylvania Sen. Judy Schwank about her upcoming hemp legislation giving approval for hemp as a feed for animals in Pennsylvania.
Groff North America
https://groffna.com/
Cedow Meadow.Farm
https://cedarmeadow.farm/
Senator Schwanks Co-Sponsor Memorandum
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?Chamber=S&SPick=20210&cosponId=37036
Go here for Hemp News Nuggets: https://www.lancasterfarming.com/community/podcasts_and_audio/podcast-the-two-steve-groffs-of-pennsylvania-hemp/article_4086a0f9-1124-5de4-b6db-b6260e993957.html
Thanks to Our Sponsors!
King's Agriseeds
https://kingsagriseeds.com/
IND HEMP
https://www.indhemp.com/
Midwest Hemp Expo, May 20 & 21
https://ihempmichigan.com/midwest-ihemp-expo/
This week on the Lancaster Farming Podcast, our guest is Morgan Tweet, executive director of the Hemp Feed Coalition, a non-profit organization whose mission is to gain federal approval for hemp and its byproducts as animal feed to create new markets.
Last month, in response to the results the HFC helped achieve in Montana and Pennsylvania, the Association of American Feed Control Officials wrote an open letter to ag leaders and state policy makers concerning the allowance of hemp in animal feed. The letter calls for more research and education and asks stakeholders to move cautiously when considering hemp as a livestock feed.
AAFCO lists three areas of concern — animal health and safety; safety of food from production animals entering the human food chain; and adverse impact of farmers, ranchers and the animal feed industry.
Tweet and the HFC don’t dispute the need for further research and education, but they argue that AAFCO is conflating hemp grain with cannabinoid hemp.
Tweet says hemp grain contains no detectable levels of cannabinoid content. Compounds like THC or CBD are produced in the flower of the plant, not the seed.
Hemp grain was used widely as a livestock feed up until the mid-20th century, but was banned as the cannabis plant was vilified by anti-marijuana propaganda.
Furthermore, the FDA has already granted GRAS status (Generally Recognized As Safe) to hemp grain. But under the current regulatory landscape, it is legal to feed hemp seeds to your children, but not to your livestock.
Granting approval to hemp grain as a livestock feed would give producers a healthy, high-protein option for their animals, and would also open up markets for hemp grain producers, Tweet said.
Hemp Feed Coalition
https://hempfeedcoalition.org/
AAFCO's letter
https://www.aafco.org/Portals/0/SiteContent/Announcements/Hemp%20Joint%20Open%20Letter%20-%20AAFCO%20-%20FINAL%203.pdf
HFC's response to AAFCO's letter
https://hempfeedcoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/LETTER_FINAL_-HFC_signed-response-to-AAFCO_022822.pdf
For News Nuggets Links, go to the show page on Lancaster Farming.com:
https://www.lancasterfarming.com/unpublished/podcast-hemp-feed-coalition-responds-to-letter/article_fb3d8f88-52e3-5629-bdbe-22684177b3f6.html
Sign up for Americhanvre's Hempcrete training Session
https://americhanvre.com/training/
Thanks to our sponsors:
Americhanvre Cast-Hemp
https://americhanvre.com/
IND HEMP
https://www.indhemp.com/
On this week's Industrial Hemp Podcast, host Eric Hurlock takes a trip to Denver, Colorado, to attend the National Farmers Union annual Convention where he was presented with the Milton D. Hakel award for Excellence in Agricultural Journalism.
While at the convention Hurlock conducted a joint interview with FSA administrator Zach Ducheneaux and FSA State Executive Director for Pennsylvania Heidi Secord, who discuss the mission and goals of the Farm Service Agency, the challenges American ag producers face, the importance of regenerative ag practices, and the current state of the US hemp industry.
Hurlock also interviewed Montana Senator John Tester about hemp's ability to revitalize rural America, and Colorado Commissioner of Agriculture Kate Greenberg about hemp's role in the Colorado ag landscape.
What is the Farm Service Agency?
https://www.fsa.usda.gov/
What is National Farmers Union?https://nfu.org/
Colorado Commissioner of Agriculture Kate Greenberg
https://ag.colorado.gov/commissioner-kate-greenberg
Listen to Colorado Kate Greenberg Address the USDA on this 2019 Hemp Listening Session (7 minutes in)
https://www.lancasterfarming.com/community/podcasts_and_audio/takes-all-kinds-to-build-a-hemp-industry-highlights-of-the-usda-public-listening-session/article_6631aab8-4ea2-11ea-8fc0-574fc822dc5f.html
For New Nuggets, go to Lancaster Farming.com
https://www.lancasterfarming.com/community/podcasts_and_audio/farmers-union-farm-service-agency-hemp-in-the-west/article_c2ccbea2-9bd0-11ec-8b1f-a789465fc935.html
Thanks to our Sponsors
Mpactful Ventures
https://www.mpactfulventures.org/
King's Agriseeds
https://kingsagriseeds.com/
IND HEMP seeks senior Accountant
https://www.indhemp.com/career-opportunities
On this week's podcast, we talk to Tim Almond, founder and chairman of Heartland Industries, a Detroit-based biotech company that was awarded funding through USDA’s Conservation Innovation Grant program for their Hemp4Soil project that studies hemp's effect on soil health when in a rotation with corn and soy.
We also talk to farmer and ag educator Aaron de Long about his upcoming adventure as a Nuffield Farming Scholar. He will be traveling abroad to study developing local supply chains around the world. He is also an educational programming manager at PASA Sustainable Agriculture, and runs a hyper-local grocery store called Red Dog Market.
We also talk to James Gaspard from Biochar Now, a Colorado-based company making biochar at scale. James explains what biochar is, how it's made, and how it can be a very powerful tool for soil health and carbon sequestration.
Learn more:
Heartland Industries
https://www.heartland.io/
Biochar Now!
https://biocharnow.com/
Nuffield farming Scholars
https://www.nuffieldscholar.org
Red Dog Market
https://www.reddogmarketpa.com/
Pasa Sustainable Agriculture
https://pasafarming.org/
Kneehigh Farm
https://www.kneehighfarm.com/biocharnow
Something to Think About
USDA's Partnership for Climate-Smart Commodities
https://www.usda.gov/climate-solutions/climate-smart-commodities
News Nuggets
NY will let hemp farmers grow pot to prepare for legal sales
https://apnews.com/article/kathy-hochul-business-new-york-marijuana-recreational-marijuana-dad75750e125993a6347471390f7ab09
Russia invades Ukraine on many fronts in ‘brutal act of war’
https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-putin-attack-a05e7c4563ac94b963134bba83187d46
Thanks to our sponsor IND HEMP in Montana
https://www.indhemp.com/
On this week's podcast we talk to Victor-Alan Weeks and Jalen Madden, founders of 404 Twenty, a hemp start-up in Yanceyville, North Carolina. They had originally planned to start the business in Georgia where they’re from, but they found North Carolina to be more receptive. They talk about the success and challenges they’ve faced as young Black entrepreneurs in the hemp space. They are taking what they call an E-Cubed approach: focusing on Equity, Education and Environmental stewardship.
Then we talk to Drew Kitt, owner of Two Moons CBD in Asheville, North Carolina, a retail CBD shop focused on health and wellness. Kitt wears many hats in the hemp industry, from seed distributor to brand ambassador to CBD retailer. He offers advice to farmers looking to get their crops into CBD shops, as well as advice for CBD shop owners on designing a welcoming space.
Plus a few nuggets of hemp news, including an overview of the USDA’s National Hemp Report.
Two Moons CBD
https://twomoonscbd.com/
New Nuggets
Oregon Senate passes bill designed to get a handle on 'hemp'
https://www.kdrv.com/news/local/oregon-senate-passes-bill-designed-to-get-a-handle-on-hemp/article_61af00e0-905d-11ec-93ac-8f0f0529af1a.html
Panda Biotech president gives update on hemp plant progress
https://www.texomashomepage.com/news/local-news/panda-biotech-president-gives-update-on-hemp-plant-progress/
USDA's National Hemp Report
https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/Todays_Reports/reports/hempan22.pdf
Thanks to our Sponsors:
IND HEMP
https://www.indhemp.com/
New Holland Agriculture
https://agriculture.newholland.com/nar/en-us
On this week's podcast we talk to Ben Dobson who's turned his farm in the Hudson Valley into soil laboratory studying how regenerative farming can maximize carbon capture and restore ecosystems. Plus, Cameron McIntosh shares news about an American version of the Ereasy Spray-Applied Hempcrete System.
Hudson Carbon
https://www.hudsoncarbon.com/
Hudson Hemp
https://www.hudsonhemp.com/
Recommended Resources:
Rodale Institute
https://rodaleinstitute.org/
B Carbon
https://bcarbon.org/
Savanna Institute
https://www.savannainstitute.org/
Savory Institute
https://savory.global/
No Till On the Plains
http://www.notill.org/
Hempcrete Building
Americhanvre Cast Hemp
https://americhanvre.com/
Hempcrete Training
https://americhanvre.com/training/
Something to Think About
How Big Oil Misled The Public Into Believing Plastic Would Be Recycled
https://www.npr.org/2020/09/11/897692090/how-big-oil-misled-the-public-into-believing-plastic-would-be-recycled
Planet Money Podcast: Wasteland
https://www.npr.org/2020/09/11/912150085/waste-land
News Nuggets
Pingree Unveils Bill to Unburden Hemp Industry
https://pingree.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=3970
Potential in Pennsylvania: Building Hemp Markets Beyond Cannabinoids
https://www.hempgrower.com/article/pennsylvania-department-agriculture-industrial-hemp-market-opportunities-construction-hempcrete-fiber-funding/
‘Explosive’ demand for hurd in Europe is bright signal for hemp building
https://hemptoday.net/explosive-demand-for-hurd-in-europe-is-bright-signal-for-hemp-building/
Listen to Hemp Builder Steve Allin on the Industrial Hemp Podcast
https://www.lancasterfarming.com/community/podcasts_and_audio/a-fiber-side-chat-with-steve-allin/article_eab7578c-526d-11ea-9691-0bd8e0db362d.html
Vilsack celebrates hemp during announcement of USDA’s $1 billion climate investment
https://hempindustrydaily.com/vilsack-celebrates-hemp-during-announcement-of-usdas-1-billion-climate-investment/
Watch Ag Secretary Vilsack's Announcement
https://www.usda.gov/media/live
$1.3 Million Grant Awarded to New Zealand Company for Hemp Fiber Research
https://www.hempgrower.com/article/new-zealand-natural-fibers-awarded-sfff-fund-hemp-fiber-research/
Recipe: Peanut Butter & Hemp Banana
https://www.eatingwell.com/recipe/7944671/peanut-butter-hemp-banana/
Thanks to our Sponsor
IND HEMP in Montana
https://www.indhemp.com
On this week’s podcast, we embark on our journey of discovery into regenerative agriculture – what it is, what makes it different from conventional agriculture, and why it’s important.
The first stop on the journey is a conversation with regenerative farmer, Mike Lewis. We’ll hear about his work as a sustainable ag specialist at the National Center for Appropriate Technology, as well as his holistic farming operation in southeastern Kentucky. He is also the board chair for the Hemp Industries Association and is a student of Wendell Berry.
We will also hear from Michael Monteiro, co-founder of Mpactful Ventures, an investment and incubator company focused on supporting start-ups and other initiatives to mitigate the climate crisis. Mpactful Ventures in also one of our new podcast sponsors for 2022.
And this week we introduce a new segment sponsored by IND HEMP called “Something to Think About” in which we’ll briefly explore a topic of environmental concern.
National Center for Appropriate Technology
https://www.ncat.org/
NCAT’s Soil for Water Program
https://soilforwater.org/
NCAT’s National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service
https://attra.ncat.org/
NCAT’s Armed to Farm Program
https://www.armedtofarm.org/
Hemp Industries Association
https://thehia.org/
The Berry Center Supporting Sustainable Agriculture
https://berrycenter.org/
News Nuggets
New Calgary-Based Company HEMPALTA Acquires Industrial Hemp Processing Facility and Products Business from Canadian Greenfield Technologies
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/calgary-based-company-hempalta-acquires-160000796.html
PepsiCo to launch hemp seed-infused drink under Rockstar Energy
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/01/pepsico-to-launch-hemp-seed-infused-drink-under-rockstar-energy.html
USDA approves Alaska’s industrial hemp plan
https://www.alaskapublic.org/2022/02/01/usda-approves-alaskas-industrial-hemp-plan/
OSU researchers say preclinical trials on hemp compounds blocking COVID-19 will happen 'very soon'
https://www.kdrv.com/news/top-stories/osu-researchers-say-preclinical-trials-on-hemp-compounds-blocking-covid-19-will-happen-very-soon/article_ebe619a4-82c7-11ec-9ede-17d7b427e8fb.html
Groundhog’s Day
https://lancasteronline.com/news/local/heres-what-punxsutawney-phil-and-lancaster-countys-own-groundhogs-predicted-on-groundhog-day-2022-photos/article_5457d342-8421-11ec-9f66-bfca0220a202.html
Something to Think About
Fracking or drinking water? That may become the choice
https://www.cnbc.com/2014/09/12/fracking-for-oil-requires-water-that-may-be-needed-as-drinking-water.html
Thanks to our sponsors
IND HEMP
https://www.indhemp.com/
Mpactful Ventures
https://www.mpactfulventures.org/
The Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast is back! After several weeks' hiatus, the show returns with a new focus.
While committed to covering the emerging hemp industry, the show will expanding it's focus to include other ag-related topics -- things that harmonize with the message of hemp, things like regenerative agriculture, carbon sequestration, and how farmers are saving the world.
On this episode, host Eric Hurlock lays out a roadmap for the new season and what we can expect this year. Plus a recap of season one and recent hemp news and an introduction to our new sponsors.
News Nuggets
Idaho to Host First Hemp Producer Meeting
https://www.hempgrower.com/article/idaho-to-host-first-hemp-producer-meeting/
Michigan hemp tech firm Heartland partners with global recycling company
https://hempindustrydaily.com/michigan-hemp-tech-firm-heartland-partners-with-international-recycling-company/
Announcing NWG AMPLIFY : A Genetic Trait That Doubles Hemp Yields.
https://seedworld.com/announcing-nwg-amplifytm-a-genetic-trait-that-doubles-hemp-yields/
USDA-Agricultural Research Service and Cornell University Collaborate to Present First National Hemp Webinar Series
https://www.ars.usda.gov/news-events/news/research-news/2022/usda-agricultural-research-service-and-cornell-university-collaborate-to-present-first-national-hemp-webinar-series/
Oregon State research shows hemp compounds prevent coronavirus from entering human cells
https://today.oregonstate.edu/news/oregon-state-research-shows-hemp-compounds-prevent-coronavirus-entering-human-cells
Nike Uses Hemp To Weave Near Every Part Of This Blazer Mid ’77
https://sneakernews.com/2022/01/24/nike-blazer-mid-77-hemp-dv2173-100/
NHA Calls on Biden-Harris Administration to Invest in Hemp
https://www.hempgrower.com/article/national-hemp-association-nha-calls-on-biden-harris-administration-invest-in-hemp/
Thanks to our sponsors:
IND Hemp
https://www.indhemp.com/
Mpactful Ventures
https://www.mpactfulventures.org/
New Holland Ag
https://agriculture.newholland.com/nar/en-us
Kings Agriseeds
https://kingsagriseeds.com/
Americhanvre Cast-Hemp
https://americhanvre.com/
The end of the year is finally here. On this ultimate episode of 2021, we first talk to Erica Stark from the National Hemp Association. She gives her take on the state of the Industry in 2021 and what she’s looking forward to in the year ahead – especially the next Farm Bill.
Then we talk to Marty Clemons from the Southeast Hemp Association. We discuss how the industry will move forward in the new year and why it’s imperative that farmers have a seat at the table as this industry puts itself together. Without farmers there is no hemp industry.
Stay tuned for a new and improved Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast in 2022. We will be widening our focus to include other topics like regenerative ag practices, carbon sequestration, green building and renewable energy, soil health, human health, and a whole lot more.
Happy New Year!
The National Hemp Association
https://nationalhempassociation.org/
The Southeast Hemp Association
https://www.sehemp.org/
5th Annual Industrial Hemp Summit on February 28th and March 1st.
https://www.industrialhempsummit.info/
industrialhempsummit.net
The Good & True
Thegoodandtrue.com
News Nuggets
Minnesota Declares Most Hemp-Derived Consumables Illegal
https://www.ganjapreneur.com/minnesota-declares-most-hemp-derived-consumables-illegal/
Berlin’s Public Transport Company Introduces Edible Hemp Tickets For A ‘Stress-Free Christmas’
https://www.forbes.com/sites/dariosabaghi/2021/12/22/berlins-public-transport-company-introduces-edible-hemp-tickets-for-a-stress-free-christmas/?sh=2e0877cc6e93
Michigan hemp firm wins USDA grant to advance soil health and carbon research
https://hempindustrydaily.com/michigan-hemp-firm-wins-usda-grant-to-advance-soil-health-and-carbon-research/
Hemp Fiber Processing Infrastructure Makes a Breakthrough in 2021
https://www.hempgrower.com/article/hemp-fiber-processing-infrastructure-makes-breakthrough-2021-year-end-trends/
France Built the World's First Carbon-Negative Public Building. And It's Made of Hemp
https://interestingengineering.com/france-built-the-worlds-first-carbon-negative-public-building-and-its-made-of-hemp
New book looks at 50 hemp building projects around the globe
https://hemptoday.net/new-book-looks-at-50-hemp-building-projects-around-the-globe/
Listen to the Lancaster Farming interview with Hemp Building Pioneer Steve Allin
https://www.lancasterfarming.com/community/podcasts_and_audio/a-fiber-side-chat-with-steve-allin/article_eab7578c-526d-11ea-9691-0bd8e0db362d.html
Texas Supreme Court agrees to hear case on the legality of smokeable hemp in the state
https://www.sacurrent.com/sanantonio/texas-supreme-court-agrees-to-hear-case-on-the-legality-of-smokeable-hemp-in-the-state/Content?oid=27821492
Virginia receives USDA approval to proceed with hemp production plan
https://hempindustrydaily.com/virginia-receives-usda-approval-to-proceed-with-hemp-production-plan/
Thanks to our sponsor IND HEMP
https://www.indhemp.com/
Music by Tin Bird Shadow
https://tinbirdshadow.bandcamp.com/album/dot-dot-dot
On this week’s episode, we talk to Dave Andrews from Kreider Farms, the Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, producer of Chiques Creek Hemp Eggs, the first commercially available hemp-fed eggs on the market in the United States.
Chiques Creek Hemp Eggs usher in a new era of agricultural products as hemp gains acceptance as a feed for laying hens. Because of the generations-long prohibition of hemp and recent changes in federal policy, hemp is now poised to be a game-changer for livestock producers around the country with its excellent nutritional profile.
We talk to Andrews about why Kreider Farms has worked so diligently on this expensive endeavor to bring hemp-fed eggs to market, along with its brand of hemp tea.
“We're not just promoting hemp eggs or even hemp tea,” Kreider said. “We're trying to participate in the whole hemp renaissance because we recognize that it's going to be big for American agriculture, you know, for fiber and for food and building materials and molded car parts. It's just endless in terms of all the applications for hemp. And so it's a big deal.”
Chiques Creek Hemp Eggs
https://www.chiquescreek.com/hemp-eggs/
Kreider Farms
https://www.kreiderfarms.com/
Thanks to our sponsor IND HEMP
https://www.indhemp.com/
Ken Elliott is a conservative Christian business owner who believes that climate change is the biggest threat to life on God’s green Earth, and he intends to do something about it.
According to Elliott, plain old greed and media-driven political divisiveness are responsible for the environmental crisis and our inability to do anything about it.
But he’s optimistic that there are good people — smart people — on both sides of the political spectrum who can look past politics to save the world.
He’s put his money where his mouth is by founding IND HEMP, a Montana-based hemp fiber and oil seed company that's working with farmers in the American West to develop the processing infrastructure, build the supply chain, and expand the markets for industrial hemp.
Elliott believes in the carbon sequestering potential of industrial hemp but knows that nothing is possible without our American farmers.
In this in-depth podcast interview he talks about his work with oil companies to clean up Superfund sites, which led him to consider hemp for soil remediation and ultimately to starting IND HEMP.
This conversation covers farming, science, politics, regenerative ag, morality, religion, and how maybe Al Gore was the wrong person to be the messenger on climate.
IND HEMP is a sponsor of Lancaster Farming’s Industrial Hemp Podcast.
On this week’s podcast we talk to hemp pioneer Eric Steenstra about the upcoming Hemp Openspace event to be held virtually on December 8, 2021. Hemp Openspace offers hemp entrepreneurs, enthusiasts, and industry leaders the chance to collaborate and work on the issues that will move the industry forward.
Steenstra has been active in the hemp space for nearly 30 years, first as an entrepreneur in the hemp textile arena, then as co-founder of VoteHemp, a group that was instrumental in getting hemp into the 2014 and 2018 Farm Bills.
We talk to Streenstra about what attendees can expect from the Hemp Openspace event, plus we hear about his nearly 3 decades as a hemp advocate, and where the industry is heading in 2022.
Register for Hemp Openspace, December 8, 2021
Use the Discount Code VOTEHEMP1208 to save $15 on registration fee
https://www.hempopenspace.com/
VoteHemp
https://www.votehemp.com/
Thanks to our sponsor IND HEMP
https://www.indhemp.com/
Read a transcript of this episode:
https://www.lancasterfarming.com/community/podcasts_and_audio/hemp-openspace-brings-hemp-industry-together-december-8/article_160c4690-4bb9-11ec-943a-1fe3ba9032bf.html
On the hemp podcast this week, hemp industry advocate Geoff Whaling returns to the show to talk about his latest endeavor to inject much needed capital into the hemp space to build out the supply chain, develop processing capacity and develop markets.
How does one go about raising $500 million? How will that money be used to develop the industry? How does this venture differ from the Collect Growth’s special purpose acquisition fund? And how can you get in on the action? All those questions are answered on today’s show, plus we talk about hot topics in the hemp space, including what we can look forward to in the 2022 Farm Bill.
rePlant Hemp Impact Fund https://replanthemp.com/
News Nuggets
KY Hemp applications open for 2022
https://www.paducahsun.com/news/hemp-applications-open-for-2022/article_29acb2c1-e344-5f6b-8bee-66386e07dffc.html
Kentucky’s Hemp Program
https://www.kyagr.com/marketing/hemp-applications.html
Hemp, CBD businesses look to alternatives as delta-8′s legal future remains uncertain
https://www.dallasnews.com/business/2021/11/18/hemp-cbd-businesses-look-to-alternatives-as-delta-8s-legal-future-remains-uncertain/
Hemp OpenSpace
December 8, 2021
https://www.hempopenspace.com/
Special thanks to our sponsors:
JBT, cannabis banking specialists
https://www.jbt.bank/
IND HEMP
www.indhemp.com
This week on the hemp podcast we talk to George Overbey and Nick Strawn, executives from the Texas-based hemp start-up Delta Ag, who tell us about hemp in the Lone Star State. In 2021 the company contracted ten thousand acres of hemp in Texas, Colorado and Kentucky.
While most hemp companies will usually pick which side of the industry they want to play in — grain and fiber or cannabinoids — Delta has taken a unique approach by planting what they call tri-crop varieties which allow them to harvest fiber and grain for industrial and food purposes and also flower for the CBD market.
Overbey and Strawn describe how their previous work in the oil and gas industry has set them up for success in hemp. They talk about Delta Ag’s processing facilities, how they structure their contracts and payments to farmers, and their commitment to regenerative ag practices.
Delta Ag https://deltaag.com/
News Nuggets
The Importance of Yeast and Mold Testing in the Hemp Industry
https://blog.uvm.edu/outcropn/2021/11/02/the-importance-of-yeast-and-mold-testing-in-the-hemp-industry/
Could hemp be the next dietary hit?
https://www.thescottishfarmer.co.uk/news/19705846.hemp-next-dietary-hit/
Idaho begins accepting applications for hemp production
https://www.postregister.com/farmandranch/crops/miscellaneous/idaho-begins-accepting-applications-for-hemp-production/article_d76ef298-8782-5c2e-b67a-703981589770.html
Idaho State Department of Agriculture Hemp Program
https://agri.idaho.gov/main/hemp/
Can industrial hemp become a sustainable building material? These private investors think so
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/can-industrial-hemp-become-a-sustainable-building-material-these-private-investors-think-so-11636482579
Thanks to our sponsor IND HEMP https://www.indhemp.com/
On this week’s podcast, Lancaster Farming talks to Daniel Lirette, founder and CEO of GrowDoc, a Canadian maker of an app that uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to diagnose issues with cannabis plants, such as disease, pests, and nutrient deficiencies.
