Robert Celt
New Member
Industrial hemp appears to have great economic potential for the region, but it sounds like it will not simply happen overnight. Approximately 80 interested local residents, including several from the Yuma area, attended an informational meeting Monday night at the Otis school. It was organized by the Town of Otis, and resident Lana Rogers.
She told the crowd she remembered the vitality of the Otis community while growing up, and noticed that economic activity was missing when she moved back 10 years ago. Research into ways to revitalize the economy eventually led her to industrial hemp, after it was made legal again in Colorado with the passage of Amendment 64.
Rogers said she thinks industrial hemp, and its potential for related industries, could help communities throughout northeast Colorado.
There are a handful of farmers that have grown industrial hemp in recent years, and the potential uses for hemp are incredibly varied.
I don't care what kind of corn you have, said farmer Leonard Roskop, I think you're going to make more money with hemp.
It's easy to grow this stuff, to process this stuff, farmer Michael Bright said.
It's the future of the world, farmer Doug Evans said.
However, there are still a lot of hurdles to be cleared: Currently there is not a certified seed program, the seeds available have to be purchased in Colorado and stay in Colorado, growing industrial hemp remains illegal at the federal level, and there are insurance and banking issues. Currently there are no registered herbicides, pesticides and fungicides for hemp.
Nick Donaldson with Ganja Capital Advisors, based in Denver, discussed crop insurance and banking. He said there is no crop insurance, except for general liability, and no subsidies for outdoor hemp crops. There is insurance when hemp is in four walls and a roof but only protects against acts of God with the building.
No banks currently finance hemp projects, so farmers have to find private financing that carries high interest rates, between 12 to 25 percent. There are ways to deposit profits from growing hemp, but Donaldson said one has to be creative while also stressing it is not illegal. Rogers did relay that U.S. Senator Cory Gardner said banking legislation is in the works. (Gardner's representative was unable to make the meeting due to health issues.)
Farmer Mike Sullivan, who is at the forefront of growing hemp in Colorado, said every hemp farmer he knows has a hemp account, but it needs to be only for hemp and there are a lot of hoops to jump through.
Sullivan is on the High Plains Hemp Coop board of directors, as is Yuma's Bethleen McCall.
Board president Ashley Webber gave a presentation about the cooperative, whose mission is to bolster the rural economy, disseminate information and education about hemp, and support efforts to grow hemp and manufacture hemp-related products. It services 19 counties, including all of northeast Colorado. One of its main efforts at the moment is to provide seed at a discounted rate. One can find out more by going to www.highplainshempcoop.com.
One also can learn more details about how much seed it takes to plant a crop. (The cooperative also is on Facebook and Twitter.)
Sullivan related his efforts of growing 60 acres. He flood irrigated the crop three times. The main focus currently is to capture the seed to sell it through the cooperative. Each crop produces an exponential number of seeds. Hemp is a 100 to 120-day growing season.
Currently there are not any hemp-specific farm machinery sold in the United States, though there are combines in other countries where growing hemp is legal. Modified combines, or eventually hemp-specific machinery, is going to be key as currently it is difficult to capture the leaf and flower, along with the stalk and seed all of which can be used to make products.
The United States is the No. 1 importer of hemp, as it is not illegal to use it to manufacture products. The total retail value of hemp products in the United States in 2013 was $583 million, according to Bright.
Bright gave a presentation on PureVision Technology LLC in Fort Lupton, which has been around since 1992 trying to find ways to convert biomass into biomaterials for consumer and industrial products. The company has now founded PureHemp, focused on growing and manufacturing hemp products.
He related that Canada in 2014 had 100,000 acres of industrial hemp, and sold $650 million of hemp seed oil to the United States. Hemp seed oil has many varied uses, and he related hemp seed, hemp oil and hemp fiber all sell for a good price.
He said that more than 100 studies conducted in other countries, where growing industrial hemp is legal, shows that cannabis cures cancer.
