Ron Strider
Well-Known Member
With 950 acres of crop ready for the reaper last year, Gregory Clark had a problem: finding enough John Deere combine harvesters — machines designed to harvest grain — to collect it all.
Standing in front of dozens of farmers and other interested parties at Virginia State University's Cooperative Extension Pavilion last week, the Kentucky-based master farmer explained that his crop only took 60 days to go from seed to harvest, a relatively short amount of time in the farming world.
"Actually," he told the group, "I wish it were a bit slower."
The hardy crop he spoke of was hemp, a cannabis plant that is illegal to grow in the United States without a permit. As the owner and operator of Kentucky 21st Century Agri LLC, Clark was one of a half-dozen speakers to address the cultivation, sale and legality of hemp last Thursday as part of VSU's first-ever Industrial Hemp Field Day. The event was a forum for potential farmers, researchers and industry professionals to discuss growing the crop, should it become legal to do so.
One of the first plants known to be spun into fiber, hemp has a wide variety of uses. Hemp seeds have high protein content, relatively high oil content and are rich in fatty acids. Hemp fiber can be used to make rope, canvas, paper and animal bedding. The plant has a history in Virginia: it was a major crop for colonists, and was grown by both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.
According to the speakers at the field day, industrial hemp has potential to become a cash crop for Virginia's present-day farmers, especially if strides are made to make the state an early leader in its production. In 2014, annual retail sales for products made from hemp were estimated to be at least $620 million in the United States, and advocates for its legalization say hemp production could quickly turn into a multi-million-dollar industry.
But before hemp can take off, the laws governing its cultivation would have to change. Though biologically related to marijuana, industrial hemp is a different strain that lacks the psychoactive effects of its cousin. Where marijuana usually has a tetrahydrocannabinol level — its main psychoactive constituent — between 10 and 20 percent, industrial hemp contains less than 0.3 percent.
Nonetheless, because of its connection to marijuana, hemp is classified with all other forms of cannabis under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 as a Schedule I drug, making it illegal to grow. With the Agricultural Act of 2014, Congress changed federal law to prohibit the Department of Justice from prosecuting the growing of hemp, but stopped short of legalizing it. Instead, states can set up research programs to study the benefits of growing the crop, including analysis of hemp-growing as an income source for farmers if it becomes legal. Some states have passed laws to allow farmers to profit from growing hemp, but are awaiting formal permission from the Drug Enforcement Administration.
To investigate how the crop would be grown if it were legalized, VSU is one of four Virginia universities studying hemp in the commonwealth. Maru Kering, an assistant professor of plant and soil sciences at VSU, explained that they have found mid-spring to be the best time to plant in Virginia, and that pests and weeds were potential problems facing farmers of the crop. He also said the crop experienced significant grain loss from wild birds feasting on the plant.
Marty Phipps, owner and operator of Old Dominion Hemp in Waynesboro, spoke in support of legalizing the commercial growing of hemp in Virginia. Phipps makes hemp bedding for horses, chickens and reptiles, but has to purchase his hemp from other countries and states where growing it is legal. Phipps says he'd prefer to source from Virginia, and said hemp — which grows easily and densely — is a crop with virtually no downside.
"At the end of the day, it would be a lot easier if it were here in Virginia," Phipps said. "This is where it started."
Addressing concerns over the plant's relation to marijuana, Phipps said the idea of hemp being used as a drug is preposterous.
"You cannot smoke industrial hemp. Try, by all means," Phipps said. "It is not going to give you whatever effect you're looking for."
The day's topic was of special interest to Harold and Christina Ellis, who own 125 acres of land that straddle Chesterfield and Powhatan counties. Veterans of corporate and IT fields, the Ellises moved to the farm from Salisbury three years ago.
"We like the idea of hemp," Harold said. "It's a huge potential economic industry for Virginia."
The Ellises' New County Line Farm is currently used for pasture, but they've considered farming grapes and hops in the past. They're intrigued by hemp for many reasons, including the fact that the region's climate is suitable for the crop and that hemp has a quick cultivation period.
"It grows fast," Christina says. "Grapes take forever."