Lirette discusses how and why he started the company and built the app. He also shares his thoughts on the US hemp and cannabis industry from his perspective in Canada, where cannabis has been legal across the board federally since 2017.
GrowDoc https://growdoc.net/
New Nuggets
Pa. Department of Agriculture: Now accepting 2022 hemp growing permits
https://www.northcentralpa.com/business/pa-department-of-agriculture-now-accepting-2022-hemp-growing-permits/article_53c16080-34fb-11ec-87e9-fb89d89961d6.html
NASS's Hemp Survey
https://www.agcounts.usda.gov/static/cawi/layouts/cawi/breeze/index.html
Dispensaries scramble to adjust to unanticipated CBD ban
https://montanafreepress.org/2021/11/01/dispensaries-scramble-to-adjust-to-unanticipated-cbd-ban/
Pennsylvania Hemp Summit
https://pahempsummit.com/
Hemp at Mount Vernon
https://www.zynation.net/feature-articles/2021/10/26/hemp-at-mount-vernon
Special thanks to our sponsors:
JBT
https://www.jbt.bank/cannabis-industry/
IND HEMP
https://www.indhemp.com
On this week’s podcast, we take a trip to the Mill Creek in rural Leacock Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania., where the Zook family just pulled an old millstone out of the creek. But it wasn’t just any old millstone — it was a hempstone.
On this episode, we find out what a hempstone is, why it was in the creek, and how the Zooks managed to get it out of the creekbed where it’s sat undisturbed for nearly 2 centuries.
Plus, hemp historian Les Stark shares his expert perspective on the stone, how much it weighs and why he thinks it’s older than some other hemp stones he’s found.
Hempstone Heritage, by Les Stark
http://www.hempstoneheritage.com/
Thanks to our Sponsor IND HEMPhttps://www.indhemp.com/
On this episode of the Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast, we talk to Mattie Mead, founder and CEO of Hempitecture, a company based in Idaho that makes bio-based building materials designed to replace conventional, toxic building materials.
The company started off building hempcrete structures, but has pivoted to become a manufacturer of HempWool, a replacement for fiberglass insulation.
We talk about how and why Mead founded Hempitecture, from the early days of cast in place hempcrete building to developing sustainable products to replace toxic materials in the construction space.
Hempitecture
https://www.hempitecture.com/
Hempitecture on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/Hempitecture/
Hempitecture on Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/hempitecture/
Being a hemp farmer has many challenges — from sourcing good genetics to soil conditions, insect pressure, weed pressure, finding enough people to help your harvest. The list goes on and on.
And as most people in the hemp industry know, one of the primary challenges is finding reliable financial and banking services.
The murky federal status of the cannabis plant and lack of clear regulation on cannabis banking has left many folks in the hemp industry frustrated and sometimes without the ability to secure loans, make deposits, or utilize other standard financial services.
On this episode of the Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast, we talk to Ashley Hess from Jonestown Bank & Trust. She is a certified cannabis banking professional, and she gives good advice on how to navigate the tricky waters of cannabis banking.
On this episode, we also talk to Kelly Kundratic from Team PA about the upcoming 2021 Pennsylvania Hemp Summit.
Jonestown Bank & Trust https://www.jbt.bank/
Register for the 2021 Pennsylvania Hemp Summit https://pahempsummit.com/
Thanks to our Sponsor IND HEMP
https://www.indhemp.com/
On the Hemp Podcast this week we talk to Geoff Whaling, chair of the National Hemp Association about the recent creation of the Standing Committee of Hemp Organizations which will give the hemp industry a stronger, more unified voice in Washington.
The standing committee intends to work with the Biden administration on climate initiatives and hopes to get a $1 billion amendment into the infrastructure bill to help develop the hemp industry and build supply chains.
We will also talk to Cameron McIntosh and Eric Titus White about the second annual Hempcrete Week, the upcoming three day, hands-on Hempcrete workshop.
National Hemp Association's Standing Committee of Hemp Organizations
https://nationalhempassociation.org/standing-committee-of-hemp-organizations/
NHA's Message to Joe Bidenhttps://youtu.be/HpGvgLBiyUM
Cannabis World Congress & Business Expo
https://cwcbexpo.com/
Hempcrete Week 2021
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hempcreteweek-2021-tickets-173949265937
The Hempstead
https://www.thehempsteadpa.com/
Americhanvre Cast Hemp
https://americhanvre.com/
Thanks to our Sponsor IND HEMP in Montana!
https://www.indhemp.com/
On this special weekend edition of the Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast, we talk to Nick Walters from the National Hemp Growers Coop.
Walters talks about the unique structure of the coop and how it differs from other agricultural cooperatives, and why those differences matter.
The focus of the coop is fiber and grain and promises to help growers from seed to sale.
National Hemp Growers Cooperative
https://www.facebook.com/nationalhempcoop/
Phone: (601) 301-5550
Thanks to our sponsor IND HEMP
https://www.indhemp.com/
On this week’s hemp podcast we explore the intersection of the gas and oil industries with the hemp industry and how hemp can provide an opportunity for Big Oil to take responsibility for the over 3 million abandoned oil and gas wells that dot the American landscape.
Our guest is Mark Mersman from Offset Energy Partners who talks about The Well Done Foundation’s effort to plug leaky wells to fight climate change. We also talk about carbon credits and how they might persuade the oil and gas industry to do the right thing.
“The credit markets are very eager to have projects that are eliminating emissions and if we can sequester methane gas or avoid emitting methane gas by plugging the well, there's a real value to that,” Mersman said.
The Well Done Foundation
https://welldonefoundation.org/
Offset Energy Partners
https://offsetenergypartners.com/
News Nuggets
Oregon’s ‘Operation Table Rock’ busts hemp operators growing marijuana
https://hemptoday.net/oregons-operation-table-rock-busts-hemp-operators-growing-marijuana/
New federal rules get tighter on local hemp farmers
https://naturalresourcereport.com/2021/09/new-federal-rules-get-tighter-on-local-hemp-farmers/
Czech hemp in vanguard as president signs law re-setting THC limit
https://hemptoday.net/czech-hemp-in-vanguard-as-president-signs-law-re-setting-thc-limit/
Pennsylvania Hemp Events
Pennsylvania Cannabis Festival October 2-3
http://www.penncannafest.com/
Canna-Hemp Festival, October 9
https://lancastertradinghouse.com/hempzelstm-first-annual-cannahemp-festival
On this special edition of the Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast, we talk to Ben Raymond, head of research and development at Victory Hemp Hoods in Kentucky.
He wants to let the grain side of the hemp industry know that the comment period for The Food Chemicals Codex monographs for hemp as a food ingredient is closing at the end of this month and it’s important that these monographs accurately reflect hemp as a food ingredient.
The better the information contained in these ingredient monographs the more legitimate hemp becomes as a food ingredient, so it behooves the hemp industry to make sure these monographs are on point.
View the proposed monograph along with Ben’s proposed changes
https://www.lancasterfarming.com/farming/industrial_hemp/fcc-hemp-monograph-suggestions/pdf_776d2128-1bd7-11ec-8cb3-3bc5caaa1f4c.html
Go to the FCC’s website and publish your comments. The deadline is September 30, 2021
https://www.foodchemicalscodex.org/fcc-forum
Here is some background information Ben provided to Lancaster Farming:
Who is the FCC?
The food chemicals codex (FCC) is a compendium of internationally recognized standards for the identity, purity, and quality of food ingredients. It features over 1,200 monographs, including food-grade chemicals, processing aids, food ingredients (such as vegetable oils, fructose, whey, and amino acids), flavoring agents, vitamins, and other functional food ingredients.
Why should your company care?
Food production, from farm to fork, is a long complicated and ever more globalized process. Potential vulnerabilities that may affect the integrity of food ingredients are increasingly scrutinized by regulators, retailers, and consumers.
The FCC serves two key roles in this area:
-
Helping to limit the introduction of potential problems at the ingredient level, and
-
Serving as a widely acknowledged quality benchmark in the global marketplace for food ingredients. FCC standards are recognized around the world by regulatory agencies, food processors, and ingredient suppliers as the basis for defining food-grade Ingredients.
FCC has promulgated draft monographs that encompass hemp seed protein and hemp seed oil. FCC monographs set standards for ingredient identification methods, limits on impurities, and product specific tests such as percent moisture, protein, or in the case of hemp ingredients, limits on CBD and THC content. FCC monographs are not state or federal regulations and compliance is entirely voluntary. However it is common that food and beverage ingredients and additives are sold as f c c grade and some manufacturers will set internal purchasing and QA standards based on FCC monographs.
It is in the hemp Industries best interest to guide FCC monograph creation to standards that are logical, don’t impose undo testing burdens, and do not limit innovation.
On this week’s podcast we talk to Jason Crook, entrepreneur, marketing expert, and professor at Jefferson University in Philadelphia where he teaches a core curriculum coarse called Finding & Shaping Opportunity.
He’s not in the hemp industry at all, but his ideas around innovation, market disruption, brainstorming, creating value for customers and identifying unique business opportunities should be very instructive and inspiring for the people in the hemp space who are trying to get this industry off the ground.
Since 2003, Crook has been the proprietor of an award-winning retail and eCommerce business and has also served as principal at his own marketing communications and research consultancy. His field expertise spans a variety of industries including retail, pharmaceuticals, consumer packaged goods, banking/finance, and technology. He is well known for his talents in new product launches, brand strategy, and promotional concept development.
Jason has been a faculty member in Jefferson’s Kanbar College of DEC since 2001. He is currently an Assistant Teaching Professor, Coordinator of the college’s DEC Core course in Finding & Shaping Opportunity, and the Coordinator of External Programs in the School of Business.
Prior to his entrepreneurial and academic endeavors, Jason served as Director of Marketing Research at a Philadelphia-based national advertising agency and Director of Corporate Branding for a pharmaceutical marketing organization. In 2006, Jason was granted a US patent as the co-inventor of a “Method and System for Analyzing Effectiveness of Marketing Strategies.”
Thomas Jefferson University’s Kanbar College of Design Engineering & Commerce
https://www.jefferson.edu/academics/colleges-schools-institutes/kanbar-college-of-design-engineering-commerce.html
Thanks to our Sponsor IND HEMP
https://www.indhemp.com/
On the show this week, we talk to Andrew Bish from Bish Enterprises and Hemp Harvest Works in Nebraska about their new hemp harvester, the FiberCut 4-15. It's a 15 foot multi-height sickle bar mower, capable of cutting hemp stalks into various lengths, which will help with retting, baling, and decortication.
We also talk to Gary Sikes, a hemp grower from North Carolina, on whose farm Bish demonstrated the effectiveness of the new multi-height harvester. Sikes had several acres of fiber hemp, some of which was over 10 foot tall.
Also this week, we add a new segment called Profiles in Hemp. This week we talk to Trey Riddle, chief strategy officer at IND HEMP in Montana.
Check out the Bish Enterprises FiberCut 4-15 in action
Hemp Harvest Works
https://hempharvestworks.com/
Bish Enterprises
https://bishenterprise.com/
IND HEMP
https://www.indhemp.com/
This week on the podcast, host Eric Hurlock travels to Raleigh, North Carolina, for the third annual Southern Hemp Expo, where he catches up with Morris Beegle, founder of WAFBA (We Are For Better Alternatives), the company that produces The Southern Hemp Expo and the NoCo Hemp Expo in Colorado, the largest hemp conferences in the country.
Eric also talks to Hunter Buffington, executive director of the Hemp Feed Coalition, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization whose mission is to gain federal approval for hemp as a livestock feed, which would open up new markets for hemp growers and give livestock producers a new source of food for their animals.
Links
Hemp Feed Coalition
https://hempfeedcoalition.org/
WAFBA
https://wafba.org/
Southern Hemp Expo
https://www.southernhempexpo.com/
VIDEO: Andrew Bish from Hemp Harvest Works and the Multi-Height Hemp Harvester
https://www.lancasterfarming.com/farming/industrial_hemp/hemp-harvest-works-multi-height-hemp-harvester/video_40c8591c-10ec-11ec-8128-33ad782bd7e7.html
AUDIO: Panel Discussion about Carbon Credits from the Southern Hemp Expo
https://www.lancasterfarming.com/farming/industrial_hemp/carbon-credits-panel-discussion/audio_8c643c5a-10e8-11ec-9bd4-7b3c942c8874.html
News Nuggets
Society of Cannabis Clinicians Consensus on Delta-8 THC
https://www.cannabisclinicians.org/2021/08/30/scc-consensus-on-delta-8-thc/
Hemp Maze Minnesota Is Almost Surely One-Of-A-Kind
https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2021/09/07/hemp-maze-minnesota-is-almost-surely-one-of-a-kind/
Wisconsin hemp program to transition to federal agency next year
https://madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/wisconsin-hemp-program-to-transition-to-federal-agency-next-year/article_2cd860af-ee1c-53f6-a74b-9750171b5fa7.html
Steve Groff’s Pennsylvania Hemp Maze
https://www.cedarmeadowadventures.com/
Thanks to our sponsor IND HEMP
https://www.indhemp.com/
This week on the industrial hemp podcast we talk to Morgan Elliott, co-founder and chief operating officer at IND HEMP in Fort Benton, Montana, where they are building a massive hemp industrial complex to process the grain and fiber being grown by Montana farmers.
We talk about her role at the company that she founded with her family, the leadership role IND HEMP has taken in the industry, the potential of the US hemp market and what that could mean for farmers.
"There's such a big pie in the sky of opportunity if we're talking acres," says Elliott. "Just five percent of the United States' commodity market — so mostly going to corn and soy — if we had just five percent of that, it's like 8 million acres. It's huge."
IND HEMP
https://www.indhemp.com/
Take a tour of IND HEMP's new fiber processing plant in Montana
https://www.lancasterfarming.com/community/videos/ind-hemp-fiber-plant-tour-part-1/video_e5279d50-076a-11ec-ace3-47a7dfdeaf38.html
Hemp Acreage and Production Survey
https://www.nass.usda.gov/Surveys/Guide_to_NASS_Surveys/Hemp/index.php
Southern Hemp Expo Takes Place In Raleigh This Week
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelinebryant/2021/08/31/southern-hemp-expo-takes-place-in-raleigh-this-week/
Rebuilding Haiti with bamboo and hemp
https://thehill.com/opinion/international/569849-rebuilding-haiti-with-bamboo-and-hemp
Hemp Research Field Walk, September 16
https://web.cvent.com/event/8edad680-9d1c-4028-b37a-1deb7158c533/summary
On this week's podcast, we talk to Lancaster County farmer Steve Groff about his new one-of-a-kind Hemp Maze at Cedar Meadow farm in Holtwood, Pennsylvania.
Education, education, education. “That’s really what’s behind the maze,” Groff said. “We have all this lack of education from the general public." They just don’t know the various beneficial uses of hemp.
“Consumers need to be aware of it, so they can begin to ask for it,” Groff said. “With all these hundreds if not thousands of products that could be made with hemp — a renewable resource, by the way, and one that farmers could benefit from if we can get this infrastructure up and running.”
The maze was designed and implemented by the York County-based company Maize Quest, and after the interview with Steve Groff, we'll hear from Maize Quest's master of mazes, Hugh McPherson.
Cedar Meadow Farm
https://cedarmeadow.farm/
Get your Hemp Maze Tickets here:
https://www.cedarmeadowadventures.com/
Maize Quest
https://mazecatalog.com/
News Nuggets
Texas ban on smokable hemp tossed, opening potential $400 million market
https://hempindustrydaily.com/texas-ban-on-smokable-hemp-tossed/
Hawaii bans smokable hemp, CBD drinks and gummies
https://hempindustrydaily.com/hawaii-bans-smokable-hemp-cbd-drinks-and-gummies/
PA Hemp Summit
https://pahempsummit.com/
Southern Hemp Expo
https://www.southernhempexpo.com/
Thanks to our Sponsor IND HEMP in Fort Benton, Montana
https://www.indhemp.com/
Podcast episode 152
This is the final episode from Lancaster Farming's National Hemp Tour. Hemp podcast host Eric Hurlock visits with the folks from DON Enterprises to check out the hempcrete home under construction there.
He talks to Don Enterprise's VP of development, Lori Daytner, hemp farmer Herm Cvetan, DON founder and president Chris Lloyd, chief counsel Philip Berezniak, and New Castle mayor Chris Frye.
DON Enterprise
http://doninc.org/company/donenterprises/
Project PA Hemp Home
https://healthymaterialslab.org/projects/pa-hemp-home
Thanks to our sponsors:
IND HEMP
https://www.indhemp.com/
Rosedowns
https://www.rosedowns.co.uk/
Desmet Ballestra
https://www.desmetballestra.com/
New Holland Agriculture
betterhempharvest.com
National Hemp Association
https://nationalhempassociation.org/
Americhanvre Cast-Hemp
https://americhanvre.com/
Victory Hemp Foods
https://www.victoryhempfoods.com/
King's AgriSeeds
https://kingsagriseeds.com/
National Hemp Tour: Lincoln, Nebraska
Our next stop on the hemp tour is in Lincoln Nebraska where the folks at the University of Nebraska Lincoln hosted a small hemp seed oil pressing demonstration on August 3, 2021.
This episode features interviews with Loren Isom, Assistant Director, Industrial Agricultural Products Center at UNL, Robert Byrnes from tour sponsor Rosedowns North America, professor of hemp breeding and genetics at UNL Dr. Ismail Dweikat, and Andrew Bish from Bish Enterprises, Hemp Harvest Works and the Hemp Feed Coalition.
Industrial Agricultural Products Center at UNL
https://agproducts.unl.edu/
Rosedowns North America/ Desmet Ballestra
https://www.desmetballestra.com/
Hemp Harvest Works
https://hempharvestworks.com/
Bish Enterprise
https://bishenterprise.com/
Hemp Feed Coalition
https://hempfeedcoalition.org/
Thanks to our sponsors:
IND HEMP
https://www.indhemp.com/
New Holland Agriculture
betterhempharvest.com
National Hemp Association
https://nationalhempassociation.org/
Victory Hemp Foods
https://www.victoryhempfoods.com/
King's AgriSeeds
https://kingsagriseeds.com/
On this episode we make two stops in South Dakota. First to Rapid City where Jeremy Briggs is constructing the world's first recording studio and music venue made from hempcrete.
The second stop is in eastern South Dakota where we caught up with Derrick Dohmann from Horizon Hemp Seeds in a 140 acre field of hemp.
The podcast rolled into Fort Benton, Montana, for a meeting of fiber and grain industry folks who got together to talk about the industry and challenges and opportunities facing the industry.
This episode is a recap of the day's events.
The next stop on the tour is to an old sawmill near Adams, Oregon, where John Green and Marissa Baumgartner are milling the wood for a timber-frame hempcrete house and growing a few acres of fiber hemp on the edge of Marissa's family's ancestral lands of the Umatilla people.
Hemp is currently illegal to grow on the reservation, but Marissa and John are hoping to show the tribal elders the positive potential of industrial hemp.
Thanks to our sponsors
Thanks to our sponsors:
IND HEMP
https://www.indhemp.com/
New Holland Agriculture
betterhempharvest.com
National Hemp Association
https://nationalhempassociation.org/
Rosedowns
https://www.rosedowns.co.uk/
Desmet Ballestra
https://www.desmetballestra.com/
Victory Hemp Foods
https://www.victoryhempfoods.com/
King's AgriSeeds
https://kingsagriseeds.com/
The next stop on Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast's National Hemp Tour is in The Dalles, Oregon, where Tonia Farman owns and operates Queen of Hearts Hemp, an Oregon craft producer of superfood products containing hemp, and where she and her husband Gregg Gnecco operate Hemp Northwest, a hemp seed processor.
We talk to Tonia and Gregg about the building their businesses, growing supply chains, and the potential of hemp.
Queen of Hearts
https://www.queenofheartshemp.com/
Hemp Northwest
https://hempnorthwest.com/
Thanks to our sponsors:
IND HEMP
https://www.indhemp.com/
Rosedowns
https://www.rosedowns.co.uk/
Desmet Ballestra
https://www.desmetballestra.com/
New Holland Agriculture
betterhempharvest.com
National Hemp Association
https://nationalhempassociation.org/
Victory Hemp Foods
https://www.victoryhempfoods.com/
King's AgriSeeds
https://kingsagriseeds.com/
The road trip continues....
On this episode, we visit with Corbett Hefner and Randy Wright at the Formation Ag shop shop in Monte Vista, Colorado, where they design and build the machines the industry needs to process hemp fiber and hurd.
Formation Ag
https://formation-ag.com/
Thanks to our sponsors:
IND HEMP
https://www.indhemp.com/
New Holland Agriculture
betterhempharvest.com
National Hemp Association
https://nationalhempassociation.org/
Victory Hemp Foods
https://www.victoryhempfoods.com/
King's AgriSeeds
https://kingsagriseeds.com/
On this episode from our National Hemp Tour, we visit with Wendy Mosh, president and CEO of New West Genetics, in Fort Collins, Colorado.
New West Genetics specializes in hemp genetics, breeding, and agribusiness, and their mission is to make sustainable, large-scale production of hemp fiber and grain a reality.
On the next stop of the hemp tour, we stop in to see Morris Beegle in Fort Collins, Co. He is the founder of the NoCo Hemp Expo, as well as a bunch of other hemp product businesses, including Silver Mountain Hemp Guitars.
The third stop on our National Hemp Tour was at South Bend Industrial Hemp in South Bend, Kansas, where Melissa, Aaron and Rich Baldwin hosted an open house on Friday, July 9.
The Hurlock Family rolled in fashionably late to find a wonderful group of hemp farmers, entrepreneurs, and enthusiasts all gathered together to learn and share and enjoy each other's company on a warm Kansas evening.
On this episode we talk with the South Bend Baldwins about their hemp operation and their new Formation Ag decorticator.
South Bend Industrial Hemp
https://www.southbendindustrialhemp.com/
Listen to South Bend Industrial Hemp's radio show here.
Thanks to our Sponsors:
New Holland Agriculture
https://agriculture.newholland.com/nar/en-us
National Hemp Association
https://nationalhempassociation.org/
IND HEMP
https://www.indhemp.com/
Rosedowns
https://www.desmetballestra.com/rosedowns/about-rosedowns
King’s Agriseeds
https://kingsagriseeds.com/
Terradon Hemp
https://www.terradonhemp.com/
Americhanvre Cast Hemp
https://americhanvre.com/
Victory Hemp Foods
https://www.victoryhempfoods.com/
Bish Enterprises & Hemp Harvest Works
https://hempharvestworks.com/
This is episode 142, published from the road on July 8, 2021.
On July 6, I stopped in at the Victory Hemp Foods plant in Carrolton, Kentucky to talk to Chad Rosen, founder and CEO of Victory.
Victory Hemp Foods - American Grown, Non-GMO Hemp Ingredients
https://www.victoryhempfoods.com/
Thanks to our sponsor:
IND HEMP
https://www.indhemp.com/
This is our first episode from the road. I talked to HempWood founder and CEO Greg Wilson, Dr. Tony Brannon from Murray State University, and Tommy Copeland, operations manager at HempWood.
HempWood - A Wood Substitute Made from Hemp Fibers
https://hempwood.com/
Murray State University Center for Agricultural Hemp
https://www.murraystate.edu
Thanks to our sponsors:
IND HEMP
https://www.indhemp.com/
New Holland Agriculture
betterhempharvest.com
National Hemp Association
https://nationalhempassociation.org/
King's AgriSeeds
https://kingsagriseeds.com/
The big send off for the Lancaster Farming National Hemp Tour was Monday June 28, with Erica Stark and Geoff Whaling from the National Hemp Association, Dr. Alyssa Collins from Penn State, Mark Lowery from New Holland Agriculture and Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding. This episode is the audio from the panel discussion at the event.
