Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
Langdon, N.D. - Growers attending the annual Langdon Research Extension Center Field Day expressed a lot of interest in a relatively new crop that was highlighted during the program - hemp. Due to wet conditions from a thunderstorm the evening before, the crowd was prevented from walking in the fields to view the crop, but rather had to learn about it from the tour trailers, but that didn't seem to dampen their curiosity.
Burton Johnson, professor of minor and new crops at North Dakota State University, outlined the hemp research now going on at the Langdon REC, the only REC in the state engaged in hemp research.
"Hemp is a new-old crop," Johnson said, "because it was grown in North Dakota, Minnesota, and several other states in the 1940s."
However, most of the work from that time period is outdated, and the Langdon REC is now in its second year of research on hemp. One of the subjects of the hemp project is to develop a list of best management practices that growers can use, once hemp becomes a more widely grown crop.
"The most important item on the list of management practices is stand establishment," Johnson said. "We are in trouble if our stand isn't good."
Of the four varieties of hemp being grown at Langdon - all Canadian varieties - the seed mortality rate last year ranged from 48 to 75 percent, with final plant density of 3.0 to 6.2 plants per square foot, depending on the variety. This year, the mortality rate ranged from the mid-60s to 70 percent and the plant density was 4.8 to 5.7 plants per square foot. Ideally, the plant density should be in the neighborhood of 12 plants per square foot.
"The question is, is a half a stand going to give you a full yield?" Johnson asked.
To help answer that question, Johnson turned the remainder of the program over to Jeff Kostuik, director of operations for the Canadian firm Hemp Genetics International. Kostuik has been working with hemp for the past 18 years, since it was legalized in Canada in 1998. The focus in Canada during the first years was on the fiber obtained from the hemp plant, but that has changed to grain produced by the hemp plant. The use of the fiber has been slow to catch on, since the first hemp fiber plant hasn't gone on line yet.
Improvements over the last 18 years hasn't really focused on hemp seed yield, but rather on harvestability, Kostuik noted.
"I'm sure you can appreciate harvesting a 12- to 14-foot high crop and hemp is the strongest natural occurring fiber in the world," he said. "But when you are harvesting for grain that doesn't bode well for things such as bearings in combines. If we can take that three-foot seed head and get it closer to the ground-that is our main objective. The three new varieties we are now developing are more in the range of the four to five-foot tall hemp."
The mortality rate of the hemp isn't really critical, especially if it's being grown for seed production, because it has the ability, much like canola, to branch out. However, if the main goal was fiber production, the plant density per square foot would be much more critical, Kostuik said.
In terms of the economics of growing hemp, the grain from the hemp is processed in two ways. The first is processing it into what is called a hemp nut, which once it is de-hulled looks like a peanut or sunflower seed and has a bit of a nutty flavor. The other way to process the hemp seed is to crush it for oil and the remaining meal is used to make a protein powder.
The Canadian market is a little low at this time, but in the past the prices have been as high as 90 cents a pound, so a 1,000 or 1,200 pound yield makes it a good crop to grow economically, Kostuik noted. Last year dryland production in Canada was yielding as high as 1,500 to 1,800 pounds per acre. Grown under irrigation it was yielding 2,000 to 3,000 pounds per acre.
"We are now getting top notch farmers and growers experimenting with things such as inter-crop fertilization. It's a hungry crop and it does like its nutrients - a high N, P, K and sulfur user," he said.
This year has five North Dakota growers taking part in a pilot program the Department of Agriculture has set up, according to Johnson. Hemp acreage this year totals 70 acres.
Hemp production, Johnson noted, "Could be a blazing star for those involved in agriculture."
Five North Dakota producers are taking part in a pilot program to grow hemp. Burton Johnson
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Growers Learn More About Hemp At Langdon Field Day
Author: Dale Hildebrant
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: Farm & Ranch Guide
Burton Johnson, professor of minor and new crops at North Dakota State University, outlined the hemp research now going on at the Langdon REC, the only REC in the state engaged in hemp research.
"Hemp is a new-old crop," Johnson said, "because it was grown in North Dakota, Minnesota, and several other states in the 1940s."
However, most of the work from that time period is outdated, and the Langdon REC is now in its second year of research on hemp. One of the subjects of the hemp project is to develop a list of best management practices that growers can use, once hemp becomes a more widely grown crop.
"The most important item on the list of management practices is stand establishment," Johnson said. "We are in trouble if our stand isn't good."
Of the four varieties of hemp being grown at Langdon - all Canadian varieties - the seed mortality rate last year ranged from 48 to 75 percent, with final plant density of 3.0 to 6.2 plants per square foot, depending on the variety. This year, the mortality rate ranged from the mid-60s to 70 percent and the plant density was 4.8 to 5.7 plants per square foot. Ideally, the plant density should be in the neighborhood of 12 plants per square foot.
"The question is, is a half a stand going to give you a full yield?" Johnson asked.
To help answer that question, Johnson turned the remainder of the program over to Jeff Kostuik, director of operations for the Canadian firm Hemp Genetics International. Kostuik has been working with hemp for the past 18 years, since it was legalized in Canada in 1998. The focus in Canada during the first years was on the fiber obtained from the hemp plant, but that has changed to grain produced by the hemp plant. The use of the fiber has been slow to catch on, since the first hemp fiber plant hasn't gone on line yet.
Improvements over the last 18 years hasn't really focused on hemp seed yield, but rather on harvestability, Kostuik noted.
"I'm sure you can appreciate harvesting a 12- to 14-foot high crop and hemp is the strongest natural occurring fiber in the world," he said. "But when you are harvesting for grain that doesn't bode well for things such as bearings in combines. If we can take that three-foot seed head and get it closer to the ground-that is our main objective. The three new varieties we are now developing are more in the range of the four to five-foot tall hemp."
The mortality rate of the hemp isn't really critical, especially if it's being grown for seed production, because it has the ability, much like canola, to branch out. However, if the main goal was fiber production, the plant density per square foot would be much more critical, Kostuik said.
In terms of the economics of growing hemp, the grain from the hemp is processed in two ways. The first is processing it into what is called a hemp nut, which once it is de-hulled looks like a peanut or sunflower seed and has a bit of a nutty flavor. The other way to process the hemp seed is to crush it for oil and the remaining meal is used to make a protein powder.
The Canadian market is a little low at this time, but in the past the prices have been as high as 90 cents a pound, so a 1,000 or 1,200 pound yield makes it a good crop to grow economically, Kostuik noted. Last year dryland production in Canada was yielding as high as 1,500 to 1,800 pounds per acre. Grown under irrigation it was yielding 2,000 to 3,000 pounds per acre.
"We are now getting top notch farmers and growers experimenting with things such as inter-crop fertilization. It's a hungry crop and it does like its nutrients - a high N, P, K and sulfur user," he said.
This year has five North Dakota growers taking part in a pilot program the Department of Agriculture has set up, according to Johnson. Hemp acreage this year totals 70 acres.
Hemp production, Johnson noted, "Could be a blazing star for those involved in agriculture."
Five North Dakota producers are taking part in a pilot program to grow hemp. Burton Johnson
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Growers Learn More About Hemp At Langdon Field Day
Author: Dale Hildebrant
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: Farm & Ranch Guide