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Rethinking Hemp | www.chesterfieldobserver.com | Chesterfield Observer
Author: RICH GRISET
Contact: Contact Us | www.chesterfieldobserver.com | Chesterfield Observer
Photo Credit: Jim Hook
Website: www.chesterfieldobserver.com | Chesterfield Observer
Standing in front of dozens of farmers and other interested parties at Virginia State University's Cooperative Extension Pavilion last week, the Kentucky-based master farmer explained that his crop only took 60 days to go from seed to harvest, a relatively short amount of time in the farming world.
"Actually," he told the group, "I wish it were a bit slower."
The hardy crop he spoke of was hemp, a cannabis plant that is illegal to grow in the United States without a permit. As the owner and operator of Kentucky 21st Century Agri LLC, Clark was one of a half-dozen speakers to address the cultivation, sale and legality of hemp last Thursday as part of VSU's first-ever Industrial Hemp Field Day. The event was a forum for potential farmers, researchers and industry professionals to discuss growing the crop, should it become legal to do so.
One of the first plants known to be spun into fiber, hemp has a wide variety of uses. Hemp seeds have high protein content, relatively high oil content and are rich in fatty acids. Hemp fiber can be used to make rope, canvas, paper and animal bedding. The plant has a history in Virginia: it was a major crop for colonists, and was grown by both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.
According to the speakers at the field day, industrial hemp has potential to become a cash crop for Virginia's present-day farmers, especially if strides are made to make the state an early leader in its production. In 2014, annual retail sales for products made from hemp were estimated to be at least $620 million in the United States, and advocates for its legalization say hemp production could quickly turn into a multi-million-dollar industry.
But before hemp can take off, the laws governing its cultivation would have to change. Though biologically related to marijuana, industrial hemp is a different strain that lacks the psychoactive effects of its cousin. Where marijuana usually has a tetrahydrocannabinol level — its main psychoactive constituent — between 10 and 20 percent, industrial hemp contains less than 0.3 percent.
Nonetheless, because of its connection to marijuana, hemp is classified with all other forms of cannabis under the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 as a Schedule I drug, making it illegal to grow. With the Agricultural Act of 2014, Congress changed federal law to prohibit the Department of Justice from prosecuting the growing of hemp, but stopped short of legalizing it. Instead, states can set up research programs to study the benefits of growing the crop, including analysis of hemp-growing as an income source for farmers if it becomes legal. Some states have passed laws to allow farmers to profit from growing hemp, but are awaiting formal permission from the Drug Enforcement Administration.
To investigate how the crop would be grown if it were legalized, VSU is one of four Virginia universities studying hemp in the commonwealth. Maru Kering, an assistant professor of plant and soil sciences at VSU, explained that they have found mid-spring to be the best time to plant in Virginia, and that pests and weeds were potential problems facing farmers of the crop. He also said the crop experienced significant grain loss from wild birds feasting on the plant.
Marty Phipps, owner and operator of Old Dominion Hemp in Waynesboro, spoke in support of legalizing the commercial growing of hemp in Virginia. Phipps makes hemp bedding for horses, chickens and reptiles, but has to purchase his hemp from other countries and states where growing it is legal. Phipps says he'd prefer to source from Virginia, and said hemp — which grows easily and densely — is a crop with virtually no downside.
"At the end of the day, it would be a lot easier if it were here in Virginia," Phipps said. "This is where it started."
Addressing concerns over the plant's relation to marijuana, Phipps said the idea of hemp being used as a drug is preposterous.
"You cannot smoke industrial hemp. Try, by all means," Phipps said. "It is not going to give you whatever effect you're looking for."
The day's topic was of special interest to Harold and Christina Ellis, who own 125 acres of land that straddle Chesterfield and Powhatan counties. Veterans of corporate and IT fields, the Ellises moved to the farm from Salisbury three years ago.
"We like the idea of hemp," Harold said. "It's a huge potential economic industry for Virginia."
The Ellises' New County Line Farm is currently used for pasture, but they've considered farming grapes and hops in the past. They're intrigued by hemp for many reasons, including the fact that the region's climate is suitable for the crop and that hemp has a quick cultivation period.
"It grows fast," Christina says. "Grapes take forever."
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Rethinking Hemp | www.chesterfieldobserver.com | Chesterfield Observer
Author: RICH GRISET
Contact: Contact Us | www.chesterfieldobserver.com | Chesterfield Observer
Photo Credit: Jim Hook
Website: www.chesterfieldobserver.com | Chesterfield Observer