Thanks to everybody:
New Holland Agriculture
https://agriculture.newholland.com/nar/en-us
National Hemp Association
https://nationalhempassociation.org/
IND HEMP
https://www.indhemp.com/
Rosedowns
https://www.desmetballestra.com/rosedowns/about-rosedowns
King’s Agriseeds
https://kingsagriseeds.com/
Terradon Hemp
https://www.terradonhemp.com/
Americhanvre Cast Hemp
https://americhanvre.com/
Special thanks to Dr. Alyssa Collins at the Penn State's Southeastern Agricultural Research and Extension Center for hosting our event and making it awesome!
In part two of our sponsorship sunshine episode we talk to Robert Byrnes from Rosedowns, Taylor Fritz from King’s Agriseeds, Michael Kealey from Terradon Hemp, and Cameron McIntosh from Americhanvre Cast Hemp. These organizations have sponsored Lancaster Farming’s National Hemp Tour. Eric Hurlock is taking the show on the road this summer, reporting from various stops along the industrial hemp value chain, focusing on fiber and grain hemp operations.
In this episode we hear about the work these companies are doing in the hemp space, their commitment to agriculture and the success of farmers. We are very grateful for the work they are doing, and also very grateful for their support of our summer hemp road trip.
Rosedowns
https://www.desmetballestra.com/rosedowns/about-rosedowns
King’s Agriseeds
https://kingsagriseeds.com/
Terradon Hemp
https://www.terradonhemp.com/
Americhanvre Cast Hemp
https://americhanvre.com/
Pre-register for our National Hemp Tour Kickoff Event at Penn State’s Southeast Agricultural Research & Extension Center in Manheim, PA, on Monday, June 28, 2021 from 330 to 5 pm.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lancaster-farming-national-hemp-tour-kick-off-tickets-158119962063
This is part one of a two-part series. In part one, we talk to Jon Hundley and Brad Wenger from New Holland Agriculture, Erica Stark from the National Hemp Association, and Ken Elliot from IND HEMP. These three organizations have sponsored Lancaster Farming’s National Hemp Tour. Eric Hurlock is taking the show on the road this summer, reporting from various stops along the industrial hemp value chain, focusing on fiber and grain hemp operations.
In this episode we hear about the work these companies are doing in the hemp space, their commitment to agriculture and the success of farmers. We are very grateful for the work they are doing, and also very grateful for their support of our summer hemp road trip.
New Holland Agriculture
https://agriculture.newholland.com/nar/en-us
National Hemp Association
https://nationalhempassociation.org/
IND HEMP
https://www.indhemp.com/
Pre-register for our National Hemp Tour Kickoff Event at Penn State’s Southeast Agricultural Research & Extension Center in Manheim, PA, on Monday, June 28, 2021 from 330 to 5 pm.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lancaster-farming-national-hemp-tour-kick-off-tickets-158119962063
On this week's show, Eric invites listeners to the Hemp Tour Kick Off taking place on Monday, June 28, 2021, 3:30 to 5 p.m., at the Penn State Research Farm in Manheim, Lancaster County.
Speakers to include PA Ag Secretary Russell Redding, folks from the National Hemp Association, New Holland Ag, and more. Preregister for the event here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lancaster-farming-national-hemp-tour-kick-off-tickets-158119962063
Eric also gives a big shout out to the sponsors of the tour and people who are supporting the tour through IndieGoGo: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/help-us-educate-the-world-about-the-uses-of-hemp#/
Plus, why is the PA Department of Ag sending cease & desist letters to hemp producers?
Special Thanks to:
IND HEMP
https://www.indhemp.com/
New Holland Ag
https://agriculture.newholland.com/nar/en-us
National Hemp Association
https://nationalhempassociation.org/
Desmet Ballestra
https://www.desmetballestra.com/
Americhanvre Cast-Hemp
https://americhanvre.com/
Terradon Hemp
https://www.terradonhemp.com/
Farmers can and will save the world, according to Bruce Michael Dietzen, founder of Carbon Negative Technology and Renew Sports Cars. The prototype of his sports car made from industrial hemp was featured on an episode of Jay Leno’s Garage.
Bruce is tired of talking about the problem of climate change and instead wants to shift the conversation to the solutions for climate change, including a bold strategy for producing nearly everything we use out of plant material. That’s where farmers come in. Give a listen.
Renew Sports Cars
http://www.renewsportscars.com/
Thanks to IND HEMP
https://www.indhemp.com/
Thanks to Bish Enterprises and Hemp Harvest Works
https://bishenterprise.com/
https://hempharvestworks.com/
Sign Up for our Hemp Newsletter: https://www.lancasterfarming.com/newsletters/
Listen to the episode with Bruce Deitzen and Dan Herer talking about the new edition of the Emperor Wears No Clothes
https://www.lancasterfarming.com/community/podcasts_and_audio/the-emperor-wears-no-clothes-revisited/article_923bf4ea-84b9-11ea-aaf5-0797ecf247c5.html
Buy the book here: https://www.amazon.com/Emperor-Wears-No-Clothes-Marijuana-ebook-dp-B086N2Q318/dp/B086N2Q318
This is an encore presentation of an episode that was originally on July 10, 2019.
According to Dr. Ron Kander, materials engineering professor at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, the way to ramp up the hemp industry is to start small.
“You have to find some high-value, low-volume products that can use hemp as a biomass so that you can start developing processes that then let you put that material into consumer products and industrial products and show a value chain, and then that will allow you to grow volume and look at larger applications down the line,” Kander explains in the week's episode of the Industrial Hemp Podcast.
We talk supply chains, carbon negative technology and the fascinating hemp research his students are conducting at Thomas Jefferson.
Lancaster Farming
https://www.lancasterfarming.com/
Support our National Hemp Tour
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/help-us-educate-the-world-about-the-uses-of-hemp/x/26773452#/
Learn more about Jefferson University
https://www.jefferson.edu/
Check out Bish Enterprises and Hemp Harvest Works
https://hempharvestworks.com/
https://bishenterprise.com/
Special thanks to IND HEMP
https://www.indhemp.com/
This week, Lancaster Farming talks to someone in the hemp industry — He’s not a farmer or a processor. He’s not an inventor or a scientist. But he has a unique perspective on the industry.
He’s a journalist about to go on an epic road trip, visiting with hemp farmers and entrepreneurs across the county to help tell the story of hemp in America in 2021.
Who is it? Listen and find out.
News Nuggets
New York latest to ban delta-8 THC, modifies ban on smokable hemp flower
https://hempindustrydaily.com/new-york-latest-to-ban-delta-8-thc-modifies-ban-on-smokable-hemp-flower/
Mississippi Hemp Association Launches Program to Help Farmers Succeed
https://www.hempgrower.com/article/mississippi-industrial-hemp-association-launches-pilot-program-hemp-farmers-cultivate/
A New Kit Home Made From Hemp Blocks Starts at $27K
https://www.dwell.com/article/the-traveler-cabin-kit-coexist-build-5c3769c4
Help support Lancaster Farming's National Hemp Tour
https://igg.me/at/hemp-tour
Thank you to our sponsor IND HEMP
https://www.indhemp.com/
Seth Crawford, co-founder of Oregon CBD, is Lancaster Farming’s guest on this week’s Industrial Hemp Podcast.
The hemp seed production and breeding company has just made triploid hemp commercially available.
In plant breeding, triploids are not new. It’s a technique that lets breeders create seedless varieties of plants that cannot be pollinated — think seedless watermelons and seedless grapes.
But in hemp, a seedless variety that cannot be pollinated is a game-changer. The implications for the industry are vast, according to Crawford.
“Being able to have grain production and have cannabinoid production and have fiber production requires that you don’t have cross-pollination or contamination,” he said. “And there wasn’t really a way of ensuring that until we were able to put these triploids out. So now you can truly have multiple use crops and be able to plant them really close to each other without having any negative impact.”
Oregon CBD
https://oregoncbdseeds.com/
News Nuggets
Arizona CBD maker fined $30,000 for deceptive marketing
https://hempindustrydaily.com/arizona-cbd-maker-fined-30000-for-deceptive-marketing/
Kansas' first industrial hemp fiber processing facility opens in Great Bend
https://www.hutchnews.com/story/news/2021/05/18/first-industrial-hemp-fiber-plant-kansas-opens-week/5100312001/
South Bend Industrial Hemp
https://www.southbendindustrialhemp.com/
Hemp burgers coming to national retailers like Target and Wholefoods
https://mogreenway.com/2021/05/18/hemp-burgers-coming-to-national-retailers-like-target-and-wholefoods/
Colorado's Letter to Hemp Stakeholders Concerning Delta 8
https://hemptoday.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/colorado-ban-delta8.pdf
Thanks to our sponsor IND HEMP
https://www.indhemp.com
On this week’s hemp podcast we talk to Jonathon John, lab manager at Choice Extraction Inc. in Washington, Pennsylvania, where they focus on extraction and refinement of cannabinoid hemp.
John talks about the extraction process and what farmers should expect from an extraction company – what’s involved in the process, what questions should farmers be asking, what kind of output can you expect from your biomass.
“When somebody comes to us as a farmer, we want to make sure that they understand the complete process of what is going to happen to their biomass,” John said in the interview.
According to John, a reputable extraction facility should focus on transparency and will have a quality system that weighs and tracks a customer’s biomass throughout the entire process.
Choice Extraction Inc
https://choiceextractioninc.com/
News Nuggets
The U.S. Hemp Market Landscape: Cannabinoids, Grain & Fiber
https://info.newfrontierdata.com/u.s.-hemp-market-landscape
Minnesota’s Revised Hemp Plan Approved By The USDA
https://wnax.com/news/180081-minnesotas-revised-hemp-plan-approved-by-the-usda/
Zimbabwe: Industrial Hemp Production Set for a Boom
https://allafrica.com/stories/202105120189.html
Top political aide to Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller arrested in alleged scheme to take money in exchange for hemp licenses
https://www.texastribune.org/2021/05/07/sid-miller-todd-smith/
The Top 3 CBD-Friendly States in the U.S.
https://www.hempgrower.com/article/top-3-cbd-friendly-states-vermont-colorado-oregon/
High Mowing Organic Seeds' Hemp Mix Cover Crop
https://www.highmowingseeds.com/organic-non-gmo-hemp-mix-cover-crop.html
Alaska Senate Passes Bill Allowing for Permanent Industrial Hemp Program
https://alaska-native-news.com/alaska-senate-passes-bill-allowing-for-permanent-industrial-hemp-program/55650/
USDA Using Hemp Oil to Make ‘Cosmeceuticals’
https://www.hempgrower.com/article/usda-using-hemp-oil-cosmeceuticals-midwest-bioprocessing-center-cosmetics/
Thanks to our sponsor IND HEMP
https://www.indhemp.com/
This week’s main guest is freelance writer Janet Burns, whose article How Cannabis Coevolved with Humanity and Could Save It Now was published on Forbes.com last year.
She writes about humanity’s long history with the cannabis plant, from the tectonic shift of the Tibetan Plain to the early days of agriculture through modern times, showing how the cannabis plant has influenced our biology, religion and culture throughout the ages.
In the interview, she talks about her research for this article and speculates that if more people knew about the intertwined history of cannabis and humanity, perhaps there would be more acceptance and less stigma.
Read: How Cannabis Coevolved With Humanity, And Could Save It Now at Forbes.com
We also talk to hempcrete builder Cameron McIntosh about the work he’s doing with DON Services in New Castle, Pa., where they’ve completed the initial phase of a hempcrete installation at a two story residential home.
The project is called Project Hemp Home and was funded in part by a grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.
McIntosh says the point of the project is to demonstrate for the farming community around New Castle “that there is actually an outlet for fiber industrial hemp in Pennsylvania. And this is what it looks like.”
Learn more about:
Janet Burns, writer
https://warmlyjanetburns.com/
Americhanvre Cast-Hemp
https://americhanvre.com/
DON Services
https://doninc.org/company/don-services/
News Nuggets
More states banning delta-8 THC as regulators clarify its legality under federal law
https://hempindustrydaily.com/more-states-banning-delta-8-thc-as-regulators-clarify-its-legality-under-federal-law/
State clears way for more than 70K acres of cannabis, hemp production
https://www.wbjournal.com/article/state-clears-way-for-more-than-70k-acres-of-cannabis-hemp-production
DON demonstrates hemp use in local home rehab
https://www.ncnewsonline.com/news/local_news/don-demonstrates-hemp-use-in-local-home-rehab/article_3be1bc40-ad3c-11eb-8d88-8307c407999f.html
Special thanks to our sponsor IND HEMP in Montana
https://www.indhemp.com/
The first guest on the hemp podcast this week is Fred Strathmeyer, deputy secretary of plant industry at the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture where he oversees the state’s industrial hemp program.
Strathmeyer said the application period for a hemp permits closed in early April and the state has issued 417 grower permits and 60 processor permits, down just slightly from last year.
The state hemp program remains similar to last year’s program, the main difference being the extension of the time to harvest, which increased from 15 days to 30 days, per the USDA’s Final Rule that went into effect on March 22, 2021.
Strathmeyer reviews some interesting hemp projects his department has funded through various grant programs, including a recently unveiled DIY hemp cabin kit developed by COEXIST Build in Berks County.
Then we talk to Cynthia Petrone Hudock and Garrett Hall from CSQI – Cannabis Services Quality Index – a new company that promises to bring transparency and accountability to the hemp supply chain and will take much of the guess work out of finding reliable vendors and processors. They liken the new business to Consumer Reports, but for businesses along the hemp supply chain.
Pennsylvania Department of Ag's hemp program
https://www.agriculture.pa.gov/Plants_Land_Water/industrial_hemp/Pages/default.aspx
CSQI's survey links
Grower Survey: https://corexmsp67yfnw7m5t8g.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_d5pv71Jpn6jfL4q
Vendor Survey: https://corexmsp67yfnw7m5t8g.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6KZcHe7y1PsytRI
News Nuggets
States Begin Implementing Delta-8 THC Bans
https://www.hempgrower.com/article/states-ban-delta-8-thc-industry-organizations-weigh-in-hemp-industries-association/
Wrangler Parent Expands Hemp Collab With Panda Biotech
https://sourcingjournal.com/denim/denim-brands/kontoor-brands-panda-biotech-us-grown-hemp-denim-wrangler-lee-276331/
Thanks to our sponsor IND HEMP
https://www.indhemp.com/
This week’s podcast is the Steve Groff episode. Not only do we talk to cover crop pioneer Steve Groff from Cedar Meadow Farm in Holtwood, Lancaster County, where he’s growing hemp and launching a brand of CBD products for people and pets, but we also check back in with Dr. Steve Groff from Groff North America and Wyndridge Farm in York County.
Farmer Steve Groff explains how he is prepping his fields for this year’s growing season, what kinds of cover crops work best for hemp production, and what it's been like to launch his own line of CBD products.
And then Dr. Steve Groff gives us an update on the HempTrain processing machine – the first of it’s kind in the US – and how they’ve moved the machine to Belleville, Pennsylvania, where they are working with a company called MKB that specializes in handling biomass. Groff also talks about his work in cannabinoid therapy and medical marijuana.
Plus hemp news nuggets and a few more details about the upcoming Lancaster Farming Hemp road Trip planned for this summer.
Links!
Cover Crop Coach Steve Groff
https://www.stevegroff.com/
Groff North America
https://groffna.com/
Groff Health
https://shopgroffhealth.com/
Wyndridge Farm
https://wyndridge.com/
New Nuggets
Idaho Gov. signs bill allowing growing, transport of hemp
https://www.capitalpress.com/state/idaho/idaho-gov-signs-bill-allowing-growing-transport-of-hemp/article_cc8dde7f-58cc-53ec-a99e-7645737e2b6c.html
‘Hemp train’ leaves Fresno for Denver, first legal railroad shipment to cross state lines in 84 years
https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/news/hemp-train-leaves-fresno-for-denver-first-legal-railroad-shipment-to-cross-state-lines-in-84-years/
Paid to grow hemp? Biden’s proposed carbon bank has industry intrigued
https://hempindustrydaily.com/bidens-proposed-carbon-bank-intrigues-hemp-industry
Penn State Extension Hemp Webinar, May 17
https://web.cvent.com/event/8f786424-43a0-4c98-a71a-8c38b8bdd722/summary?locale=en-US&i=gN97GFqXd06dIRnzZu2dBQ
Thanks to our sponsor IND HEMP
https://www.indhemp.com/
Hemp Feed Coalition
https://hempfeedcoalition.org/
On this week’s hemp podcast, we talk to David De Vore, R&D technical consultant with Leyton, an international funding innovation consulting firm that specializes in working with hemp farmers to take advantage of R&D tax credits offered by the IRS.
According to De Vore, the tax credit offsets income tax liability directly, dollar for dollar, but the amount of tax credit available for farmers depends on how much a given company is spending on research and development.
“I’ve seen credits of twenty thousand dollars, all the way up to millions of dollars, just depending on how large the farm is or how innovative they are,” De Vore said in the interview.
What sorts of activities count as R&D?
“If you’re innovative, if you’re testing new strains, new growing or irrigation techniques, you can qualify for this credit and it can directly offset taxable income, De Vore said. “And there’s actually another incentive that offsets payroll liability.”
De Vore said that many farmers are already meeting the requirements for this tax credit, but either don’t know about the tax credit or didn’t realize they were eligible.
Leyton
https://leyton.com/us/rd-tax-credit-opportunity-for-hemp/
News Nuggets
U.S. Hemp Roundtable Seeks Amendment to Remove In-State Manufacturing Requirement from New Hampshire CBD Bill
https://www.hempgrower.com/article/us-hemp-roundtable-in-state-manufacturing-new-hampshire-cbd-cannabidiol-bill/
California backs off narrower THC testing window
https://hempindustrydaily.com/california-backs-off-narrower-thc-testing-window/
US EPA grants $100,000 to support Washington hemp bricks manufacturer
https://hempindustrydaily.com/us-epa-grants-100000-to-support-washington-hemp-bricks-manufacturer/
Montana Passes Bill Advancing Hemp Seed as Animal Feed
https://www.lancasterfarming.com/farming/industrial_hemp/montana-passes-bill-advancing-hemp-seed-as-animal-feed/article_6d2854d6-9ca6-11eb-a7fc-83e9ec98972e.html
New Hemp Production Class To Teach Students About Cannabis Industry, Economics, & More
https://onwardstate.com/2021/04/08/new-hemp-production-class-to-teach-students-about-cannabis-industry-economics-more/
Hemp Legalization in Idaho Nears the ‘End Zone’
https://www.hempgrower.com/article/idaho-senate-approves-hemp-legalization-bill-heads-to-governer/
Special Thanks to our Sponsor IND HEMP
https://www.indhemp.com/careers
Hemp farmers have had a notoriously hard time when it comes to finding reliable financial services. Many hemp farmers can share stories of being dropped from a bank with very little notice when their bank got skittish about hemp.
The reason for this, says West Town Banks executive vice president and chief operating officer Melissa Marsal, is that bank regulators see hemp overall as high risk business, and therefore hemp companies get lumped together with other so-called high risk businesses like private ATMs, internet gambling and alcohol and tobacco.
Banks are required to perform extra due diligence when getting to know potential customers in these risky sectors, and many banks just don’t see the value in the extra work and have simply turned away from the hemp industry.
The banking and hemp industries are patiently waiting for the SAFE Banking Act to pass Congress, which would make it a whole lot easier for everyone involved.
In this interview, Marsal talks about her experience working with hemp farmers and the things hemp farmers have had to resort to in lieu of reliable banking. She talks about what hemp farmers need to consider when looking for a bank, and what kinds of questions they should be prepared to answer when they’re in discussions with a bank.
West Town Bank
https://www.westtownbank.com/business/industry-solutions/hemp/
News Nuggets
Study: No evidence of liver toxicity from use of CBD from hemp
https://www.clickondetroit.com/health/2021/04/06/study-no-evidence-of-liver-toxicity-from-use-of-cbd-from-hemp/
U.S. Hemp Seed Production Increasing
https://www.newsdakota.com/2021/04/06/u-s-hemp-seed-production-increasing/
Far fewer Wisconsin hemp licenses have been issued, so far
https://brownfieldagnews.com/news/far-fewer-wisconsin-hemp-licenses-have-been-issued-so-far/
Alabama Senate to consider amendment potentially harmful to Alabama hemp industry
https://www.alreporter.com/2021/04/05/senate-to-consider-amendment-potentially-harmful-to-alabama-hemp-industry/
Sen. Rand Paul Reintroduces HEMP Act to Congress
https://www.hempgrower.com/article/hemp-act-reintroduced-kentucky-usda-thc/
New York marijuana law makes sweeping changes to hemp rules, too
https://hempindustrydaily.com/ny-marijuana-law-makes-sweeping-changes-to-hemp-rules-too/
Program aims to increase hemp awareness
https://pennbizreport.com/news/19468-program-aims-to-increase-hemp-awareness/
Anything but CBD - The Real Opportunity in Hemp
https://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/News/Promotional-Features/Anything-but-CBD-The-Real-Opportunity-in-Hemp
Making Hemp Milk Is Easier Than You Think
https://www.motherearthnews.com/real-food/making-hemp-milk-is-easier-than-you-think-zbcz2104
Hops and Hemp
https://www.greenstate.com/culture/hops-and-hemp-cannabis-cousin-pairs-well-but-which-beer-is-best-with-weed/
About That “Skunky” Cannabis Smell
https://hempgazette.com/news/skunk-smell-cannabis-hg1410/
Podcast Archives
Interview with DON Services
https://www.lancasterfarming.com/community/podcasts_and_audio/don-services-building-a-future-with-hemp/article_c0c12a38-1ed3-11eb-9638-9fba138debee.html
Interview with Judy Wicks from All Together Now Pennsylvania
https://www.lancasterfarming.com/community/podcasts_and_audio/importance-of-local-supply-chains-in-the-face-of-global-pandemic/article_d2952098-6ecf-11ea-a715-bb449ca2df1c.html
Interview with Kelly Kundratic from Team PA
https://www.lancasterfarming.com/community/podcasts_and_audio/the-ebb-and-flow-of-harvest-season/article_98b5ce48-5266-11ea-ac19-9f049c81f721.html
Many Thanks to our Sponsor IND HEMP
https://www.indhemp.com/
On this week’s podcast, we talk to Dr. Joyce Harman, a veterinarian practicing in Flint Hill, Virginia, who specializes in equine health.
Dr. Harman has been using hemp as a supplement in horses’ diets for nearly 30 years. She began adding hemp seed oil to horses’ diets in the 1990s. She says that the high omega-3 fatty acids and other nutrients in hemp oil are extremely beneficial to the health of horses, especially for skin diseases and immune issues.
Now that hemp is legal to produce in the United States, Harman is able to source hemp domestically, and now besides hemp oil, she’s able to supplement horses’ diets with hemp seed too. She is also a proponent of using CBD for equine health, especially in treating horses with PTSD.
We also talk to Scott Bille from Sustainability Now, a group that is petitioning the organizers of Farm Aid to focus on Industrial Hemp at this year’s benefit concert.
Harmony Equine Clinic
https://harmanyequine.com/
Demystifying Hemp and CBD in Horse, By Dr. Joyce Harman
https://www.horseillustrated.com/hemp-and-cbds-in-the-horse
Farm Aid should focus on Industrial Hemp, right? Sign the petition:
https://www.change.org/p/farm-aid-focus-on-industrial-hemp-to-save-family-farms
Listen to the Sustainability Now podcast
https://www.sustainabilitynow.global/
Thanks to our Sponsor: IND HEMP
https://www.indhemp.com/
COEXIST Build is a design firm owned and operated by wife and husband team Anastasiya Konopatskaya and Drew Oberholtzer whose focus is on designing healthy, environmentally friendly buildings and supplying the industry with healthy building materials, such as hempcrete blocks and hemp batt insulation.
We first interviewed Ana and Drew in 2019 when they had teamed up with Cameron McIntosh of Americhanvre Hemp Cast to create the Hemp House on Wheels, a small hempcrete structure built on a double-axle trailer that they’ve taken to hemp shows and architecture conferences around the country in order to showcase the benefits of building with hemp and to give people a chance to experience the feeling of being inside a hemp structure firsthand.
Since 2019 the couple have been busy expanding their business. They have developed and sell a pre-cast block made of hempcrete and are the US distributor of Hemp Blanket Batt Insulation, a replacement for fiberglass insulation made in Canada.
On this episode, they unveil their latest offering: a backyard cabin/home office kit called the Traveler. It’s a 140 square foot DIY kit made from environmentally-friendly materials including hempcrete.