Lawyer David Bush pointed out to the crowd that Vermont and Oregon are the only states besides Colorado where it is legal to grow industrial hemp, and Colorado is way ahead in the game.
He noted that while marijuana in Colorado is regulated every step of the way, industrial hemp is regulated only during cultivation. There are no more regulations as soon as the crop is harvested, so one can make whatever they want out of the plant.
Whatever is grown and produced can be sold in Colorado, but it gets more complicated when crossing state lines, Bush explained.
He said the hemp stalk and the seed oil can be sold anywhere. What's been illegal is growing the plant, not producing or selling the seed oil, Bush said. What is not legal at the moment is anything produced from the flower or leaf because those parts are classified as marijuana at the federal level.
However, he said that is not the end of the legislation as what is legal, illegal, how the law is enforced and perception of law play a role.
He noted that Congress doesn't have the guts to legalize industrial hemp, so instead laws are being passed stating the Department of Justice cannot spend funds on certain things, such as legal medical marijuana.
Now Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky is sponsoring legislation stating industrial hemp grown under the Farm Bill parameters is not illegal.
Going back to the banking issue, Bush noted that there are no restrictions on who can be investors for industrial hemp. They can be from anywhere, not just Colorado.
Evans, whose company has moved from growing marijuana to hemp, said a certified seed program eventually is going to have to happen.
He said the plastics industry and paper industry are among the leaders wanting hemp.
There are more industrial hemp meetings planned this month.
On Saturday, February 20, there will be one at the Yuma Community Center at 5:30 p.m. There is one earlier in the day at the Phillips County Events Center in Holyoke at 1 p.m.
The plan is to have experienced hemp farmers, an attorney and a processor at the meeting, similar to the one in Otis this past Monday night.
Another one is set for March 12 in Julesburg at 1 p.m., and 5:30 in Sterling at Plainsman Grill. A NOCO Hemp Expo is set for April 1-2 The Ranch Events Complex in Loveland. One can learn more and buy tickets at
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Industrial Hemp Great Economic Potential
Author: Tony Rayl
Contact: Akron-News Reporter
Photo Credit: None found
Website: Akron-News Reporter
She told the crowd she remembered the vitality of the Otis community while growing up, and noticed that economic activity was missing when she moved back 10 years ago. Research into ways to revitalize the economy eventually led her to industrial hemp, after it was made legal again in Colorado with the passage of Amendment 64.
Rogers said she thinks industrial hemp, and its potential for related industries, could help communities throughout northeast Colorado.
There are a handful of farmers that have grown industrial hemp in recent years, and the potential uses for hemp are incredibly varied.
I don't care what kind of corn you have, said farmer Leonard Roskop, I think you're going to make more money with hemp.
It's easy to grow this stuff, to process this stuff, farmer Michael Bright said.
It's the future of the world, farmer Doug Evans said.
However, there are still a lot of hurdles to be cleared: Currently there is not a certified seed program, the seeds available have to be purchased in Colorado and stay in Colorado, growing industrial hemp remains illegal at the federal level, and there are insurance and banking issues. Currently there are no registered herbicides, pesticides and fungicides for hemp.
Nick Donaldson with Ganja Capital Advisors, based in Denver, discussed crop insurance and banking. He said there is no crop insurance, except for general liability, and no subsidies for outdoor hemp crops. There is insurance when hemp is in four walls and a roof but only protects against acts of God with the building.
No banks currently finance hemp projects, so farmers have to find private financing that carries high interest rates, between 12 to 25 percent. There are ways to deposit profits from growing hemp, but Donaldson said one has to be creative while also stressing it is not illegal. Rogers did relay that U.S. Senator Cory Gardner said banking legislation is in the works. (Gardner's representative was unable to make the meeting due to health issues.)
Farmer Mike Sullivan, who is at the forefront of growing hemp in Colorado, said every hemp farmer he knows has a hemp account, but it needs to be only for hemp and there are a lot of hoops to jump through.