Learn More:
COEXIST BUILD
https://www.coexist.build/
Email Dr. Ron Kander about the PA Hemp Steering Committee
ron.kander@jefferson.edu
Nuggets of Hemp News
Hemp enters its second season in Wyoming
https://www.powelltribune.com/stories/hemp-enters-its-second-season-in-wyoming,30287
It's completely legal, but still the hemp industry has trouble finding banks — here's why
https://www.dispatch.com/story/business/2021/03/16/hemp-industry-has-trouble-banking-because-line-between-marijuana-and-hemp-thin/6940489002/
Thanks to our sponsors!
King's Agriseeds
https://kingsagriseeds.com/
IND HEMP
https://www.indhemp.com/
On this week’s show, in honor of St. Patrick’s Day, we learn about the hemp industry in Ireland from Chris Allen, the executive director of Hemp Federation Ireland, who says that the hemp industry and supply chain are well established on the Emerald Isle, but that recent policy decisions by the Irish government have made things very difficult for farmers to make a living.
She said the agency that oversees the hemp industry seems keen on letting the powerful pharmaceutical industry take over the CBD sector, allowing farmers only to grow fiber crops.
We also talk to Jonathan Miller, chief council at the US Hemp Roundtable, about the recent influx of delta-8 THC products, which appear to have nearly the same psychoactive effect as marijuana. He says that marketing hemp as having any kind of mind-altering effect is bad news for the overall hemp industry, which has done extensive work in separating itself from the marijuana industry.
And we also hear from Hannah Smith-Brubaker from Pasa Sustainable Agriculture about an upcoming hemp information session on March 26.
Links
Hemp Federation Ireland
https://www.hempfederationireland.org/
US Hemp Roundtable
https://hempsupporter.com/
News Nuggets
Specialized harvester hopes to tap growing interest in fiber
https://hemptoday.net/specialized-harvester-hopes-to-tap-growing-interest-in-fiber/
Do Hemp Farms Stink?
https://hempgazette.com/news/hemp-farm-smell-hg1394/
Malawi: Industrial Hemp Growers Threaten Malawi Govt With Lawsuit
https://allafrica.com/stories/202103140065.html
DEA Calls Out Hemp in Latest ‘Drug Threat Assessment’ Report
https://www.hempgrower.com/article/dea-calls-out-hemp-drug-threat-assessment-report/
Arizona hemp farmers see crop losses from Pythium in drip-irrigated fields
https://hempindustrydaily.com/arizona-hemp-farmers-see-crop-losses-from-pythium-in-drip-irrigated-fields/
Pasa Event: Listening Session: What’s Next for Industrial Hemp?
https://pasafarming.org/event/listening-session-whats-next-for-industrial-hemp/
Thank you to our sponsor: IND HEMP
https://www.indhemp.com/
On this week’s podcast, our guest is Eric Sandy, digital editor of Hemp Grower Magazine, one of the best resources hemp farmers have for learning about their crop and developing their craft.
Based in Valley View, Ohio, Hemp Grower Magazine is published by GIE Media and focuses on exactly what the name of the magazine implies – growing hemp. They cover all sectors of the hemp industry from cannabinoid production to fiber and grain.
Hemp Grower Magazine
https://www.hempgrower.com/
News Nuggets
USDA: Final Rule Will Move Ahead As Planned
https://www.hempgrower.com/article/usda-hemp-final-rule-will-move-ahead-as-planned/
Industrial Hemp Market Worth $ 27.72 Billion, Globally, by 2028
https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2021/03/08/2188902/0/en/Industrial-Hemp-Market-Worth-27-72-Billion-Globally-by-2028-at-25-17-CAGR-Verified-Market-Research.html
The many uses of hemp, the focus of upcoming conference
https://fremonttribune.com/community/cass-news/news/the-many-uses-of-hemp-the-focus-of-upcoming-conference/article_163fe57d-6964-51ee-b7af-2fdad1bfe97c.html
Inaugural Nebraska Hemp Conference and Trade Show
https://www.grownebraskahemp.com/
South Dakota hemp backers hopeful about planting this year
https://www.austindailyherald.com/2021/03/south-dakota-hemp-backers-hopeful-about-planting-this-year/
Hemp is a hot crop, so why are so few Black farmers growing it?
https://carolinapublicpress.org/43148/hemp-is-a-hot-crop-so-why-are-so-few-black-farmers-growing-it/
US Hemp Roundtable Warns Against Marketing Psychoactive Properties of Delta-8
https://www.hempgrower.com/article/us-hemp-roundtable-warns-against-marketing-psychoactive-intoxicating-properties-delta-8-thc/
Lancaster Farming’s Hemp Special Section
https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/lancasterfarming.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/7/70/77032d30-7dc7-11eb-8ed9-1bf32d94cd3c/60424e72b2207.pdf.pdf
Kneehigh Farm Chronicles
https://www.lancasterfarming.com/community/videos/kneehigh-farm-chronicles/collection_1f5e98ae-5b52-11eb-a51b-47343790e2ae.html
Special Thanks to our sponsors:
King's Agriseeds
https://hemp.kingsagriseeds.com/hemp/
IND HEMPhttps://www.indhemp.com/
On this week’s podcast, we talk to the two Pennsylvania state senators who announced a bill that would legalize adult use cannabis in the state. Senators Sharif Street and Daniel Laughlin, a Democrat and Republican respectively, said the bill prioritizes safety, social equity and agriculture.
The senators say cannabis reform is attractive to both sides of the political spectrum: economic and libertarian concerns on the right, and social equity and environmental concerns on the left. But what would it look like for prospective growers?
“Under our bill the initial rollout would be 100 micro-cultivation centers that would be licensed, and then the following year there would be another 50, and then after that it would kind of be a supply and demand. If those growers can’t keep up with the demand, the cannabis board we intend to create with this bill would be allowed to issue more licenses on an as-needed basis,” says Laughlin.
What those cultivation centers would look like is still an open question, but some kind of high tunnel structure would most likely fit the bill.
“You wouldn’t necessarily have to build an expensive building. We’re trying to find a sweet spot to have the right kind of protections, both agricultural protections to make sure there isn’t cross pollination,” says Street. “There are some security concerns around cannabis. But the idea is to try and do it in a way that protects the public safety and keeps it affordable for farmers.”
Links
PA Senator Sharif Street
http://www.senatorsharifstreet.com/
PA Senator Daniel Laughlin
https://www.senatorlaughlin.com/
Pennsylvania State Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?Chamber=S&SPick=20210&cosponId=34801
News Nuggets
Industrial Hemp Legalization Bill Moves To Idaho House
https://www.boisestatepublicradio.org/post/industrial-hemp-legalization-bill-moves-idaho-house#stream/0
New York Times: This Drug Gets You High, and Is Legal (Maybe) Across the Country
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/27/health/marijuana-hemp-delta-8-thc.html
US: First application for hemp as feed for poultry
https://www.poultryworld.net/Nutrition/Articles/2021/3/US-First-application-for-hemp-as-feed-for-poultry-715691E/
Thanks to our Sponsor: IND HEMP https://www.indhemp.com/
And be sure to check out the Instagram Giveaway featuring products from Canvast Supply Co.
https://canvastsupplyco.com/
This week on the podcast, Lancaster Farming talks to Andrew Bish, the COO of Bish Enterprises and the founder of Hemp Harvest Works, both in Giltner, Nebraska. Bish enterprises is known for its header adapters, and they do custom builds of large-scale headers and research headers for the soy and sorghum industries.
Andrew Bish founded Hemp Harvest Works, under the Bish Enterprises umbrella, in 2017, in anticipation of meeting the needs of farmers in the up and coming grain and fiber sectors of the hemp industry. They also manufacture cultivation and harvesting equipment for CBD growers.
Bish is also the vice president of the Hemp Feed Coalition, a group that is working to gain federal approval to use hemp and its byproducts as a feed for animals, which will create another avenue for hemp farmers to market their crops and give livestock producers another source of animal nutrition.
Bish celebrates the long list of uses for hemp, but says that if the farmer that grows the hemp can’t afford to grow it, then what’s the point? “We have to make it affordable for the farmer. That farmer has to profit from this plant.” And that’s what motivates his work with the Hemp Feed Coalition: creating ways for hemp farmers to be profitable.
We also check in with Luke Kneuss, a hemp farmer in Ohio. Kneuss was the lucky winner of our hemp headphone giveaway. We hear about it his operation in Ohio and his aspirations for his farm.
Hemp Harvest Works
https://hempharvestworks.com
Bish Enterprises
https://bishenterprise.com
Contact:
email@bishcom.com
402-849-2674
Hemp Feed Coalition
https://hempfeedcoalition.org/
Focus Organics
https://fohemp.com/
Study: Enhanced tolerance of industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) plants on abandoned mine land soil leads to overexpression of cannabinoids
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6715179/
News Nuggets
New state plan has Michigan hemp growers uncertain about the future
https://www.manisteenews.com/local-news/article/New-state-plan-has-hemp-growers-uncertain-about-15974607.php
New York opens licensing under ‘Cannabinoid Hemp Program'
https://hemptoday.net/new-york-opens-licensing-under-cannabinoid-hemp-program/
New US Hemp Authority standard spells out ‘broad’ and ‘full spectrum’ specs
https://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Article/2021/02/22/New-US-Hemp-Authority-standard-spells-out-broad-and-full-spectrum-specs
Levi’s teams with Danish fashion brand to roll out hemp denim
https://hempindustrydaily.com/levis-teams-with-danish-fashion-brand-to-roll-out-hemp-denim/
Hemp in US animal feed is one step closer to fruition
https://hempindustrydaily.com/hemp-in-animal-feed-is-closer-to-becoming-reality/
After long wait, New Jersey moves ahead on recreational pot
https://www.inquirer.com/wires/ap/after-long-wait-new-jersey-moves-ahead-recreational-pot-20210222.html
And Special Thanks to Our Sponsor IND HEMP https://www.indhemp.com/
Joy Beckerman is an internationally renowned hemp law and policy expert involved in the hemp industries for over 30 years. She is the principal attorney at Hemp Ace International, a Seattle-based consulting, legal support, and expert witness firm serving the global community.
She is also the co-founder and senior advisor to Colorado Hemp Works, America's first post-prohibition hemp grain processing facility. She is also a leading Director of the U.S. Hemp Roundtable and consultant to the U.S. Hemp Building Association.
On this episode of the podcast, we talk to Joy Beckerman about her work in the hemp industry, where the industry stands now, where it’s heading, and how to create an industry that is fair and respectful to the most import players in the industry — the farmers.
We also hear from Morris Beegle about the 7th Annual NoCo Hemp Expo taking place in Colorado next month, as well as a quick conversation with Ken Elliot, president of IND HEMP, which has signed on to be a sponsor of the hemp podcast for all of 2021.
Links for Joy Beckerman
Hemp Ace Internationalhttp://www.hempace.com/
US Hemp Round Tablehttps://hempsupporter.com/
US Hemp Builders Association
https://ushba.org/
Links for Morris Beegle
7th Annual NoCo Hemp Expo
https://www.nocohempexpo.com/
We Are For Better Alternatives
https://wafba.org/
Silver Mountain Hemp Guitars
https://silvermountainhemp.com/
News Nuggets
Legalizing hemp flower could net big money; police say upholding laws would be impossible
https://www.indystar.com/story/news/environment/2021/02/16/hemp-industry-sees-big-money-hemp-flower-police-marijuana-concerns/4251888001/
Humboldt County, Calif., Bans Industrial Hemp Production
https://www.hempgrower.com/article/humboldt-country-permanent-ban-industrial-hemp/
Special Thanks to our Sponsor IND HEMP https://www.indhemp.com/
In November of 2020, the state of New York released its regulations concerning hemp, and much to the surprise and chagrin of hemp farmers in the state, the new regulations outlawed the sale of industrial hemp flower.
The hemp flower market is lucrative for farmers, and many small, independent operations in the state grow specifically for the flower market. And just as their harvest was coming in last year, farmers were aghast when the state shut down the market and the revenue potential farmers were counting on.
As one might imagine, hemp farmers in New York want desperately to get this rule overturned. One such farmer is Allan Gandelman. He is a hemp farmer and owner of Main Street Farms and the CBD brand, Head & Heal. He is also the founder and president of the New York Cannabis Growers and Processors Association.
On this episode of the podcast, we talk to Gandelman about New York's ban on hemp flower sales and what effect that will have on the industry and the farming community. We also talk about the work he and other farmers in the state are doing to change the law.
Links
Head & Healhttps://headandheal.com/
New York Cannabis Growers & Processors Associationhttps://nycgpa.org
Hemp Flower Legal Defense Fundhttps://gofund.me/44d963bf
A 2012 Lancaster Farming Story about Allan Gandelman’s aquaponics operation:https://www.lancasterfarming.com/news/northern_edition/farming-fish-and-greens/article_95303b88-c849-5163-b12d-8189c051d350.html
News Nuggets
Montana bill aims to separate state's hemp industry from legal marijuana
https://helenair.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/bill-aims-to-separate-states-hemp-industry-from-legal-marijuana/article_0451a664-725e-51fa-89d0-4af5cd831156.html
Growers back checkoff program for industrial hemp
https://www.agriculture.com/news/business/growers-back-checkoff-program-for-industrial-hemp
3M eyes hemp for adhesives, packaging replacements — even growing new organs
https://hempindustrydaily.com/3m-eyes-hemp-for-adhesives-packaging-replacements-even-growing-new-organs/
Special thanks to our sponsor IND HEMP
https://www.indhemp.com/
On this week’s podcast, we talk to Destiny Young and Will Tarleton, two of the founders of Canvast Supply Co. in Nashville, Tennessee, where they are helping new and existing farmers transition to growing hemp.
“We call ourselves a hemp resource,” says Young, “From seed to sale, we’re trying to create pathways that make it easier for farmers to do what they do best, which is to farm.”
The company recently published a 72-page Canvast Supply Co. Holistic Farm Planning Workbook and Interactive Budget, specifically designed to help hemp farmers plan and execute the planting, growing, harvesting and processing hemp for cannabinoid production.
Canvast Supply Co.
https://canvastsupplyco.com/
Canvast Supply Co. Holistic Farm Planning Workbook and Interactive Budget
https://canvastsupplyco.com/products/canvast-supply-co-holistic-farm-planning-workbook-and-interactive-budget
Use the promo code Lancaster20 to receive 20% off your purchase
**New Nuggets
British Hemp Company launches in Wiltshire to unlock crop’s potential to help UK hit carbon target**
https://www.business-live.co.uk/enterprise/british-hemp-company-launches-wiltshire-19757790
Pennsylvania hemp initiatives get grants
https://hemptoday.net/pennsylvania-hemp-initiatives-get-grants/
Special thanks to our sponsor IND HEMP
https://www.indhemp.com/
And here's the hemp headphones were giving away on the show this week:
https://gradolabs.com/
This week, Lancaster Farming talks to Ben Raymond, food scientist and director of research and development at Victory Hemp Foods in Kentucky, where they make highly functional hemp ingredients for super-nutritious, plant-based foods, such as hemp protein concentrates, hemp seed oils & shelled hemp seeds.
Raymond talks about the unique properties of hemp grain that set it apart from other ingredients, including its protein content and ratio of fatty acids, omega 3-6-9.
Links
Victory Hemp Foods
https://www.victoryhempfoods.com/
News Nuggets
This Kentucky Senator is Challenging the Federal THC Limit in Hemphttps://www.hempgrower.com/article/kentucky-sb-113-increase-hemp-thc-limit-1-percent-southworth/
Oregon hemp farmer to lead Farm Bureau’s young growers committee
https://hempindustrydaily.com/orgeon-hemp-farmer-to-lead-farm-bureaus-young-growers-committee/
National Hemp Association's Response to Biden-Harris Climate Action Plan
https://nationalhempassociation.org/wp-content/uploads/HEMP-AND-THE-US-NATIONAL-CLIMATE-ACTION-PLAN.pdf
Thanks to our Sponsor, King's Agriseeds
https://hemp.kingsagriseeds.com/hemp/
The hemp industry has been waiting patiently for the US Department of Agriculture to publish its Final Rule for Establishment of a Domestic Hemp Production Program.
And now it’s here. This week, USDA published the 300-page document that will guide states, tribes, and industry for years to come.
What’s in the Final Rule? How is it different from the Interim Final Rule? How will farmers be affected?
To find out, we talk to hemp farmer Ben Davies from Wildfox Provisions, Erica Stark from the National Hemp Association, and Courtney Moran, chief legal strategist for Agricultural Hemp Solutions.
They all agree that the Final Rule gives hemp farmers some much needed breathing room as it extends the harvest window from 15 days to 30 days and increases the negligence threshold from 0.5% to 1% THC.
But there’s a whole lot more to it than that. Give a listen.
links
Grado Hemp Headphones
https://gradolabs.com/headphones/limited-editions/item/124-hemp
Join the digital team at Lancaster Farming
https://www.paycomonline.net/v4/ats/web.php/jobs/ViewJobDetails?job=13787&clientkey=E86E7B5A50F7166F4A47173978DA4F79
USDA Final Rule
https://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/lancasterfarming.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/00/5007dea2-5765-11eb-a310-2bd8deace87e/6001e8c5c20ab.pdf.pdf
Wildfox Provisions
https://www.wildfoxprovisions.com/
National Hemp Association
https://nationalhempassociation.org
Agricultural Hemp Solutions
https://agriculturalhempsolutions.com/
Crossroads Campaign's Donor Box
https://donorbox.org/crossroads-campaign
Email Crossroads Campaign
campaigns@agriculturalhempsolutions.com
Thanks to our Sponsor King's AgriSeeds
https://hemp.kingsagriseeds.com/hemp/
On our first podcast of the 2021, Lancaster Farming talks to Hunter Buffington, the executive director at the Hemp Feed Coalition, a group that advocates for federal approval for hemp and its byproducts for use as animal feed.
The coalition’s vision is to give hemp producers and processors access to the billion dollar animal feed and supplements market.
The pathway to federal approval is time consuming and complicated, requiring research and testing for all components of the plant and for each species. The task at hand is daunting, but Buffington believes it will ultimately be successful – a win-win for hemp farmers and livestock producers.
Hemp Feed Coalition
https://hempfeedcoalition.org/
News Nuggets
What's Happening in the 'Canopy Growth v. GW Pharmaceuticals' Lawsuit?
https://www.hempgrower.com/article/canopy-growth-gw-pharmaceuticals-lawsuit-extraction/
Improved THC Testing Could Be Ready by the End of 2021
https://www.hempgrower.com/article/hemp-thc-testing/
Humboldt County Planning Commission considers permanent ban on industrial hemp
https://www.times-standard.com/2021/01/05/planning-commission-considers-permanent-ban-on-industrial-hemp/
Dr. Rand Paul Introduces HEMP Act to Relieve Unnecessary Constraints on Hemp Industry, Provide Transparency and Certainty
https://www.paul.senate.gov/news/dr-rand-paul-introduces-hemp-act-relieve-unnecessary-constraints-hemp-industry-provide
Pennsylvania Sees Great Promise for Hemp in 2021
https://www.hempgrower.com/article/hemp-pennsylvania-sustainability/
Alabama hemp company launches new fiber processing plant
https://hempindustrydaily.com/alabama-hemp-company-launches-new-fiber-processing-plant/
These Hemp Flower Cigarettes Can Help You Kick Your Nicotine Habit
https://futurism.com/oklahoma-smokes-hemp-flower-cigarettes
USDA Approves Hemp Production Plans for Rhode Island, the Soboba Band of Luiseno Indians
https://www.ams.usda.gov/content/usda-approves-hemp-production-plans-rhode-island-soboba-band-luiseno-indians
Pennsylvania Hemp Summit
https://pahempsummit.com/
Check out the Southern Oregon Hemp Co-Operators'
2021 Golden Grow AwardsJanuary 30, from 11 AM to 6 PM at the Ashland Hills Hotel in Ashland, OR. The event will be held in accordance with CDC Covid-19 safety guidelines and will be livestreamed via megatron technology.
https://soorhempco-op.com/
The year is over. It's been a crazy year. We all need to chill out a little. With that in mind, this episode is all instrumental piano meditations, courtesy of Tin Bird Shadow. Enjoy. Happy New Year. See you in 2021.
This week we talk to Courtney Moran LL.M., chief legislative strategist at Agricultural Hemp Solutions, a group that is lobbying Congress to secure a science-based legal hemp concentration limit of 1% THC in the definition of hemp.
Moran has been active in hemp policy for nearly a decade and was part of the team with Senator Mitch McConnell that drafted the original hemp language in the 2018 Farm Bill. She says there was much discussion then about the arbitrary nature of the .3% THC limit, but that now is the time to raise the limit to 1% for the sake of the farmer and the success of the industry.
“The key piece to all of this,” she said, “is farmers first. If we don’t protect our farmers and secure a solid path for them, then we don’t have a crop to enter into the supply chain, we don’t have a value chain. And so while there are a lot of issues we’re dealing with – with processing, with end products, with FDA – we have to be cognizant of what’s happening in the field with the farmers.”
Agricultural Hemp Solutions has recently launched the Crossroads Campaign which aims to lessen the legal burdens and economic hardship for farmers and hemp agribusinesses by addressing the common concerns with the USDA IFR, specifically 15-day harvest window, non-representative sampling methodologies, mandatory testing of every lot, DEA registered labs, and an arbitrary negligence THC threshold.
Agricultural Hemp Solutions
https://agriculturalhempsolutions.com/
Learn More about the Crossroads Campaign
Thanks to Our Sponsor: King's AgriSeeds
https://hemp.kingsagriseeds.com/hemp/
On this week’s hemp podcast, Lancaster Farming talks to Caleb Kauffman, owner of Lancashire Hemp in Lancaster County, where he has spent the past two years growing hemp and building a co-op with local farmers to grow CBD flower for the smokable hemp market.
Kauffman talks about why he started the co-op and why he believes the hemp industry can usher in a new paradigm of good business practices that focus on people rather than profits.
He also tells his own story of trauma and how his journey toward healing brought him into the world of industrial hemp.
Lancashire Hemp
https://www.lancashirehemp.com/
New Nuggets
Legislature extends a lifeline to Massachusetts hemp farmers
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/12/09/marijuana/legislature-extends-lifeline-massachusetts-hemp-farmers/
Hemp producers in Delaware must register growing sites annually
https://news.delaware.gov/2020/12/08/hemp-producers-in-delaware-must-register-growing-sites-annually/
USDA Expands Crop Insurance Pilot Program for Hemp
https://www.hempgrower.com/article/hemp-insurance-usda/
Community college offering more information on newly-launched hemp production program
https://www.ourquadcities.com/news/local-news/community-college-offering-more-information-on-newly-launched-hemp-production-program/
European Commission reverses course, says CBD should not be regulated as a narcotic
https://hempindustrydaily.com/breaking-european-commission-reverses-course-says-cbd-should-not-be-regulated-as-a-narcotic/
Special thanks to our sponsor:
King’s Agriseeds
https://hemp.kingsagriseeds.com/
On this week’s Industrial Hemp Podcast, we talk to Fred Strathmeyer, Deputy Secretary for Plant Industry and Consumer Protection at the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture where he oversees the state’s industrial hemp program.
We talk about some of the challenges that Pennsylvania farmers and the team at PDA faced this year in terms of sampling, testing, and COVID-19.
He also unveils some details about the changes to the hemp program for 2021 — notably the plant minimum and acreage requirements. The permit application process opens December 5, 2020 for mail-in applicants. Online applicants are encouraged to wait until January 2021.
We talk about the Pennsylvania Hemp Steering committee and how it was instrumental in shaping the program for next year. Strathmeyer also says why he thinks the USDA will change the 15 day to harvest requirement in the final rule. And of course we talk about this week’s Pennsylvania Hemp Summit, Dec. 8 and 9.
Pennsylvania Department of Ag's 2021 Hemp Program
https://www.agriculture.pa.gov/Plants_Land_Water/industrial_hemp/Pages/default.aspx
Pennsylvania Hemp Summit
https://pahempsummit.com/
Hemp News Nuggets
Cannabis legalization bill set for historic U.S. House vote
https://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/news/2020/11/30/cannabis-legalization-bill.html
Farmers hoping to cash in with Iowa's first legal hemp crop find hard work and risk: Some of it had to be destroyed
https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/money/agriculture/2020/11/24/some-iowas-first-hemp-crop-burned-after-exceeding-thc-limits/6356257002/
Saratoga County-based nursery sues Washington County Sheriff, alleges deputies destroyed legally grown hemp
https://dailygazette.com/2020/11/29/saratoga-county-based-nursery-sues-washington-county-sheriff-alleges-deputies-destroyed-legally-grown-hemp/
This week’s show is divided into two parts.
First, we talk to Shawn Hauser, partner at Vicente Sederberg, a law firm in Denver, Colorado, where she chairs the firm’s Hemp and Cannabinoids Department.
Hauser recently penned an opinion piece in Hemp Industry Daily titled “After the Election, Let’s Focus on Fixing the Arbitrary THC Standard in Hemp.” On this week’s show, she gets into the history of the 0.3% limit and why that limit should be raised to 1%. She argues that raising the THC limit to 1% would eliminate most of the regulatory issues around hemp and would ultimately help farmers by removing the risk involved with growing hemp for cannabinoid production.
Then we check in with Berks County hemp farmer Ben Davies from Wildfox Provisions. We hear about his growing season and harvest, his work with farmer outreach on the Pennsylvania hemp steering committee, and his upcoming panel discussion at the Pennsylvania Hemp Summit Dec. 8 and 9.
Links
Opinion: After the election, let’s focus on fixing the arbitrary THC standard in hemp
https://hempindustrydaily.com/opinion-after-the-election-lets-focus-on-fixing-the-arbitrary-thc-standard-in-hemp/
Vicente Sederberg, LLP
https://vicentesederberg.com/
Interview with Dr. Ernest Small
http://www.internationalhempassociation.org/jiha/jiha6208.html
Wildfox Provisions
https://www.wildfoxprovisions.com/
2020 Pennsylvania Hemp Summit
https://pahempsummit.com/
On this week’s podcast, we talk to Lt. Gov. John Fetterman about his signature issue of cannabis reform in Pennsylvania and what kind of effect legal recreational marijuana would have on the hemp industry in the state.
The hemp program is not without its challenges, most notably, the arbitrary THC limits that force farmers to skirt the edge of criminality through no fault of their own, something which Fetterman describes as simple "Reefer Madness," a reference to the federal government’s propaganda campaign in the 1930s that did much to turn public sentiment against the cannabis plant, which had until that time many uses in society, from fiber to rope to medicine.
“Whether you're with me politically or not, we should have one thing absolutely in common and that’s the government should be out of your business on how much THC is in your hemp, and we should never be criminalizing what could be just simple, random errors in nature and the fact that you would just have to destroy a crop and waste that is, like I said, reefer madness,” Fetterman said.
How would legal recreational cannabis affect the hemp industry?
“I think they're going to complement each other, because, as you know, hemp has a lot of other uses too. We've legalized hemp and medical marijuana, has the world spun off its axis because of that?” he said.
But there is opposition in the state House to any sort of cannabis reform. Does the opposition present a well-reasoned, fact-based argument? Fetterman says it’s just plain party politics, but he says that hemp and cannabis are bipartisan issues that can benefit Pennsylvania and could create billions of dollars in revenue.
“You don't have to agree with me politically across the board, you know, what I am saying though is: be open to this idea that this is a whole brand-new industry and it could be a cash crop for Pennsylvania’s farmers in a way that, you know, would only come along once every generation or two, and why would we want to turn our backs on that?”
He says Pennsylvania hemp farmers should get first option for recreational cannabis growing licenses. “Agriculture is Pennsylvania’s number one and most important industry, and any cannabis bill should be ag-centered in Pennsylvania, because Pennsylvania farmers take care of us and we need to make sure we take care of them,’ he said.
Read a lightly edited transcript of the entire conversation here: www.bit.ly/LFpodcast109
Hemp News Nuggets
2020 Pennsylvania Hemp Summit
https://pahempsummit.com/
2020: a Year to Forget for Many in Hemp Industry
https://www.lancasterfarming.com/farming/industrial_hemp/2020-a-year-to-forget-for-many-in-hemp-industry/article_5d556e04-29a1-11eb-80d3-efedfc677e69.html
South Dakota’s Rules for Industrial Hemp
https://www.keloland.com/news/local-news/south-dakotas-rules-for-industrial-hemp/
State Lawmakers Consider Tightening Restrictions on Hemp Products
https://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/state-lawmakers-consider-tightening-restrictions-on-hemp-products/article_2c4bc2d1-da7d-5539-b986-bb97d0f937fb.html
On this week’s hemp podcast, we talk to Brother Johannes Zinzendorf from the Hermitage, a Harmonist spiritual center and working farm in Schuylkill County, where life is lived as closely as possible to an 18th Century lifestyle of self-sufficiency, which includes growing fiber plants to make cloth.
Flax had been the main fiber crop until the 2018 Farm Bill made it possible to grow hemp in the United States. 2020 was the second year they grew hemp at the Hermitage, and in this podcast episode, Zinzendorf describes the methods and tools they use to grow, harvest, and process the hemp fibers.
“A quarter acre of either flax or hemp would supply basically one person with about 20 yards of cloth,” he said. “You get enough clothing for a year from a quarter acre, but let’s say you have eight people in your family, you’re going to need to grow two acres of hemp or two acres of flax. There was a mathematical formula that you would use.”
The Hermitage
www.atthehermitage.org/
Les Stark’s Book Hempstone Heritage
http://www.hempstoneheritage.com/
2020 Pennsylvania Hemp Summit
https://pahempsummit.com/
Sick of hearing about politics and Election Day? Then do yourself a favor by taking a break and focusing on the non-partisan world of industrial hemp.
We have two main interviews this week. The first is with Erica Stark from the National Hemp Association who weighs in on a few different hemp-related matters, including what next year‘s hemp program might look like.
And then we talk to Lori Daytner and Phil Berezniak from DON Inc, a group of companies, mostly non-profits, which works on regional and local economic revitalization. DON has been providing services housing and employment to disabled, displaced, and at risk people in the community for many years. They have teamed up with local farmers in Pennsylvania and Ohio to grow fiber hemp that will be used in their revitalization efforts, plus they have plans to build a hemp fiber decortication facility.
DON Inc.
https://doninc.org/
National Hemp Association
https://nationalhempassociation.org/
Pennsylvania Hemp Summit
https://pahempsummit.com/
On this week’s hemp podcast, Connecticut Commissioner of Agriculture Bryan Hulburt explains the Connecticut hemp program in detail, describing the fee structure and testing requirements, and how he is proud of the farmers in his state for taking hemp and running with it. He says the job of his department is to create the space and opportunity for Connecticut farmers to succeed.
Commissioner Hurlburt also tells the story of when DEA agents showed up on the doorstep of a hemp farmer in the northwest corner of the state. The federal agents neglected to check with the Department of Agriculture first. Luckily, the farmer was able to talk them out of inspecting his farm, but the story underscores a major sticking point in the hemp industry: Why is the DEA involved at all?
We also talk to Tim Gordon, who has been called one of the world’s foremost experts on growing hemp. He offers advice to a Wisconsin grower whose CBD harvest was hampered by significant snowfall and below freezing temperatures. Is it still worth harvesting or is the crop a total loss? Listen and find out.
Links and News Nuggets
Connecticut Hemp Research Pilot Program
https://portal.ct.gov/DOAG/Regulatory/Regulatory/Hemp-Home-Page
Who is Tim Gordon?
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190328005922/en/World%E2%80%99s-Foremost-Expert-on-Hemp-Tim-Gordon-Featured-on-New-PBS-Segment-%E2%80%9CThe-Cannabis-Project%E2%80%9D
2020 Pennsylvania Hemp Summit: Register Now!
https://pahempsummit.com/
NY publishes rules for selling hemp extracts in food, drinks
https://hempindustrydaily.com/ny-publishes-rules-for-selling-hemp-extracts-in-food-drinks/
DEA, California police sued after allegedly destroying Wyoming company’s hemp after mistaking it for marijuanahttps://hempindustrydaily.com/dea-california-police-sued-after-allegedly-destroying-wyoming-companys-hemp-after-mistaking-it-for-marijuana/
There’s Still A Reason To Be Hyped About Industrial Hemp
https://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthoban/2020/10/27/theres-still-a-reason-to-be-hyped-about-industrial-hemp/#707da23e6ee2
This week, our continuing effort to understand the national hempscape takes us to Arkansas where we are joined by Caleb Allen, the hemp program manager at the Arkansas Department of Agriculture.
“All of the licensees are conducting research of some type for the betterment of the industry here in Arkansas,” Allen said, because the state of Arkansas is still operating under the 2014 Farm Bill Rules.
The majority of the state’s crop is CBD floral hemp production, but interest in grain and fiber is growing. Allen explains the parameters and describes the challenges of growing hemp that are unique to farming in Arkansas.
Before the interview, we recap some nuggets of hemp news, including the National Hemp Association’s Standing Committee for Social Equity, Green Takeover’s Hemp 101 for Construction, a guide for builders new to hemp, and a new lawsuit against the DEA that will benefit hemp farmers.
Links
Arkansas Department of Agriculture’s Hemp Program
https://www.agriculture.arkansas.gov/plant-industries/feed-and-fertilizer-section/hemp-home/
News Nuggets
Standing Committee for Social Equity
https://nationalhempassociation.org/standing-committee-for-social-equity/
Hemp Industry Hits DEA With Another Lawsuit
https://abovethelaw.com/2020/10/hemp-industry-hits-dea-with-another-lawsuit/
Green Takeover
https://www.greentakeover.com/
On this week's show we talk to Benjamin Brimlow and Gregg Gnecco from IND HEMP in Fort Benton, Montana.
IND HEMP is an industrial hemp processor and ingredient supplier that contracts with about 30 grain farmers across Montana (and a few in Washington and Oregon) to supply their oil see processing facility. The company has recently broken ground on what will become one of the largest fiber processing plants in the country.
Brimlow is the lead agronomist for IND HEMP and he gets into lots of details about what it takes to grow hemp in Montana – from dryland fields to hail damage to a plague of grasshoppers – It’s truly a fascinating look at hemp farming in the West.
IND HEMP
https://www.indhemp.com/
On this week’s podcast, we talk to Colorado hemp entrepreneur Morris Beegle, whose many hemp brands include the NoCo Hemp Expo, Colorado Hemp Company, Tree Free Paper and Silver Mountain Hemp Guitars.
We hear how he got his start in the hemp industry and what it takes to build a successful hemp brand, plus how the federal hemp regulations are affecting farmers and why the DEA should get out of the hemp space all together.
We also talk to Josh Leidhecker from Susquehanna Hemp to hear about this year’s grain and fiber harvest and what equipment they’re using up there in Lycoming County.
Morris Beegle’s websites:
We Are For Better Alternatives
www.wafba.org
Let’s Talk Hemp
www.letstalkhemp.com
NoCo Hemp Expo
www.nocohempexpo.com
Southern Hemp Expo
www.southernhempexpo.com
Silver Mountain Hemp Guitars
www.silvermountainhemp.com
Tree Free Hemp
www.treefreehemp.com
Josh Leidhecker’s websites:
Susquehanna Hemp Company
https://susquehannahempco.com/
Susquehanna Mills Co.
https://susquehannamills.com/
News Nuggets
Hemp farmers get last-minute delay on USDA compliance, but not everyone is happy
https://hempindustrydaily.com/hemp-farmers-get-last-minute-delay-on-usda-compliance-but-not-everyone-is-happy/
2020 Pennsylvania Hemp Summit
https://teampa.com/pahempsummit/
On this week’s show we talk to Don Breneman, the lab manager at Lancaster DHIA, which has become one of the go-to testing labs here in Pennsylvania. Don is also a sampling agent with the Department of Agriculture. On this week’s show, Don tells us all about the process from taking the clippings at the farm to drying the samples and shipping them out for chemical analysis and compliance testing.
Relevant Links from the Show
Lancaster DHIA
https://www.lancasterdhia.com/
The Hempstead at Mountainvale farm
https://www.thehempsteadpa.com/
All Together Now Pennsylvania
https://alltogethernowpa.org/
Americhanvre Cast-Hemp
https://americhanvre.com/
US Hemp Builders Associationhttps://ushba.org
New Nuggets
A Swarm of Grasshoppers Is Invading Montana Hemp Fieldshttps://www.hempgrower.com/article/grasshoppers-destroy-hemp-fields-montana/
Colorado-Based Hemp Organization Sues DEAhttps://www.westword.com/marijuana/hemp-organization-sues-dea-thc-testing-11801108
PA House Bill 2899
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=H&SPick=20190&cosponId=32362
Thanks to our Sponsor King’s AgriSeeds
https://hemp.kingsagriseeds.com/
The whole world weighs on my heart these days. The pandemic. The fires. The political uncertainty. The Interim Final Rule. The idea that hemp farmers could become criminals if their crops go hot. All of this stuff is heavy and I’ve started to feel disconnected and a little disillusioned.
So for my one hundred and first Industrial Hemp Podcast episode, I decided to hit the road in effort to reconnect with hemp farmers and hemp farms, hoping the trip would reinvigorate my spirit and inspire me to keep producing the hemp podcast.
I visited four hemp farms in Chester and Lancaster Counties: Paradise Hemp Farm in West Grove, Hemp-Alternative in Kennett Square, Oakley farm in Christiana, and Cedar Meadow Farm in Holtwood.
On the 100th episode of the Industrial Hemp Podcast, we talk to Rachel Berry, a hemp farmer in rural Illinois, about 100 miles west of Chicago. She grew for CBD last year, but this year she’s growing for seed and fiber.
She also talks about what motivated her to start the Illinois Hemp Farmers Association, which now has over 600 members across the state and aims to educate producers and consumers while representing the interests of the industry in state government. The goal of the organization is to build the resources and relationships necessary to grow a sustainable and equitable hemp industry.
Berry also explains why there’s still stands of feral hemp growing in Illinois and across the Midwest, sometimes growing nearly twenty feet tall.
Illinois Hemp Growers Association
https://www.illinoishga.com
Thank you to our Sponsor: King’s Agriseed
https://kingsagriseeds.com/hemp/
On this week's show, we talked to a young and ambitious hemp consultant, Michael Edwards, who has been working for the past few years on several different hemp operations in Western Pennsylvania. This year he finds himself working in a very large greenhouse in Westmoreland County.
Then we hear about an upcoming series of outdoor and socially distant hempcrete workshops to be hosted in Stroudsburg and Philadelphia. Cameron McIntosh, Director at Large of the US Hemp Building Association, and Eric Titus White, from The Hempstead at Mountain Dale Farm, are working with All Together Now Pennsylvania for a week-long series of workshops and educational experiences for builders, architects and farmers. Learn more at hempcreteweek.com
We also address the recent DEA Interim Final Rule which could have a lasting ramifications on the nascent CBD hemp industry.
News Nuggets and Helpful Links
DEA’s new Interim Final Rule concerning hemp
https://s3.amazonaws.com/public-inspection.federalregister.gov/2020-17356.pdf
Submit Your Comments to the The DEA by OCtober 20, 2020
https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=DEA_FRDOC_0001-0291
The Jacobsen Hemp Daily Bulleting
https://thejacobsen.com/price-reporting/industrial-hemp/
DEA Just Dropped a Bomb on the Hemp Industry.
https://cannabusiness.law/dea-just-dropped-a-bomb-on-the-hemp-industry-part-1-hemp-extract/
https://cannabusiness.law/dea-just-dropped-a-bomb-on-the-hemp-industry-part-2-delta-8-thc/
National Hemp Association’s Response to DEA’s IFR
https://nationalhempassociation.org/dea-issues-ifr-on-hemp/
Michael Edwards’ Instagram
https://www.instagram.com/benny_grows_pgh/
HempCrete Week
http://hempcreteweek.com/
The Hempstead at Mountain Dale Farm
https://www.thehempsteadpa.com/
US Hemp Building Association
https://ushba.org/
Americhanvre: Hempcrete Installation
https://americhanvre.com/
All Together Now Pennsylvania
https://alltogethernowpa.org/
While many photo-period hemp growers are still a month or two away from harvest, autoflower crops in the state are already being cut and dried in Pennsylvania. On this week’s show we talk to an autoflower grower and the owner of a drying facility. Together they share their story of collaboration in getting the crop out of the field and into the dryer.
Dale Norley, a self-described old hippie who’s growing autoflower in Chester County, and Chet Lapp, owner of a Lancaster County hemp dryer, share their stories of working together and surfing the waves of the learning curve, giving listeners a glimpse of the supply chain in real time.
And then we check in with David Thompson of Trybe Services. He’s a certified sampling agent for the Pennsylvania Hemp Program. He describes the sampling process, a typical farm visit, and what farmers need to know about getting their crops sampled and tested.
Links
Keystone Agriscience Dryer717-629-1928
chet.lapp@gmail.com
https://www.keystonegrown.com
Hemp Sampling Agent Directory
http://cedatareporting.pa.gov/reports/powerbi/Public/AG/PI/PBI/Hemp%20Sampling%20Agent%20Directory
Contact Trybe Service
484-880-8066
trybeservice@gmail.com
News Nuggets
South Dakota submits industrial hemp plan to USDA for final approval
https://www.argusleader.com/story/news/politics/2020/08/12/south-dakota-submits-hemp-plan-usda-final-approval/3354090001/
CBD Supply Seen Shrinking as Farmers Flee Hemp
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-08-09/cbd-supply-seen-shrinking-as-farmers-flee-hemp-cannabis-weekly
Sponsor
King’s AgriSeeds
https://hemp.kingsagriseeds.com/
Hemp farmer and author of the new book, "American Hemp Farmer: Adventures and Misadventures in the Cannabis Trade," Doug Fine is our guest this week. He talks about his new book, which offers a whole lot of practical advice to hemp farmers, told with humor and urgency, about climate change mitigation through regenerative farming practices and values. He talks about the arbitrary nature of the 0.3% THC limit in hemp and why THC irrelevancy is a worthwhile and attainable goal for farmers. He describes his efforts to build his own hemp brand and why value-added small batch hemp is the way to go for hemp farmers. He also tells us what agrarian-philosopher and writer Wendell Berry told him when he left a message on Doug’s answering machine. All this and more, plus Hemp News Nuggets.
Hemp News Nuggets
Texas Is Sued For Banning the Sale of ‘Smokable’ Hemp Productshttps://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/texas/2020/08/09/379421/texas-is-sued-for-banning-the-sale-of-smokable-hemp-products/
New York hoped for a hemp boom. Now another major player has dropped out
https://www.eveningtribune.com/news/20200807/new-york-hoped-for-hemp-boom-now-another-major-player-has-dropped-out
Great Eastern Hemp pulls out of Southern Tier processing plans
https://www.weny.com/story/42472937/great-eastern-hemp-pulls-out-of-southern-tier-processing-plans
Chuck Schumer’s Letter to USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue
https://www.schumer.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/schumer-reveals-as-upstate-new-york-economies-continue-to-recover-from-pandemic-ny-hemp-farmers-have-major-concerns-with-proposed-usda-guidelines-that-would-hinder-growth-and-devastate-future-of-hemp-industry-however-usda-shuts-upstate-farmers-out-of-fed-process-leading-to-problematic-impending-final-rules-senator-calls-on-usda-to-immediately-halt-reg-implementations-hear-out-upstate-hemp-producers_make-critical-improvements-to-final-plan-to-help-ny-hemp-farms-harvest-potential
On this week’s show we talk to Adin Alai, CEO of 9Fiber, an early stage agri-tech company with a patented system to transform the waste streams of the hemp and cannabis industries into sustainable materials — fiber and cellulose — for applications in nine major markets, including textiles, paper, plastics and more.
He explains the how they developed their recycling system, how the company works with farmers, and how the coronavirus shutdown caused the company to make a creative pivot.
9Fiber
https://www.9fiber.com/
Then we hear from Lancaster County hemp farmer and cover crop expert Steve Groff for further discussion on regenerative agriculture.
Special Thanks to Our Sponsor: King's Agriseeds
https://hemp.kingsagriseeds.com/
This week we talk to Bruce Linton, CEO of Collective Growth Corporation, a fully-funded Special Purpose Acquisition Company that will be acquiring hemp companies along the supply chain in order to develop the industry and fulfill the promise of hemp as material for manufacturing, innovation, and technology.
Not interested in CBD, Collective Growth Corp. is looking specifically at the fiber and grain side of the industry, which has the potential to revolutionize manufacturing, create domestic jobs, and mitigate climate change.
Linton is a visionary and pioneer who sits at the helm of company with a whole lot of money at its disposal. What kinds of companies are they looking for? Listen and find out.
Collective Growth Corporationhttps://collectivegrowthcorp.com/
Regenerative Organic Farming at the Rodale Institute
https://rodaleinstitute.org/why-organic/organic-basics/regenerative-organic-agriculture/
News Nuggets
Clint Eastwood Sues, Says He Has Nothing to Do With CBD Products
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/22/movies/clint-eastwood-cbd-defamation-lawsuit.html
Texas Smokable Hemp Ban Takes Effect Next Week
https://hempindustrydaily.com/texas-smokable-hemp-ban-takes-effect-next-week/
NDAA Amendment Would Let Soldiers Use Cannabis Derivatives Like CBD
https://www.newsweek.com/cbd-products-ndaa-2021-amendments-cannabis-sativa-tulsi-gabbard-1519490
The takeaway from this week’s show is that growing hemp has its challenges no matter where you try to grow it, whether it’s Pennsylvania or Louisiana.
First, hemp farmer Angie Deal of Ideal Hemp in Louisiana talks about the hemp program in her state. She says the weather is her biggest challenge, with storms rolling in from the gulf that make it necessary to build trellises for her crop.
Then we talk to Erica Stark from the National Hemp Association who tells us about the fiber crop she is growing in partnership with New Holland Agriculture in order to test harvesting equipment.
And finally we talk to Lancaster County farmer Steve Groff, who has been conducting direct seeding trials of autoflowering hemp varieties at his farm in Holtwood. He also talks about how the coronavirus shutdown has affected his labor crew.
National Hemp Association's Hemp Pledge
https://nationalhempassociation.org/hemp-pledge/
Steve Groff's The Future-Proof Farm
https://www.stevegroff.com/book
On this week’s hemp podcast we talk to two members of the Pennsylvania Hemp Steering Committee’s leadership team, Chet Lapp and Ben Davies. Together they co-chair the Farmer/Processor Outreach and Education subcommittee.
We talk about their plans to reach farmers and processors, what sorts of challenges the industry faces, and how they will act as a bridge between people in the hemp industry and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture which oversees the industry.
They encourage farmers to get in touch to voice their concerns by emailing farmerprocessoroutreach@gmail.com or by telephone: 717-455-7904.
News Nuggets
Clock ticking on two USDA grant opportunities for hemp growers
https://hempindustrydaily.com/clock-ticking-on-two-usda-opportunities-for-hemp-growers/
Fire broke out at Kleen Acres Alpaca Farm in Lancaster County
https://www.abc27.com/news/local/lancaster/crews-responding-to-barn-fire-in-lancaster-county/
Panda Biotech considering Wichita Falls for investment
https://www.timesrecordnews.com/story/news/local/2020/07/02/panda-biotech-considering-wichita-falls-investment/5363331002/
Michigan bill would raise hemp fees, require total THC testing
https://hempindustrydaily.com/michigan-bill-would-raise-hemp-fees-require-total-thc-testing/
10 reasons hemp entrepreneurs can still be optimistic about the industry
https://hempindustrydaily.com/overheard-at-hidc-10-reasons-hemp-entrepreneurs-can-still-be-optimistic-about-the-industry/
On this week's hemp podcast, we talk to Ray Maki, a hemp farmer on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. He's been farming in Hawaii for 30 years and is the owner and operator of Permaculture Kaua'i Nursery and Farm, a 25-acre organic hemp and permaculture farm that specializes in organic hemp production and processing, non-invasive clumping bamboos, fruit trees and exotic tropical landscapes.
In the interview, he talks about his hemp operation in the Aloha State, what sorts of challenges he faces in terms of geography and policy in Hawaii, why he put electric lights in his hemp fields last winter and why he won't be doing that again this year. We talk about permaculture, Korean Natural Farming practices, the arbitrary nature of THC limits and why genetics are the key to success for growing hemp in Hawaii.
Permaculture Kaua'i Nursery and Farm
https://permaculturekauai.com/
On this week’s podcast we talk to Reggie Weedman whose deep dive on hemp genetics has taken him on a quest for total-THC compliant hemp genetics that will stay legal even in Hawaii, where he works with local farmers.