Sullivan is on the High Plains Hemp Coop board of directors, as is Yuma's Bethleen McCall.
Board president Ashley Webber gave a presentation about the cooperative, whose mission is to bolster the rural economy, disseminate information and education about hemp, and support efforts to grow hemp and manufacture hemp-related products. It services 19 counties, including all of northeast Colorado. One of its main efforts at the moment is to provide seed at a discounted rate. One can find out more by going to www.highplainshempcoop.com.
One also can learn more details about how much seed it takes to plant a crop. (The cooperative also is on Facebook and Twitter.)
Sullivan related his efforts of growing 60 acres. He flood irrigated the crop three times. The main focus currently is to capture the seed to sell it through the cooperative. Each crop produces an exponential number of seeds. Hemp is a 100 to 120-day growing season.
Currently there are not any hemp-specific farm machinery sold in the United States, though there are combines in other countries where growing hemp is legal. Modified combines, or eventually hemp-specific machinery, is going to be key as currently it is difficult to capture the leaf and flower, along with the stalk and seed all of which can be used to make products.
The United States is the No. 1 importer of hemp, as it is not illegal to use it to manufacture products. The total retail value of hemp products in the United States in 2013 was $583 million, according to Bright.
Bright gave a presentation on PureVision Technology LLC in Fort Lupton, which has been around since 1992 trying to find ways to convert biomass into biomaterials for consumer and industrial products. The company has now founded PureHemp, focused on growing and manufacturing hemp products.
He related that Canada in 2014 had 100,000 acres of industrial hemp, and sold $650 million of hemp seed oil to the United States. Hemp seed oil has many varied uses, and he related hemp seed, hemp oil and hemp fiber all sell for a good price.
He said that more than 100 studies conducted in other countries, where growing industrial hemp is legal, shows that cannabis cures cancer.
Lawyer David Bush pointed out to the crowd that Vermont and Oregon are the only states besides Colorado where it is legal to grow industrial hemp, and Colorado is way ahead in the game.
He noted that while marijuana in Colorado is regulated every step of the way, industrial hemp is regulated only during cultivation. There are no more regulations as soon as the crop is harvested, so one can make whatever they want out of the plant.
Whatever is grown and produced can be sold in Colorado, but it gets more complicated when crossing state lines, Bush explained.
He said the hemp stalk and the seed oil can be sold anywhere. What's been illegal is growing the plant, not producing or selling the seed oil, Bush said. What is not legal at the moment is anything produced from the flower or leaf because those parts are classified as marijuana at the federal level.
However, he said that is not the end of the legislation as what is legal, illegal, how the law is enforced and perception of law play a role.
He noted that Congress doesn't have the guts to legalize industrial hemp, so instead laws are being passed stating the Department of Justice cannot spend funds on certain things, such as legal medical marijuana.
Now Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky is sponsoring legislation stating industrial hemp grown under the Farm Bill parameters is not illegal.
Going back to the banking issue, Bush noted that there are no restrictions on who can be investors for industrial hemp. They can be from anywhere, not just Colorado.
Evans, whose company has moved from growing marijuana to hemp, said a certified seed program eventually is going to have to happen.
He said the plastics industry and paper industry are among the leaders wanting hemp.
There are more industrial hemp meetings planned this month.
On Saturday, February 20, there will be one at the Yuma Community Center at 5:30 p.m. There is one earlier in the day at the Phillips County Events Center in Holyoke at 1 p.m.
The plan is to have experienced hemp farmers, an attorney and a processor at the meeting, similar to the one in Otis this past Monday night.
Another one is set for March 12 in Julesburg at 1 p.m., and 5:30 in Sterling at Plainsman Grill. A NOCO Hemp Expo is set for April 1-2 The Ranch Events Complex in Loveland. One can learn more and buy tickets at
News Moderator: Robert Celt 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Industrial Hemp Great Economic Potential
Author: Tony Rayl
Contact: Akron-News Reporter
Photo Credit: None found
Website: Akron-News Reporter