He finally found what he was looking for in Oregon at Davis Hemp Farm where Jeremy Klettke has been diligently breeding CBD genetics for many years. We then talked to Klettke about his breeding operation, how his genetics fair in Hawaii, and his work with the Dalai Lama.
Davis Hemp Farmhttps://davishempfarms.com/
Hemp planting season is underway in Pennsylvania, so on this week's show we check in on four different hemp operations to see how the season is progressing.
First we talk to Fletcher Kaufman from Agranetics, LLC in Lycoming County, where he is growing outside for the first time this year. Last year he ran an indoor operation.
Then we talked to Dale Norley from Tasunka Farm in Chester County, where she grew 7000 plants last year, but this year is ramping things up with over 48,000 auto flower plants.
Next we visit with Karah and Ben Davies at Wildfox Farm in Eastern Berks County, where, now in their third year of growing, they've planted about 5 acres of CBD hemp.
And finally we talked to Josh Leidhecker from Susquehanna Hemp in Lycoming County, where he's growing dual-purpose fiber and grain varieties as well as CBD.
This show is an interesting glimpse into four very different hemp operations.
Agranetics, LLC
https://agranetics.com/
Tasunka Farm Organics LLC
email Dale: dalenorley@gmail.com
Wildfox Provisions
https://www.wildfoxprovisions.com/
Susquehanna Hemp Company
https://susquehannahempco.com/
The Pennsylvania Hemp Steering Committee is comprised of farmers, processors, business leaders, lawyers, policymakers and college professors. The committee was established to help guide the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture as they develop the hemp program in the state.
Jefferson University engineering professor Dr. Ronald Kander has been selected as chair of the leadership team of the committee. On this week’s show he explains how the steering committee works, the challenges they face, and the principles that guide the committee.
Following the interview with Dr. Kander, we talk to Adam Dietrich from ReBlocks, a Denver, Colorado-based company that uses recycled plastic to make building materials. They recently started using components of the hemp plant in their composites.
Links
Email Dr. Kander: Ron.Kander@jefferson.edu
Kanbar College of Design, Engineering & Commerce
https://www.jefferson.edu/academics/colleges-schools-institutes/kanbar-college-of-design-engineering-commerce.html
Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Industrial Hemp program
https://www.agriculture.pa.gov/Plants_Land_Water/industrial_hemp/Pages/default.aspx
All Together Now Pennsylvania's Hemp Local Supply Chain Coalition
https://alltogethernowpa.org/regional-economies/industrial-hemp/
ReBlocks
http://www.reblockco.com/
ReBlocksCo@gmail.com
Sponsor
Hemp Depot
https://www.cbdseedco.com/
This week's show is divided into two parts. The first is a Fiberside Chat interview with Brianna Kilcullen, founder of Anact (https://www.anact.com/), a company that makes sustainable bath and hand towels from hemp fibers. We hear about what motivated her to start the business and the challenges and successes she's faced along the way.
The second interview is with Jason Holly, president of Hempsylvania, a hemp farm and business in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania. We hear how Holly was able to put his experience in the tobacco industry to good use when he entered the hemp space. We also talk about compost tea and what sets Hempsylvania apart from other hemp companies. Sponsor:
Hemp Depot
https://www.cbdseedco.com/
One of the buzzwords in the hemp space this year is autoflower. But what is it and why would you want to grow it? This episode answers those questions and a whole lot more with a roundtable panel discussion about autoflowering varieties of industrial hemp with Lancaster County farmer Steve Groff, Atlas Seed Co. Breeder Joe Ullman, and Atlas Seed Co. grower Ryan Power.
And here’s what we cover:
• The differences between autoflower and photoperiod hemp
• Is cloning an option
• Expected feminization rates
• When does the flowering cycle start
• Best time to plant
• Recommended spacing
• Transplanting vs. direct seeding
• Optimal feeding plan
• Harvesting
• Expected yields
• Cannabinoid percentages and more.
For more information, check out Atlas Seed (https://atlasseed.com/) and Hemp Innovators (https://www.hempinnovators.com/)
On this week’s show we hear from Shannon Powers, press secretary at the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, where they are still busy processing hemp permits for 2020. So far around 415 applications have been approved, 10 percent of which are processor permits. Powers talks about how the coronavirus pandemic has affected the department’s roll out of the hemp program this year, changes to this year’s program, the Pennsylvania Steering Committee and more.
Then we talk to Chase Hubbard, senior analyst at the Jacobsen, the prestigious ag commodities reporting agency, where Hubbard writes the Hemp Daily Bulletin that includes thoughtful market commentary and hemp market prices CBD, fiber and grain.
And finally we check in with Jonathan Miller, general counsel at the US Hemp Roundtable, who tells us about the SAFE banking Act and offers advice for hemp farmers struggling in the new world of the pandemic.
Links
Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture's Hemp Program
PDA's Hemp FAQs
PDA's Interactive Map
PDA's Comments to USDA on the Interim Final Rule
The Jacobsen's Hemp & CBD Pricing and Forecasting
Urge Your U.S. Senators to Include SAFE Banking Act provisions in COVID-19 Relief Package
Join the US Hemp Roundtable
Frost Brown Todd, LLC
Take the PA Hemp Summit Survey
https://bit.ly/HempSummitSurvey
Thanks to our sponsor King's AgriSeeds
https://kingsagriseeds.com/hemp/
In the history of hemp, the mythology of Mitch McConnell looms large. He is often credited with being the guy who made hemp happen for farmers in Kentucky, but McConnell is up for reelection this year. Hoping to challenge him in the Senate race is Mike Broihier, a retired lieutenant colonel in the Marines and a farmer in Kentucky.
On this week’s podcast, Broihier talks about the hemp industry in Kentucky, what he would do as a Senator to help farmers, and how the Marine Corps and farming have prepared him for his first venture into politics.
Links
Mike Broihier's website
https://mikeforky.com/
Mike Broihier's opinion piece in the Courier Journal
https://www.courier-journal.com/story/opinion/2020/02/14/mitch-mcconnell-hemp-scheme-mile-wide-and-inch-deep/4749434002/
Register for Autoflower Q&A Webinar
https://bit.ly/autoflowerwebinar
Hemp News Nuggets
USDA provides federal lending guidance for hemp growers
https://hempindustrydaily.com/usda-provides-federal-lending-guidance-for-hemp-growers/
198 Farmers Applied for Licenses in Ohio’s First Year of Hemp Industry
https://www.hempgrower.com/article/hemp-farmers-ohio-license-application-fiber-grain-cbd/
USDA approves hemp plan for Massachusetts
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/05/08/marijuana/usda-approves-hemp-plan-massachusetts/
Thanks to our sponsor King's AgriSeeds
https://kingsagriseeds.com/hemp/
The anecdotal evidence of the medicinal benefits of CBD and other cannabinoids for animals is growing, but without approval from the FDA, veterinarians are unable to recommend helm for use in animals, and in most of the US, vets aren’t even allowed to discuss cannabis at all with pet owners.
This week’s guest on the podcast is Dr. Patti Mayfield, a veterinarian and hemp farmer in Oregon, where she is also a member of the Veterinary Cannabis Society, which promotes education, safety, and legislative change surrounding the use of medical cannabis for pets.
We also hear from Ben Thomas, director of the Montana Department of Agriculture about the state’s new hemp checkoff program, the first of its kind in the nation.
Plus, we hear from Geoff Whaling about an IPO from Collective Growth Corporation and what this will mean for the hemp supply chain in North America.
Relevant Links
Veterinary Cannabis
https://www.veterinarycannabis.org/
Montana Department of Agriculture's Hemp Checkoff Program
https://agr.mt.gov/News/montana-hemp-growers-establish-checkoff-applications-sought-for-committee
What is Collective Growth Corporation?
https://tdameritradenetwork.com/video/rB4AoXHUFCyBceVOMt8Exg
The Jacobsen Daily Hemp Bulletinhttps://thejacobsen.com/price-reporting/industrial-hemp/
Sponsor
Hemp Innovators Hemp School
https://www.hempinnovators.com/hemp-school
This week the podcast is all about machinery. From planters and harvester to decorticators, Formation Ag is one of the leading manufacturers of hemp equipment.
Our guest this week is Corbett Hefner, vice president of research and development at Formation Ag, who tells us all the different lines of equipment his company has to offer hemp farmers and processors, including the FiberTrack 660, a one-ton-per-hour decorticator.
Links
Formation Aghttps://formation-ag.com/
News Nuggets
FDA warns 2 companies to stop pushing CBD for opioid addiction
Northam signs bill to regulate CBD products as food
Canopy Growth Cuts Back Global Operations, Closes Canadian Facility, Lays Off 85
Sponsor
King's AgriSeeds
www.Kingsagriseeds.com/hemp
Extra fun
Tin Bird Radio Hour, episode 1
A new edition of Jack Herer's famous book The Emperor Wears No Clothes is now available — in print and as an e-book for the first-time.
Originally published in 1985, the book has been called the Bible of Hemp, and rightly so. It gives a rich history of the plant, from the early days of civilization, to its importance in early American life, plus it goes deep into the misinformation campaigns and policy decisions made by the federal government in cahoots with industry that resulted in 80 years of prohibition.
The book also does a great job of explaining how and why hemp — through farming and manufacturing — can save the world with its promise of healing for individuals, economies, communities and the environment.
This week's show is a conversation with the editors of the new edition, Bruce Michael Dietzen and Dan Herer, son of the author who passed away in 2010. The new edition has been updated to reflect the recent changes in hemp policy and the e-book is full of interactive links and videos that add a whole new dimension to the book.
Buy the book here: https://www.amazon.com/Emperor-Wears-No-Clothes-Marijuana-ebook-dp-B086N2Q318/dp/B086N2Q318
Podcast Music by Tin Bird Shadow
At a very basic level, terpenes are the molecules in a plant responsible for its aroma, but there is so much more to terpenes than meets the nose.
Just over 400 known terpenes exist in the natural world, nearly half of which have been found in the cannabis plant, making hemp one of the most terpene-rich species in the Plant Kingdom. Through mere coincidence, shared evolution, or sheer providence, the terpenes in hemp work in tandem with cannabinoids to produce many medical benefits to humans.
So if you’re growing hemp as a medicine, it’s wise to pay attention to the terpene profile of your crop, says hemp breeder Joe Ullman of Atlas Seed Co. and guest on this week’s podcast. This is a deep dive on terpenes – what they are, how they work, and why you should care.
Joe also shares his top 10 list of terpenes – what they’re good for, what they smell like, and what other plants they’re found in.
Hemp farmers, like everybody else, are caught up in the pandemic shutdown. What kind of financial assistance is available, how do you access it, and who is eligible? We talk to Kristen Nichols from Hemp Industry Daily to find out what your options are.
Then we talk to Lindsay Dawley from Berks County, Pennsylvania, where she and her sister have launched Almanac Planting Co. to “provide farmers with rooted hemp cuttings for consistent female CBD flower production.” We hear about the greenhouses full of clones, which varieties are available, and what her company is doing to navigate the coronavirus shutdown.
Plus, hemp news nuggets from West Virginia, Alaska, Iceland, Tasmania and more.
Almanac Planting Company
www.almanachemp.com
www.almanacplanting.co
EMAIL: lindsay@almanacplanting.co
PHONE: (610) 914-0717
INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/almanacplantingco/
Help for Hemp Farmer
Quick guide to federal aid available to hemp businesses impacted by coronavirus
https://hempindustrydaily.com/federal-aid-available-to-hemp-businesses-due-to-coronavirus/
Help for the Hemp Industry in the COVID-19 Crisis
https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/help-for-the-hemp-industry-in-the-covid-77868/
Farmers missing out on small business coronavirus relief package, Congress says
https://hempindustrydaily.com/farmers-missing-out-on-small-business-coronavirus-relief-package-congress-says/
News Nuggets
USDA Approves West Virginia's Industrial Hemp Plan
https://www.register-herald.com/news/money/usda-approves-west-virginias-industrial-hemp-plan/article_4a6b90a4-8857-549c-bbbb-831cc9fee183.html
France, Italy, Netherlands lead Europe for hemp land use, industry group says
https://hempindustrydaily.com/france-italy-netherlands-lead-europe-for-hemp-land-use-industry-group-says/
Icelandic Police Drop Charges Against Hemp Farmers
https://www.icelandreview.com/news/icelandic-police-drop-charges-against-hemp-farmers/
Hemp crops can fill gaps from poppy decline in Tasmania
https://www.examiner.com.au/story/6686853/law-change-needed-for-hemp-hopes/
Alaska’s hemp industry set to go live through online-only registrations
https://hempindustrydaily.com/alaskas-hemp-industry-set-to-go-live-through-online-only-registrations/
DEA removes cannabis drug Epidiolex from controlled substance list
https://hempindustrydaily.com/cannabis-drug-epidiolex-no-longer-controlled-substance/
Sponsor
National Hemp Association
https://nationalhempassociation.org/
In Memoriam
https://www.johnprine.com/
On episode 79 of the podcast, we cover some of the recent hemp news, including how the COVID-19 shutdown is affecting the application process for hemp growers in Pennsylvania. And what about the states that have chosen not to adopt the interim final rule set forth by the USDA? Plus Georgia and Iowa now have official hemp programs, and South Dakota has finally legalized industrial hemp at the state level. And the National Hemp Association is offering a hemp growers webinar series for its members.
Also on this week's show, we debut a new segment called Mailbox Markets Stories and talk to Harry Spade from Paradise, Pennsylvania, about the John Deere 420 tractor that his father sold in the late 70s, and that Harry was able to track down twenty years later through Mailbox Markets in Lancaster Farming newspaper.
And finally we check in with hemp farmer Tom Culton to see how his hemp operation is doing this spring and how his farm has been affected by the coronavirus shutdown.
Links
Pennsylvania Department of Ag's Hemp page
https://www.agriculture.pa.gov/Plants_Land_Water/industrial_hemp/Pages/default.aspx
National Hemp Association Webinarhttps://nationalhempassociation.org/
Hemp in South Dakota
https://www.argusleader.com/story/news/politics/2020/03/27/industrial-hemp-becomes-legal-south-dakota-after-noem-signs-bill/5058216002/
States split on following USDA hemp rules in 2020
https://hempindustrydaily.com/states-split-on-following-usda-hemp-rules-for-the-2020-season/
Hemp programs approved for U.S. states of Georgia, Iowahttps://hemptoday.net/georgia-iowa-approved/
SponsorTerradon Hemphttps://www.terradonhemp.com/
On this week’s podcast, we talk to Judy Wicks, founder of All Together Now Pennsylvania and the Industrial Hemp Local Supply Chain Coalition about the importance of local supply chains especially in these times of global pandemic.
And then we hear from Dr. Gerald Gaudino, chief science advisor at New Frontier Data, about CBD and the coronavirus, and what the industry can do to stop the spread of bad information.
Links
All Together Now Pennsylvania
https://alltogethernowpa.org/
Hemp Local Supply Chain Coalition
https://alltogethernowpa.org/regional-economies/industrial-hemp/
New Frontier Data
https://newfrontierdata.com/
CBD Versus Viruses: What Do We Really Know?
https://newfrontierdata.com/cannabis-insights/cbd-versus-viruses-what-do-we-really-know/
Coronavirus uncertainty prompts hemp farmers to lock down seeds, but some see turbulence ahead
https://hempindustrydaily.com/coronavirus-uncertainty-prompts-hemp-farmers-to-lock-down-seeds-but-some-see-turbulence-ahead/
Hemp Company Files For Bankruptcy As 'Confounding Regulatory Guidelines' Hamper Growth
https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidcarpenter/2020/03/18/hemp-company-files-for-bankruptcy-as-confounding-regulatory-guidelines-hamper-growth/#3b00eb8e5794
Sponsors
King’s AgriSeeds
https://kingsagriseeds.com/hemp/
Advanced Hemp
https://advancedhemp.com/
This week’s podcast is a welcome distraction to the coronavirus news. We talk to founder and CEO of GreenBroz, Cullen Raichart, about automation in the hemp industry.
Raichart is an inventor and has created a line of “harvesting solutions" for cannabis, such as trimmers, extractors, batchers and destemmers, which may be of great interest to hemp growers.
GreenBroz
https://greenbroz.com/
Sponsors
King’s AgriSeeds
Advanced Hemp
Why will the state of Colorado continue to operate its hemp program under the 2014 Farm Bill this growing season instead of adopting a USDA’s interim final rule? We talk to Colorado hemp manager Brian Koontz from the Colorado Department of Agriculture to find out.
We’ll hear about the decision not to adopt the new rules, plus will get an overview of the hemp industry in Colorado, including a look at the CHAMP initiative -- the Colorado Hemp Advancement & Management Plan.
Plus, will hear how the coronavirus is disrupting the hemp industry events in Pennsylvania and beyond.
Links
Colorado Department of Agriculture Hemp Program
Colorado Hemp Advancement & Management Plan (CHAMP)
CBD Versus Viruses: What Do We Really Know?
Episode 27: USDA Listening Session Recap
Sponsors
King’s AgriSeeds
Advanced Hemp
Click for show notes.
Last week the USDA announced its decision to delay enforcement of several requirements of the interim final rules for the US hemp program, based on feedback it received during the public comment period that ended January 29, 2020.
The agency will delay enforcement of the requirement that all hemp testing labs be registered with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and will also delay enforcement of the requirement that hemp producers use a DEA-registered reverse distributor or law enforcement to dispose of non-compliant crops.
On this week’s podcast, we talked to Erica Stark from the National Hemp Association to find out what this means for farmers and for the industry as a whole. We also hear about the NHA’s recent partnership with New Holland Ag and the Hemporium at Kutztown University on March 13.
Links
National Hemp Association
https://nationalhempassociation.org/
Pennsylvania Hemp Industry Council
http://www.pahic.org/
Hemporium at Kutztown University, March 13, 2020
https://pahemporium.com/
New Stanton area hemp processor CAMO closes, stranding farmers
https://triblive.com/local/westmoreland/new-stanton-area-hemp-processor-camo-closes-stranding-farmers/
Sponsors
Advanced Hemp
https://www.advancedhemp.ag/
King’s AgriSeeds
https://kingsagriseeds.com/hemp/
Click for show notes.
Episode 74: This week we talk to Josh Leidhecker of Susquehanna Hemp and Susquehanna Mills in Lycoming County, where he’s been growing for fiber, seed and CBD since 2017. From grain hemp to the current CBD market, this wide-ranging interview will be of great interest to hemp farmers.
We also talk to Mia Lowry, one of the organizers of the Keystone Hemp conference taking place in Lancaster on March 4. And Lancaster Farming news editor Phil Gruber discusses a story he’s working on about a case of hemp’s mistaken identity in Lehigh County.
Links
Susquehanna Hemp
www.susquehannamills.com
www.susquehannahempco.com
www.Facebook.com/SusquehannaMills
www.Facebook.com/SusquehannaHempCo
www.Instagram.com/SusquehannaMills570
Keystone Hemp Conference
https://keystonehempcon.com/
Sponsor Links
PA Hemporium, March 13, 2020
https://pahemporium.com/
Advanced Hemp
https://www.advancedhemp.ag/
Click for show notes.
What do you get when you cross a hemp farmer, a hemp lawyer and a hemp podcaster? It’s not the set up for a joke – it’s this week’s episode.
Hemp Farmer David Thompson of ReLeaf Farmacy in Glenmoore, PA, is concerned about how the new USDA interim rule and the state hemp program in Pennsylvania will affect his business, his ability to grow a quality crop and where this is all going to leave the industry in Pennsylvania.
Hemp lawyer Eric Trajtenberg from West Chester offers his perspective in this wide ranging conversation about hemp in 2020.
Links
ReLeaf Farmacy
https://www.releaffarmacy.us/
Eric Trajtenberg, hemp lawyer
http://www.pahemplawyer.com/
Sponsor Links
S & SO Produce farms
https://www.instagram.com/ssohemp/
Lancaster DHIA Hemp Survivors’ Workshop, February 27, 2020
href="https://my.cheddarup.com/c/2020-hemp-survivors-workshop
Upcoming Hemp Events
Keystone Hemp Conference, March 4, 2020
https://keystonehempcon.com
Hempcrete Workshop, March 7, 2020
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hempcrete-installation-workshop-tickets-92046677089?utm-medium
PA Hemporium, March 13, 2020
https://pahemporium.com/
OpCanna Conference and Seed Sale, April 17-19, 2020
https://www.opcanna.com/
Click for show notes.
Episode 72: In these divisive and hyper-partisan times, it’s refreshing to hear about Republicans and Democrats working together. On this week’s podcast, we talk to Representative Margo Davidson, a Democrat from the 164th Legislative District in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, and Representative Russ Diamond, a Republican from the 102nd Legislative District in Lebanon County, who have formed an informal industrial hemp caucus in the Pennsylvania State House in effort to educate their fellow lawmakers on hemp and to ensure that all citizens of the Commonwealth can benefit from what Diamond calls an “economic boon” for the state.
Then we hear from John Crye of Hempwood, a Kentucky company that has developed a process to turn hemp fibers into wood for flooring, furniture, and more.
Links
Representative Margo Davidson
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/member_information/house_bio.cfm?id=1203
Representative Russ Diamond
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/home/member_information/house_bio.cfm?id=1686
Hempwood
https://hempwood.com/
USDA Hemp Crop Insurance Programs
https://www.usda.gov/media/press-releases/2020/02/06/usda-announces-details-risk-management-programs-hemp-producers
Upcoming Hemp Events
Keystone Hemp Conference, March 4, 2020
https://keystonehempcon.com
Hempcrete Workshop, March 7, 2020
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hempcrete-installation-workshop-tickets-92046677089?utm-medium
Penn State Lehigh Valley’s Business of Cannabis Conference, March 11, 2020
https://crspsu.org/?page_id=529
PA Hemporium, March 13, 2020
https://pahemporium.com/
OpCanna Conference and Seed Sale, April 17-19, 2020
https://www.opcanna.com/
Sponsors
Kings Agriseeds
https://kingsagriseeds.com/hemp/
Lancaster DHIA Hemp Survivors’ Workshop, February 27, 2020
https://my.cheddarup.com/c/2020-hemp-survivors-workshop
Click for show notes.
Episode 71: This week we talk to Jay Stucky, a CBD hemp farmer in upstate New York. His many concerns about the CBD industry include the high price of CBD and how processors and retailers are making all the money — not the farmers. In this wide ranging conversation, Stucky addresses the call to raise the THC level in hemp from 0.3% to 1%, which he says is not necessary.
Then we hear from Scott Bennett, the hemp policy expert at the American Farm Bureau Federation, whose delegates just voted to support raising the THC level in hemp to 1%.
Relevant hemp Links and news nuggets
Berkshire Hemp
https://berkshirehemp.farm/
American Farm Bureau Federation
https://www.fb.org/
Leaf Report’s The CBD Market Consumer Research: A Guide to Become a Smart Consumer
https://www.leafreport.com/education/the-cbd-market-explained-a-guide-to-become-a-smart-consumer-3159
Kentucky hemp companies face bankruptcy as ‘bureaucratic paralysis’ plagues industry
https://www.kentucky.com/news/business/article239751703.html
You might be overpaying for CBD, and there’s no reason why
https://www.nj.com/marijuana/2020/02/you-might-be-overpaying-for-cbd-and-theres-no-reason-why.html
Delaware company seeks permits for hemp extraction facility
https://www.lancasterfarming.com/news/associated_press/company-seeks-permits-for-hemp-extraction-facility/article_4a5eb148-cfde-5031-bebc-f33acc63d7fc.html
WVDA Submits State Hemp Plan to USDA
https://www.lancasterfarming.com/farming/industrial_hemp/wvda-submits-state-hemp-plan-to-usda/article_f0c89ac2-963b-5513-b8a0-d78cdad8b1b2.html
A Certified Organic Labeling Program Is Coming To Cannabis In 2020
https://www.forbes.com/sites/katieshapiro/2020/02/03/a-certified-organic-labeling-program-is-coming-to-cannabis-in-2020/#71141e8c7b07
2 Kentucky hemp companies face bankruptcy proceedings
https://www.lancasterfarming.com/news/associated_press/kentucky-hemp-companies-face-bankruptcy-proceedings/article_65c47ff5-4090-572e-8075-04dd1466b52e.html
Sponsor Links
Lancaster DHIA’s Hemp Survivors Workshop
https://2020-hemp-survivors-workshop.cheddarup.com
King's Agriseeds
https://kingsagriseeds.com/hemp/
Click for show notes.
Episode 70: On this episode of the podcast we talk to hemp builder Cameron McIntosh of Americhanvre Cast-Hemp in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
Hemp has many properties that make it an ideal building material. When mixed with lime, it becomes mold-, mildew-, rot- and pest-resistant, and very nearly fire-proof, according to McIntosh. The building industry in America is young and full of promise, but it still has its challenges, not the least of which is a steady supply of domestically grown help.
We also check in with Dr. Steve Groff from Groff North America to hear about their expansion in the CBD space with pharmacy partners, and we get an update on the HempTrain processing machine at Groff North America's headquarters in Red Lion.
Links
Americhanvre Cast-Hemp
https://americhanvre.com/
The US Hemp Building Association
https://www.ushba.org/
Hempcrete Installation Workshop, March 7, 2020
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hempcrete-installation-workshop-tickets-92046677089
The Hemp Entrepreneur Podcast
https://www.thehempentrepreneurpodcast.org/
Groff North America
https://groffna.com/
Farmacy Partners
https://farmacypartners.com/
Sponsor Links
Lancaster DHIA's Hemp Survivors Workshop
https://2020-hemp-survivors-workshop.cheddarup.com
Hemp Innovator's Hemp School
https://www.hempinnovators.com/hemp-school
Click for show notes.
Episode 69: This week we talk to seed breeder Joe Ullman from Atlas Seed Company where they're bringing to market two autoflower varieties of industrial hemp this year. We explore the benefits of autoflower and why it’s perfect for commercial production of CBD, especially in light of the new USDA rules. We also get into plant spacing, growing practices and more.
Then we hear an interview recorded at the Hemp Innovators meeting last week at the Lancaster Farm & Home Center. Steve Groff turned the tables on podcast host Eric Hurlock and asked him a bunch of questions about industrial hemp.
Links
Atlas Seed Co.
https://atlasseed.com/
Comment on the USDA hemp Rules before January 29, 2020
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/10/31/2019-23749/establishment-of-a-domestic-hemp-production-program
Sponsor links
https://www.hempinnovators.com/
Click for show notes.
Episode 68: Farmers in New Jersey can now grow industrial hemp in the Garden State. In this week’s show, we talk to New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Doug Fisher and the Director of the Division of Plant Industry at the New Jersey Department of Agriculture Joe Zoltowski. We dig into the details of the New Jersey hemp program, including licensing fees and structure, acreage and testing requirements.
Then we meet a young entrepreneur from Chester County, Pennsylvania, Charles Streitwieser, founder of Streitwieser Designs and maker of an all hemp product called the Charlie Bag.
Links
New Jersey Hemp Program Rules and License Applications
https://www.nj.gov/agriculture/divisions/pi/prog/nj_hemp.html
Make Your Comments to the USDA on the Interim Hemp Rules
https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=AMS-SC-19-0042
Streitwieser Designs
Email: streitwieserc@gmail.com
Online Shop: https://charlie-bag.myshopify.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/streitwieser_designs/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/streitwieser_designs-100621188142238/
Sponsor Links
King’s Agriseeds
https://www.kingsagriseeds.com/
Cannabis College of America
https://cannabiscollegeofamerica.com/
Click for show notes.
Episode 67: This week’s Industrial Hemp Podcast was recorded live at the 2020 Pennsylvania Farm Show in Harrisburg, featuring an in-depth discussion of the 2020 hemp program in Pennsylvania with Fred Strathmeyer, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, and Sarah Pickel, the hemp program coordinator at the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. We talk about changes in the program and how those changes will affect growers and processors. There is also a question and answer session with the audience following the interview.
Links
Pennsylvania Department of Ag's 2020 Hemp Program
https://www.agriculture.pa.gov/Plants_Land_Water/industrial_hemp/Pages/default.aspx
2020 PA Hemp Permit Application
https://www.agriculture.pa.gov/Plants_Land_Water/industrial_hemp/Documents/2020%20Hemp%20Permit%20Application%20for%20Growers%20and%20Processors.pdf
National Hemp Association and New Holland Ag
https://nationalhempassociation.org/wp-content/uploads/NHA_NH_Partnership_Announcement.pdf
Sponsor Links
Hemp Innovators
https://www.hempinnovators.com/
Cannabis College of America
https://cannabiscollegeofamerica.com/
Forrester Farm Equipment
https://forresterfarmeq.com/
Click for show notes.
Episode 66: Over the course of this show, we’ve talked to many wonderful, passionate, knowledgeable people from the world of industrial hemp – farmers, inventors, visionaries, business leaders, policy makers, artists – and so to celebrate the end of the year, we thought we’d check back in with a some previous guests to get an overview of the 2019 year in hemp and take a glimpse at 2020 through their eyes. Many voices, split into 2 separate podcast episodes.
In part TWO of the Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast Year End Spectacular Double Episode, we hear from hemp guitar maker Jay Burstein, hemp innovator Steve Groff, healthcare consultant Jessie Johnson, and hemp farmer Tom Culton.
Click for show notes.
Episode 65: Over the course of this show, we’ve talked to many wonderful, passionate, knowledgeable people from the world of industrial hemp – farmers, inventors, visionaries, business leaders, policy makers, artists – and so to celebrate the end of the year, we thought we’d check back in with a some previous guests to get an overview of the 2019 year in hemp and take a glimpse at 2020 through their eyes. Many voices, split into 2 separate podcast episodes.
In part ONE of the Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast Year End Spectacular Double Episode, we talk to National Hemp Association chairman Geoff Whaling, cannabis lawyer Nathalie Bougenies, hemp sports car maker Bruce Dietzen, and a hemp farmer from the plain community of Lancaster County.
Click for show notes.
Episode 64: This week on the Industrial Hemp Podcast we talk to hemp farmer Ben Davies from Wild Fox Farm in eastern Berks County, Pennsylvania, where he and his wife Karah have developed 17 different retail products from their high CBD hemp harvest – everything from lip balm and tinctures to herbal tea and pet products.
Davies explains how they developed the products, what tools they uses, how the farm nurtures relationships with local retail outlets, and many other nuggets of practical advice to help you turn your harvest into money.
Links
Wild Fox Provisions
https://www.wildfoxprovisions.com/
NPR story about CBD
https://www.npr.org/2019/12/03/784562677/is-cbd-safe-the-fda-cant-say
Growers Discount Labels
http://www.growersdiscountlabels.com/
Bulk Apothecary
https://www.bulkapothecary.com/
Make Comments on the USDA hemp Program until January 29, 2020
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/10/31/2019-23749/establishment-of-a-domestic-hemp-production-program
Penn State Extension CBD Hemp Production Intensive for Growers
https://www.cvent.com/events/cbd-hemp-production-intensive-for-growers/event-summary-f570dae7dc4f4decb8bcab64cedebb9b.aspx?i=a65c6af8-8ded-4be0-984c-e1f0ca8d1932
Pennsylvania Farm Show
https://www.farmshow.pa.gov/Pages/default.aspx
Sponsor Link
https://www.kingsagriseeds.com/hemp/
Resounding Joy, by tin bird choir
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9rHpo2fTms
Click for show notes.
Episode 63: This week we talk to Sarah Yetman, owner of Sovereignport, a business that imports and exports CBD products worldwide.
Yetman explains how she works with farmers, governments and businesses all around the world to provide shipping and logistics solutions for buyers and sellers of CBD, from isolate to flower to biomass. She offers lots of good advice for farmers who are trying to sell their crop.
Then we check in with Jake Sitler from Floyd’s of Leadville to discuss FDA’s recently updated public advisory on CBD.
Links
Sovereignport
https://sovereignport.com/
FDA’s November 25, 2019 Update on CBD
https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/what-you-need-know-and-what-were-working-find-out-about-products-containing-cannabis-or-cannabis
Floyd's of Leadville
https://floydsofleadville.com/
LNP's editorial on CBD
https://lancasteronline.com/opinion/editorials/consumers-need-to-be-more-cautious-about-using-cbd-products/article_51b1a7cc-16ef-11ea-8b19-1fc86f53a42b.html
Click for show notes.
Episode 62: While the hemp industry buzzes about CBD, it’s important to remember the other side of industrial hemp: the fiber side. Fiber varieties of the cannabis plant have been grown since ancient times to make paper, clothing and building materials.
This week’s guest, Steve Allin, has been using hemp as a building material for decades on hemp projects all over the world. He is the director of the International Health Building Association and has quite literally written the book on Building with Hemp.
Links
International Hemp Building Association
https://internationalhempbuilding.org
Hemp Building with Steve Allin
http://www.hempbuilding.com/
FDA’s November 25, 2019 Update on CBD
https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/what-you-need-know-and-what-were-working-find-out-about-products-containing-cannabis-or-cannabis
Webinar: Crop Insurance and Hemp: The Whole Farm Approach
https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/5823292160289356043
Federal guidance on banks and hemp
https://www.fincen.gov/sites/default/files/2019-12/Hemp%20Press%20Release%2012.3.19%20FINAL.pdf
Special thanks to Cameron McIntosh of Americhavre for his help with this interview. https://americhanvre.com/
Also, Don't forget to make a comment to the USDA
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/10/31/2019-23749/establishment-of-a-domestic-hemp-production-program
Click for show notes.
Episode 61: This week we talk to Larry Nagle, founder of the Cannabis College of America, designed to teach students the various phases of growing, harvesting, drying and packaging hemp. The school will offer online and in class sessions starting this January.
Nagle’s deep experience with the cannabis plant gives him a wide range of subject matter to discuss in this podcast interview, from shady seed dealers to the purported health benefits of the plant, as well as some sage advice for beginners.
Links
Cannabis College of America
https://cannabiscollegeofamerica.com/
Make a comment to the USDA
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/10/31/2019-23749/establishment-of-a-domestic-hemp-production-program
Sponsors
Organic Mechanics Soil Company
https://organicmechanicsoil.com/
King’s AgriSeeds
https://www.kingsagriseeds.com/hemp/
Click for show notes.
Episode 60. As the hemp industry invents itself in Pennsylvania, many new and surprising partnerships arise.
Cynthia Petrone-Hudock spent most of her career in finance and healthcare, but now she’s the CEO for Hemp-Alternative, and is joined on the podcast by Jamie Hicks, crop farmer and co-owner of Hicks Brothers, LLC, the farming operation that raised hemp in partnership with Hemp-Alternative.
The two discuss how the partnership formed, as well as the growing practices from field prep to irrigation and harvest.
Later in the show, Chris Fontes of HempExchange explains the ins and outs of the hemp market, how the pricing system works, and why the 10% CBD threshold matters.
He also gets into to what effect the new USDA rules could have on the hemp industry next year and why it’s important for farmers to share their thoughts on the new rules with the USDA. The public comment period closes December 30, 2019.
Links
Hemp-Alternative
https://www.facebook.com/hempalt/
Hicks Brothers LLC
http://hicksbrothersfarming.com
Hemp Exchange
https://hempexchange.com
Make a comment to the USDA
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/10/31/2019-23749/establishment-of-a-domestic-hemp-production-program
Sponsor
King’s AgriSeeds
https://www.kingsagriseeds.com/hemp/
Click for show notes.
Episode 59: This week’s show is divided into three parts.
First we talk to Joshua Decatur, CEO of Trace, a Vermont-based technology company that is building a block-chain based application that will help standardize and verify hemp crop information, making a crop easily traceable from farm to processor and beyond, and thereby eliminating law enforcement’s inability to differentiate hemp from THC cannabis.
Second, we talk to hemp farmer Bryson Clark from Horseheads, New York, who shares his concerns that the new USDA hemp regulations will severley limit farmers’ ability to grow a high quality crop next year.
And finally we hear from Dr. Steve Groff of Groff North America, the company that is bringing the first HempTrain processing technology to the United States. The HempTrain has arrived and Groff North America will soon begin processing the 2000 acres of hemp that they contracted farmers to grow in 2019.
Links
Trace
https://tracevt.com/
Upstate Hydroponics
http://www.upstatehydroponics.com/
Groff North America
https://groffna.com/
USDA Hemp Webinar
https://zoom.us/recording/play/TAEflEP96bk0nvHTbp6JVKoR4JX4O2hXFaCZAdXjDhowNT2F6SDhHmGDAqCCv9nB
THC Petition
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/total-thc-1-hemp-products?fbclid=IwAR3qXpMp4Qb55wpmahussI0qah3m3e4ZxPViadIRbo-O2j35zvAUdqtsHp4
Sponsors
National Hemp Association
https://nationalhempassociation.org/
Organic Mechanics Soil Company
https://organicmechanicsoil.com/
Click for show notes.
Episode 58: This week we talk to Dr. Ruth Welliver, the director of the Bureau of Plant Industry at the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, which over sees the industrial hemp program in the state. We talk about what PDA got right this year and what lessons it’s learning for next year. Plus we get into how the new USDA interim rules might affect the hemp program in Pennsylvania next year.
Then we check in with Erica Stark from the National Hemp Association, who has plenty to say about the new USDA rules and what they’ll mean to farmers and the industry in general.
Also, how a shipment of industrial hemp from a farm in Vermont ended up being confiscated by the NYPD.
Links
Specialty Block Grant Program
http://www.pacodeandbulletin.gov/Display/pabull?file=/secure/pabulletin/data/vol49/49-42/1555.html
National Hemp Association
https://nationalhempassociation.org/
USDA Hemp Program
https://www.ams.usda.gov/rules-regulations/hemp
Hemp Fire Story from Lancaster Online
https://lancasteronline.com/news/local/it-s-a-lesson-hemp-farmers-lose-thousands-of-dollars/article_21f256ae-fb23-11e9-bca5-6f64eff270b0.html
NY Post Hemp Confiscation Story
https://nypost.com/2019/11/05/massive-marijuana-shipment-confiscated-by-nypd-is-legal-hemp-business-owner/
Green Angel CBD
https://www.greenangeloil.com/
Tin Bird Shadow
https://tinbirdshadow.bandcamp.com/releases
Click for show notes.
Episode 57: On this week’s show, we discuss the new interim rules put forth this week by the USDA and what these new rules might mean for hemp farmers, including why test results will be required to include a measurement of uncertainty.
But the main story this week comes from Kentucky, where farmers Ben Furnish and Kendall Henson are part of a group of farmers who are suing GenCanna Global USA Inc. in what looks like a classic case of farmers getting the short end of the stick. Again. Lots of lessons to learn here.
Links
USDA draft Hemp Rules
https://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/AMS_SC_19_0042_IR.pdf
Formal Complaint from Furnwood Farm
https://www.lancasterfarming.com/farming/industrial_hemp/furnwood-v-gencanna-complaint/pdf_e12799ce-fb3e-11e9-9a1e-4ff085a2d638.html
Sponsors
IVA Manufacturing's SP50 Hemp Sprayer
https://ivamfg.com/sp50-hemp-sprayer
National Hemp Association
https://nationalhempassociation.org/
Click for show notes.
Episode 56: On this week’s podcast we talk to Dr. Mowgli Holmes, co-founder and CEO of Phylos, a plant science company that is trying to revolutionize the hemp industry through data, technology and expertise.
In this wide ranging interview we discuss plant breeding, cannabis genetics, why sustainable agriculture is important not just for hemp production but farming in general, and we also get into the controversy that Phylos found itself in earlier this year among old-school West Coast cannabis growers.
Plus, we review some highlights from this week’s public hearing in Harrisburg on industrial hemp.
Links
Phylos
https://phylos.bio/
PA Senate Hemp Hearing Video
https://agriculture.pasenategop.com/102119/
LEX18 Story about Farmers Suing Gencanna
https://www.lex18.com/news/covering-kentucky/kentucky-farmers-sue-hemp-company
Sponsors
Organic Mechanics Soil Company
https://organicmechanicsoil.com/
Think 20 Labs
https://www.think20labs.com/
Click for show notes.
There has been a spate of thefts at Pennsylvania hemp farms. CBD plants are being topped and hauled away, and in some cases entire plants have been stolen. Some farms have lost dozens of plants, others over a thousand.
Who would have guessed that the biggest pest to the hemp crop would turn out to be human beings?
What can farmers do to protect themselves and their crops?
Seven farmers share their stories of theft and security in the newest episode of the Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast. These farmers employ methods of security ranging from field cams and motion sensors to armed guards and booby traps.
Click for show notes.
Episode 54: This week we taped our show on stage at the 2019 Pennsylvania Hemp Summit at the Lancaster Convention Center in downtown Lancaster, PA.
The guests on the show were seed breeders and hemp growers Tom Culton and Joe Ullman, who spoke about the importance of knowing where your seed comes from and why autoflower genetics might just be the next big thing in hemp farming.
The show was taped live during the Monday night Summit Reception hosted by Lancaster Farming with help from our sponsors Kimberton Whole Foods, Pocono Organics, and the Pennsylvania Hemp Industry Council.
Tin Bird Shadow provided live music before, during and after the podcast taping. Their music was made possible at the show by generous support from Floyd's of Leadville and the Pennsylvania Hemp Industry Council.
Many thanks to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and Team Pennsylvania for putting together the successful inaugural Pennsylvania Hemp Summit. We look forward to next year's summit.
Sponsors
Kimberton Whole Foods
https://www.kimbertonwholefoods.com/
Pocono Organics
https://www.poconoorganics.com/
Floyd’s of Leadville
https://floydsofleadville.com/
Pennsylvania Hemp Industry Council
http://www.pahic.org/
Additional Links
Atlas Seed
http://atlasseed.com/
Click for show notes.
Episode 53: On this week’s show, we check in with the gang at Floyd’s of Leadville – Floyd Landis, Jake Sitler and Wayne Bendistis – who bring us up to speed on their endeavor to contract Pennsylvania farmers to grow high-quality, organic hemp for their line of nationally distributed CBD products. And check it out: They aren’t drying the crop like everybody else, but instead are freezing it cryogenically.
Then we hear from Peter Hughes of Red Barn Consulting who tells us about the 15-foot CBD harvester he just bought, capable of harvesting 10 to 12 acres of CBD hemp a day.
Click for show notes.
Episode 52: On this week’s show, we talk to Tara Caton, the research coordinator at the Rodale Institute where she is the leader of the industrial hemp research trials. The institute is studying the weed suppression benefits of industrial hemp when it’s added into crop rotation and no-till farming. They are also looking at which varieties do best in Pennsylvania for fiber and grain.
Then we talk to organic hemp farmer Eric White, also known as the Wild American. His hemp farm in the Poconos has had some issues with European corn borer this summer. He talks about those pests and explains his creative plans for marketing his crop.
Links
Rodale Institute Hemp Research
https://rodaleinstitute.org/science/industrial-hemp-trial/
VIDEO: Rodale's 2017 Hemp Trials
https://www.lancasterfarming.com/farming/field_crops/rodale-hemp-trials/video_5f514b64-add1-11e7-8213-03f51487218e.html
Eric White's story as told to Drew and Cameron on The Hemp Entrepreneur Podcast
https://www.podbean.com/eu/pb-3b48v-bbad1f
Get Your tickets for the Hemp Summit
https://teampa.com/pahempsummit/
Click for show notes.
On this week's show, we feature a small first time hemp operation in Bucks County. We talk to farmers Rich Yang and Nicholas Cole of Under the Sun Hemp, where they just installed a drying facility.
We also check in with Team Pennsylvania's Kelly Kundratic about the 2019 Hemp Summit in Lancaster, and also talk to plant breeders Joe Ullman and Tom Culton who will be the featured panelists at the live taping of the podcast Monday, October 7 at the Hemp Summit reception at the Lancaster Convention Center.
Plus Dr. Ron Kander from Jefferson University answers an intriguing question about hemp plastic.
Click for show notes.
Episode 50: On this week’s show we discuss how this ancient crop, often harvested by hand, is a bright spot of ag innovation, and how some Lancaster County farmers already have the systems in place for a smooth transition to growing hemp.
Then we hear from deputy ag secretary Fred Strathmeyer about how the anticipated USDA guidelines for industrial hemp in 2020 may or may not change things here in the Commonwealth for next year, plus what he’s looking forward to most at the 2019 Pennsylvania Hemp Summit at the Lancaster Convention Center on October 7 & 8.
Click to read the show notes.
Episode 49: On this week's show we talk to Delaware Valley University biology professor Dr. Chris Tipping. A trained entomologist, Tipping has been involved with his university’s industrial hemp research program since its inception in 2017.
Tipping discusses the various pests a hemp farmer might encounter and how to manage them, but because the crop is so new in the region, much has yet to be discovered in the arena of hemp pest control.
We also hear from biophotonics advocate Eddie Taylor about some interesting plant science research involving cellular light.
Links
Email Dr. Tipping: Christopher.Tipping@delval.edu
Delaware Valley University
https://www.delval.edu/
Spotted Lanternfly Resources
PA Department of Ag
https://www.agriculture.pa.gov/Plants_Land_Water/PlantIndustry/Entomology/spotted_lanternfly/Pages/default.aspx
Penn State Extension
https://extension.psu.edu/spotted-lanternfly
USDA
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/resources/pests-diseases/hungry-pests/the-threat/spotted-lanternfly/spotted-lanternfly
Hemp Diseases & Pests book on Amazon
https://www.amazon.com/Hemp-Diseases-Pests-Management-Biological/dp/0851994547
Colorado University Hemp Insect Website
https://hempinsects.agsci.colostate.edu/
Plant Amplifier
https://www.plantamplifier.com/
Click to read the show notes.
Episode 48: This week we talk to Vanessa Villanova and Suzie Eckhart, the founders of The Hemptons Farm, an organic hemp farm in Chatham, New York, near the Massachusetts border.
But it’s more than a hemp farm. It’s also a getaway retreat center where guests can stay to relax, rejuvenate, and generally chill out in the country side. It’s a 70-acre choose-your-own adventure where you can help out with the farm chores, eat good food, or just hang out in the hemp. This is where industrial hemp meets hospitality.
We hear about the challenges that these first time farmers faced as they developed their business model and planted their first hemp seeds.
Links form the Episode:
The Hemptons Farm
https://thehemptons.com/
Whole-Farm Revenue Protection Hemp Insurance
https://www.farmers.gov/manage/hemp
Hawai'i Destroys Half of 2019 Hemp Crop
https://www.staradvertiser.com/2019/08/26/hawaii-news/hawaii-hemp-growers-are-having-to-destroy-their-plants-because-of-high-thc-levels/
2019 Pennsylvania Hemp Summit
http://teampa.com/pahempsummit/
Click to read the show notes.
This week’s show features an in-depth conversation with Todd Palcic, the president of Thar Process, an industrial hemp processing company in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania.
Palcic explains the extraction process, what farmers need to be aware of when working with a processor, and why the company decided to go all in on industrial hemp this year. He also explains the importance of working with an accredited processing facility.
We also talk to Erica Stark from The National Hemp Association about her concerns with CBD flower, and we check in with Steve Groff about his hemp field day at his farm in Holtwood, Lancaster County this Wednesday.
Thar Process
http://tharprocess.com/
Hemp Innovators
https://www.hempinnovators.com/
National Hemp Association
https://nationalhempassociation.org/
Click to read the show notes.
On this episode of the Industrial Hemp Podcast, we go deep into the specifics of harvesting and drying CBD hemp, from cutting the stalks to the best way to set up a drying room, plus how to keep mold from contaminating the crop.
First we check in with Bucks County, Pennsylvania, hemp farmer Joe Ullman, who shares his experience working with cannabis, from the field to the drying rack.
Then we hear from Landin Butterfield, a hemp farmer from Klamath Falls, Oregon, who shares his insight and experience on harvesting and drying.
With two different perspectives, this episode is chock full of helpful information to guide new hemp farmers through their first harvesting and drying experience with CBD hemp.
Click to read the show notes.
On episode 45, we dig in a little deeper on the PA Department of Agriculture’s THC testing protocols by talking to Corey Fitze, COO of Pennsylvania Hemp Research, a private cannabis testing company in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
Then we review PDA’s latest letter to hemp permit holders which is intended to clarify their last letter, which really confused some CBD growers.
And finally we recap the very well-attended hemp field day at the Penn State research farm near Landisville.
Helpful Links
Pennsylvania Hemp Research
www.phrlabs.com
Steve Groff’s Hemp Innovators
https://www.hempinnovators.com/
2019 Hemp Summit
https://teampa.com/pahempsummit/
Click to read the show notes.
On this week's podcast we talk to Dr. Steve Groff of Groff North America, a hemp processor in York County, Pennsylvania, that is bringing HempTrain technology to its Red Lion processing center. Groff shares breaking news about Groff North America’s recent acquisition.
We also hear from a Lancaster County farmer who thinks the state’s THC testing requirements might possibly cause him to lose his investment and potential profit. Erica Stark from the National Hemp Association explains the testing requirements and offers advice for CBD hemp growers in the state.
Helpful links:
Groff North America
https://groffna.com/
National Hemp Industrial Council Event in Portland
https://hempindustrial.com/events/2019-hemp-business-summit-hotel/
2019 Pennsylvania Hemp Summit
http://teampa.com/pahempsummit/
PDA’s Letter to 2019 Hemp Permit Holders concerning Testing Requirements
https://www.lancasterfarming.com/farming/industrial_hemp/pda-s-letter-to-hemp-permit-holders-july/article_80f09870-b3b9-11e9-9d07-2f15168eab7a.html
Click to read the show notes.
What happens when a nearby farm that’s growing seed and fiber crops accidentally pollinates your CBD operation? Hopefully, you'll never find out, because the result would be your losing a big chunk of your profits. Or what if it was your farm that accidentally pollinated someone else’s crop? You might find yourself on the receiving end of a lawsuit.
These are some of the issues that hemp growers have to deal with, and since there is no clear guidance or policy from the state, farmers have to rely on their own ability to communicate with other growers in their area. And these are some of the issues we discuss on this week’s Industrial Hemp Podcast.
Also, we check in with hemp farmer and mill operator Josh Leidhecker of Susquehanna Hemp Company in Muncy, PA. He’s got a lot of hemp in the ground and a bunch of joint ventures with other farmers in the Susquehanna Valley and beyond.
Relevant links from this episode:
Susquehanna Hemp Company
https://susquehannahempco.com/
Penn State’s Southeast Agricultural Research and Extension Center
https://agsci.psu.edu/research/ag-experiment-station/landisville
Penn State Hemp Research Field Day
https://extension.psu.edu/hemp-research-field-day
PA Hemp Summit
https://teampa.com/pahempsummit/
Click to read the show notes.
How are things looking at area hemp farms? That’s what podcast host Eric Hurlock wanted to find out so he visited three local hemp operations to talk to the farmers.
First he went to ReLeaf Farmacy in Glenmore, Pennsylvania, to talk to hemp growers David Thompson and Pat Benzing.
Then he went drove out to the Penn State research farm near Landisville to talk with director Alyssa Collins about the different hemp research projects in progress at the farm.
And finally, he ended up in West Hempfield to talk to cannabis cultivator Tom Culton.
Relevant links from this episode:
ReLeaf Farmacy
https://www.releaffarmacy.us/
Penn State’s Southeast Agricultural Research and Extension Center
https://agsci.psu.edu/research/ag-experiment-station/landisville
Multi-State Hemp Research Project
https://www.nimss.org/projects/view/mrp/outline/17716
Penn State Hemp Research Field Day
https://extension.psu.edu/hemp-research-field-day
PA Hemp Summit
https://teampa.com/pahempsummit/
Sponsored in part by the National Hemp Association
https://nationalhempassociation.org/
Click to read the show notes.
According to Dr. Ron Kander, materials engineering professor at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, the way to ramp up the hemp industry is to start small.
“You have to find some high-value, low-volume products that can use hemp as a biomass so that you can start developing processes that then let you put that material into consumer products and industrial products and show a value chain, and then that will allow you to grow volume and look at larger applications down the line,” Kander explains in the week's episode of the Industrial Hemp Podcast.
We talk supply chains, carbon negative technology and the fascinating hemp research his students are conducting at Thomas Jefferson.
Click to read the show notes.
The United States has never really seen an industry develop out of thin air the way the hemp industry has. Illegal and listed as a dangerous drug only six months ago and now poised to disrupt industries and institutions across the board, hemp has had an incredible journey.
Author Jen Hobbs chronicles the history of hemp in America, why it was made illegal, how it helped win World War II, and where the industry is headed now that it’s been greenlighted for full production.
Hobbs' book American Hemp: How Growing Our Newest Cash Crop Can Improve Our Health, Clean Our Environment, and Slow Climate Change is a positive story about a crop that can create jobs, clean the soil, make us healthier, and capture carbon from the atmosphere. The book also offers an interesting chapter on why "the EPA is not your friend."
Episode 40.
Sign up for Jen Hobbs' American Hemp blog: https://americanhemp.substack.com
Click to read the show notes.
On this week’s show we talk to Matt Chambers and Darius Soltes, co-founder/broker and chief science officer, respectively, at Supplant Commodities, an industrial hemp brokerage firm based in Denver, Colorado.
The company works as a bridge between farmers, processors and manufacturers to facilitate trade and further the industry nationwide. Chambers talks about the changes coming soon to the industry, speculating government subsidies and a hemp futures market that will spur industry growth.
Supplant Commodities is involved in all aspects of industrial hemp, from fiber to biomass to flower, and is especially keen to supply the growing demand for “sustainable plant-based paper and plastic consumer products”, according to supplantcommodities.com.
This week's episode is sponsored by Wagner’s Greenhouses in Altoona, Pennsylvania, where they’ve got high CBD hemp seedlings available now at good prices. Call 814-937-4056.
Click to read the show notes.
On this episode of the Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast, we talk to cannabis consultant, farmer and entrepreneur, Oneal Latimore. He’s working with Proud Pennsylvania to develop healthy supply chains in the state, while also developing his own hemp farm and processing facility in Chester County called Nottingham Farm.
In the interview, we discuss the importance of strong local supply chains, as well as how hemp can bring needed change to minority communities throughout the Commonwealth.
We also check in with Lancaster County hemp farmer Tom Culton to see how his planting is going so far.
This episode is sponsored by Wagner’s Greenhouses in Altoona, Pennsylvania, where they’ve still got flats of high CBD hemp seedlings available for sale now. Call Allen Wagner at 814-937-4056
Learn more about Nottingham Farms and sign up for the collective here: www.NottinghamFarms.com
Click to read the show notes.
This week's podcast guest is Judy Wicks, founder of Proud Pennsylvania, a nonprofit, non-partisan organization dedicated to uniting rural and urban communities to build regional economies that work for everybody.
Proud Pennsylvania has established a Hemp Local Supply Chain Coalition in order to develop and strengthen the connections between hemp farmers, processors, entrepreneurs and consumers.
Also, we check in with Jake Sitler from Floyd's of Lancaster to hear how things are going with their group of contracted hemp growers.
Learn More about Proud Pennsylvania at https://www.proudpennsylvania.org/
This episode was sponsored in part by:
The National Hemp Association: https://nationalhempassociation.org/
and
NAU Country Insurance Company: https://www.naucountry.com/
Click to read the show notes.
On this week's episode of the Industrial Hemp Podcast, we celebrate Hemp History Week with a handful of stories about hemp’s role in history through the ages, as well as hemp related news such as the USDA’s most recent guidance on industrial hemp and the FDA’s hearing on CBD.
Then, host Eric Hurlock interviews Alex Seleznov, the president and founder of Advanced Extractions, a hemp CBD company in Colorado. Seleznov tells the story of how he founded the company in 2015, what he thinks the FDA regulations on CBD might mean for the industry, and he offers advice to farmers interested in growing hemp.
This show was sponsored in part by the National Hemp Association (https://nationalhempassociation.org/) and NAU Country Insurance Company, now offering Industrial Hemp Crop-Hail Protection (https://www.naucountry.com/)
Submit your comments to the FDA concerning CBD. The docket is open for commenting until July 2, 2019: https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=FDA-2019-N-1482
Check out the Hemp for Victory film made by the United States government in 1942 to encourage American farmers to grow hemp to support the war effort: https://www.lancasterfarming.com/community/videos/hemp-for-victory-u-s-gov-t-film-for-farmers/video_35040516-86e9-11e9-b73d-9b4d6ee15009.html
Click to read the show notes.
On this week's podcast we talk to Allen Wagner, a greenhouse grower from Altoona, Pennsylvania, who's been in the greenhouse business for 45 years — wholesale, retail, geraniums, plants of all kinds. But not too long ago the box stores moved in and started eating up his market share — and nearly put him out of business.
But when the 2018 Farm Bill was signed into law, and the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture lifted the acreage cap and opened up the permitting process for industrial hemp, Allen Wagner and Wagner's Greenhouses went all in.
He's got greenhouses full of high CBD hemp seedlings for sale right now. Call him: 814-946-0788. Tell him you heard him on the podcast.
Episode 35.
Give a listen.
This show was sponsored in part by:
The National Hemp Association
https://nationalhempassociation.org/
and
https://www.deerbusters.com/
Deerbusters.com
Click to read the show notes.
On this week's episode we talk to National Hemp Association Executive Director Erica McBride Stark about her recent trip to Washington DC, where she met with the Senate ag committee to discuss the implementation of the hemp provisions within the 2018 Farm Bill.
Her main concerns are the lack of banking services for hemp farmers and businesses, and the importation of hemp products from foreign countries that could potentially flood the market, making things difficult for American farmers.
We also check back in with Lancaster County hemp farmer Tom Culton who is growing multiple acres of CBD hemp this year and has real concerns about pollination drift from nearby hemp farms.
This week's show is sponsored by NAU Country Insurance Company, now offering Industrial Hemp Crop-Hail Protection. Learn more at https://www.naucountry.com/
Click to read the show notes.
According to Shannon Powers, press secretary at the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, Lancaster County leads the state in number of registered industrial hemp growing sites with more than 80 sites in the county.
On this week’s podcast we talk to three key people at PDA: Powers gives an overview of the hemp program and what the department is doing to support hemp farmers; Plant specialist Sarah Pickel discusses the recent changes in the THC testing protocols for growers; and Fred Strathmeyer tells why there are still no great options for hemp farmers in terms of financial services or crop insurance.
Learn more about Industrial hemp from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture's resource page:
https://www.agriculture.pa.gov/Plants_Land_Water/industrial_hemp/Pages/default.aspx
Click to read the show notes.
Podcast episode 32 goes to Barto, Pennsylvania — to Wildfox Farm — where Ben and Karah Davies own and operate what two years ago was simply an organic produce and pastured meat farm. But the farm is now also a leader of industrial hemp growth in eastern Berks County.
For first year hemp growers, this conversation with Ben Davies should be enlightening and helpful, especially for those growing for CBD. Davies grew hemp for the first time last year and has stories to tell — stories about getting seeds and spacing the plants in the field, the challenges of third party testing and family bonding during the weeks’ long harvest, and driving cross-state with a U-Haul full of fragrant hemp bales. It’s rare glimpse into the early days of hemp in Pennsylvania.
Wildfox Provisions is the name of the farm’s hemp operation, and Davies said the company is building a farmer collective in order to train nearby farmers. “They are all fully equipped to succeed,” Davies said during the podcast interview. He said they already have the tools they need to do well with hemp and that they “already know how to grow it -- but they just don’t know it yet.”
Get the whole story and more, plus hemp industry news, including a request for yield data to help develop a federal crop insurance program.
Here’s the link to the crop yield data form to that will help in the development of a federal crop insurance program that was mentioned in the show: http://bit.ly/hempdata
Learn more about Wildfox Provisions: https://www.wildfoxprovisions.com/
Click to read the show notes.
The Industrial Hemp podcast goes on the road this week to a farm in Berks County, Pennsylvania, where two local businesses are collaborating to build a tiny house made from hemp.
COEXIST Build is a design and build company owned and operated by architect Anastasiya Konopitskaya and her husband Drew Oberholtzer, and Americhanvre is a hempcrete and cask hemp company owned by Cameron McIntosh.
These three are working together to create a small house made from hemp built on a flatbed trailer, which will be on display at the Canopy Growth exhibit at the Cannabis World Congress & Business Expo in New York City May 29 to June 1.
The interview with Anastasiya, Drew and Cameron was recorded inside the hemp house. Episode 31.
Check out the hemp house on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/hemphouseonwheels/
Coexist: http://www.coexist.build/
Americhavre: https://americhanvre.com/
Also, they have podcast. Check it out here: www.thehempentrepreneurpodcast.org
There’s been a lot of speculation that hemp seed cake – the byproduct of crushing hemp seed for oil – would make an excellent feed for beef and dairy cattle, as well as for other types of livestock, such as poultry and pork.
The nutritional profile of the hemp cake looks pretty good. It’s super high in protein and omega 3 & 6 fats, but there are some not so attractive qualities to hemp seed too, according to Dr. Joseph Bender, a veterinarian from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine.
Dr. Bender discusses his analysis and talks about the pros and cons of hemp as a livestock feed on this episode of the podcast. Plus we hear from hemp farmer Tom Culton from West Hempfield Township, Lancaster County, as he puts a few early hemp seedlings in the ground. Episode 30.
Click to read the show notes.
Colon cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers in the United States, according to the National Cancer Institute, and claimed the lives of more than 50,000 Americans in 2018.
Promising new research from Penn State College of Medicine shows that certain compounds found in the hemp plant may be helpful in fighting the disease.
On this week’s podcast we talk to Kent Vrana, chair of the Department of Pharmacology at Penn State College of Medicine, where his team conducted the research that identified cannabinoid compounds that inhibited the growth of colon cancer cells in lab tests.
Plus, news from the FDA concerning the regulation of CBD, and a recap of recent hemp farmer meetings in Pennsylvania. Episode 29.
Read more: https://news.psu.edu/story/557660/2019/02/06/research/cannabinoid-compounds-may-inhibit-growth-colon-cancer-cells
Click to read the show notes.
Susquehanna Mills is an oil seed processor in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania, where the owner Josh Leidhecker started growing hemp on a research permit in 2017, since then he’s added substantial hemp acreage to his farming operation, as well as a line of hemp related products to his processing business.
We talk to Josh about getting started in hemp, why he considers his operation to be “full circle” and what he thinks other farmers need to consider before jumping into industrial hemp.
Also on the show, we discuss some current hemp events, including Groff North America’s recent Hemp Farmer Supper and Canopy Growth’s acquisition of a Berks County hemp company. Episode 28.
Episode 27 is highlight reel of USDA’s recent 2018 Farm Bill Listening Session on Domestic Hemp Production that was held March 13, 2019.
The USDA invited public comments in order to help inform their process of drawing up regulations and guidelines for the hemp industry in the United States.
Comments were made by several agriculture departments from hemp growing states, cannabis industry professionals, lobbying groups and lawyers, and Native American tribes.
The session was led by USDA Agricultural Marketing Service Administrator Bruce Summers.
Episode 26 of the Industrial Hemp Podcast gathers perspective from various places. First we talk to Pennsylvania Senator Judy Schwank about the new Senate bill that clears the way for CBD to be used as an ingredient in food and cosmetics.
Then Penn State Extension educator Jeff Graybill shares words of caution for farmers as they make their journey into hemp. Bill Roberts describes the vision of the hemp steering committee that is working with the state ag department to jump start the industry in Pennsylvania.
And finally we visit with Tom Culton, the first farmer to grow hemp in Hempfield, PA, in over 80 years.
On this week’s Industrial Hemp Podcast, we talk to Cornell University horticulture professor Dr. Larry Smart, one of the leaders of the hemp research team at Cornell. We discuss his long term study of the shrub willow as a bio-energy source and how that research prepared him for working with hemp.
We talk about hemp genetics, the implications of hemp’s dioecious nature, the challenges and promises of industrial hemp, and what farmers can do to avoid getting the short end of the stick as this industry develops.
On this week's podcast we talk to Cover Crop Coach Steve Groff and local business leader and greenhouse grower Tim Good talk about their new venture into industrial hemp called Keystone Agri-Science.
Find out why Tim Good says hemp “is the best opportunity ever for agriculture, just as the farmers are struggling, and I can't help but think that God must have been looking out for his farmers.” We dig in deep on growing and harvesting practices, as well as finding good genetics, and what hemp can do for your soil. Give a listen.
The Farm Bureau has supported the reintroduction of industrial hemp as a commodity crop for many years. In fact, Mark O’Neill, communications director for the Pennsylvania Farm Bureau, says that without the lobbying efforts of Farm Bureau, industrial hemp would still be classified as a schedule 1 narcotic.
On this episode of the podcast, we talk to O’Neil and his colleague, Bill Neilson, the director of Commodities and Compliance at Pennsylvania Farm Bureau. We hear what the Farm Bureau is doing to help farmers navigate this new world of industrial hemp. Plus, a few announcements and listener emails. Give a listen.
What does world class cyclist Floyd Landis have to do with industrial hemp? As it turns out, quite a bit. Lancaster County native and one time winner of the Tour de France, Landis opened a CBD café in Leadville, Colorado, and launched a very successful brand of CBD products — Floyd’s of Leadville.
The prodigal son has returned to Lancaster County to open Floyd’s of Lancaster with another accomplished Lancaster County cyclist, Jake Sitler. The team is working with local farmers to develop a full line of Pennsylvania-produced CBD products made from Pennsylvania-grown industrial hemp.
The interview with Landis and Sitler touches on Landis’s controversial backstory while focusing on the hemp industry, their relationship with farmers, and their plan for success in the city of Lancaster.
Click to read the show notes.
On this week’s show we talk to Jay Burstein of BugOut Guitars in Randolph, Vermont, where he’s been making guitars and ukuleles out of industrial hemp. These guitars and ukes are super durable, extremely playable, and are made for adventure.
Burstein tells the story of how he first started making stringed instruments and why he ultimately was compelled to build them from hemp fibers. These instruments illuminate yet another possibility for industrial hemp – and this time it’s musical.
Check out: http://www.bugoutguitars.com/
Click to read the full show notes.
What’s the industrial hemp program like in the great state of New York? We spend some time with Commissioner Richard Ball of the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets to find out.
We’ll hear about the permitting process for growers, available grant money for growers and processors, what farmers should be doing now to prepare for hemp, and we’ll hear about the plans for that new hemp processing plant recently announced by Canopy Growth Corporation.
Also, here's the link to WGAL TV's story about our Industrial Hemp Podcast: http://wgal.com/article/industrial-hemp-may-be-industry-to-watch/26080443?src=app
Exciting news from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture this week announcing the lift of the acreage cap on industrial hemp, a move that will usher in a new age of hemp in Pennsylvania by opening up the crop to commercial production.
We talk to PA Hemp Industry Council executive director Erica Stark and Purple Peace Hemp founder Jessie Johnson about these changes and what they mean for farmers in the state.
Plus, we hear from Jordan Sinclair of Canopy Growth Corporation, the Canadian cannabis company that recently announced plans to build a hemp industrial park in New York State.
Of the tens of thousands of uses of industrial hemp, one of the most practical is as a building material known as hempcrete, created by mixing the inner woody core of the hemp plant, known as the hurd, with lime. It’s lightweight, insulating, naturally mold-resistant, and strong. An innovative company from Alberta, Canada, has gone a step further and has patented a structural hempcrete block that fits together like Lego.
On today’s show we talk to one of the founders of Just BioFiber — Michael deChamplain — about the blocks and how they are capturing carbon and the hearts of green builders.
Our seventeenth podcast features a conversation with healthcare educator and consultant, Jessie Johnson, founder of Purple Peace, LLC, which holds a research permit for growing industrial hemp in Pennsylvania.
With over 12 years of experience in growing cannabis, Ms. Johnson has a unique perspective on industrial hemp and is interested in helping farmers maximize their profits with hemp.
Farmers can and will save the world, according to Bruce Michael Dietzen, founder of Carbon Negative Technology and Renew Sports Cars. The prototype of his sports car made from industrial hemp was featured on an episode of Jay Leno’s Garage.
Bruce is tired of talking about the problem of climate change and instead wants to shift the conversation to the solutions for climate change, including a bold strategy for producing nearly everything we use out of plant material. That’s where farmers come in. Give a listen.
The 2018 Farm Bill has passed both Houses and is awaiting the president’s signature, which is expected this week. How is this going to affect farmers in Pennsylvania? What will become of the state’s hemp pilot program?
On the first part of the show we talk to Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture Russell Redding to find out. Then we talk to eighth generation fruit farmer, first generation hemp farmer Leighton Rice from Adams County, PA, about his first year of growing hemp, the lessons he learned and his advice for farmers who are thinking about growing industrial hemp in the future.
We talk 2018 Farm Bill with Hemp Industry Daily editor Kristen Nichols. This Farm Bill will end the prohibition on growing hemp. What will this mean for farmers? How will the ag industry respond? What will USDA's rules look like? How will the FDA regulate CBD? All this and more. Listen up.
This episode of Lancaster Farming's industrial hemp podcast features a conversation with Jon Cohn, the founder and CEO of Agronomed Pharmaceuticals and Agri-Kind Hemp in Chester County, Pennsylvania, where he grew 62 acres of industrial hemp with a research permit from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.
We discuss the challenges of a first-year hemp crop, the permitting process, how CBD is extracted, medical marijuana, and what farmers could be doing now to prepare themselves for growing hemp.
On episode 12, we talk to professor of poultry science and poultry nutrition at Penn State University, Dr. Paul Patterson, about the components of a balanced poultry diet and how the nutritional profile of hemp seed might be beneficial to the poultry industry, especially the organic poultry industry, thanks in part to hemp’s comparatively higher levels of the essential amino acid methionine. Dr. Patterson also has some great ideas for hemp research projects. Give a listen.
This week on the hemp podcast, we talk to Elixinol president Gabriel Ettenson about growing hemp for CBD. What is CBD and why is it suddenly everywhere? What is it good for? What will the hemp industry look like after the next Farm Bill? What should farmers know before growing hemp for CBD?
The latest Lancaster Farming podcast goes to Dearborn, Michigan, where Ford Motor Company research scientist Debbie Mielewski turns plants into car parts. This interview shines a light on the potential market for industrial hemp fueled by the automobile industry’s evolution towards sustainability.
We're back talking about industrial hemp — this time with a cannabis lawyer from Portland, Oregon. Nathalie Bougenies, from the law firm of Harris Bricken, specializes in cannabis law and also writes for the Canna Law Blog.
Today we discuss the 2018 Farm Bill and its implications for hemp farmers in the United States.
We begin digging in a little deeper into how the auto industry might want to use hemp in automobile production. And we also make the realization that the 2014 Farm Bill expired and the 2018 Farm Bill wasn't signed into law by the deadline of September 30.
Where does that leave hemp farmers? Editor's Note: This podcast was updated on October 13, 2018 at 3:21 PM with an additional comment from PA Ag Secretary Russell Redding.
Episode 7 continues with industrial hemp as we visit with Dr. Alyssa Collins, agronomy professor and director of the Penn State's research farm in Lancaster County Pennsylvania. We discuss the hemp research trials, the agronomics of hemp, the differences between hemp and marijuana and what farmers could be doing now to prepare themselves for what could be the next big commodity crop headed their way.
Hemp was grown throughout Pennsylvania for nearly 300 years, but in the past 80 years it's been illegal to grow. Today we talk to hemp historian Les Stark who has documented the history of hemp in the state in his book Hempstone Heritage.
We also discuss why hemp disappeared 80 years ago. Was it a conspiracy? Stark has been on a 20 year mission to bring industrial hemp back into production in the Pennsylvania.
We talk to Erica McBride, the Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Hemp Industry Council, about the many uses of industrial hemp, from fiber to fuel, manufacturing to medicine.
How can farmers make sure they don't get the short end of the stick when it comes to industrial hemp? We talk to Rodale Institute farm manager Ross Duffield, National Hemp Council chairman Geoff Whaling, and Senator Judy Schwank to find out.
We continue our discussion of industrial hemp, talking to Pennsylvania Secretary of Agriculture, Russell Redding, who shares his unique perspective on hemp. We discuss the marijuana stigma, how to build a supply chain and what farmers can be doing to now to prepare for this new yet old crop.
Click for show notes.
We talk to Geoff Whaling, chairman of the National Hemp Association, who offers his insight into building a supply chain for the nascent hemp industry in Pennsylvania and how the legal landscape has changed for industrial hemp just in the past few years.
Click for show notes.
We talk with the farm manager at the Rodale Institute about growing industrial hemp. Rodale was one of 14 permit holders in the 2017 Hemp Pilot Program in Pennsylvania.
Podcast host and creator, Eric Hurlock sketches out his vision for what will ultimately become the Lancaster Farming Podcast. It's a quick glimpse into the history of farming and just how crucial agriculture has been in the development of humankind.