Industrial Hemp Podcast

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 Field 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 20-22, 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 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." 5:49 Robin Destiche, KonopiUS, Pure Shenandoah 21.14 Roger Gussiaas, Healthy Oil Seeds25:37 Morris Beegle, WAFBA29:58 Alicia Fall, Her Many Voices34.55 Zhaohui Wu, Oregon State University 39:24 Tommy Copeland, HempWood42:01 Trey Riddle, IND HEMP; Joe Hickey, Halcyon Technology Holdings; Gregg Gnecco IND HEMP 44:01 Tim McCarthy, Universal Hemp Extracts, NIHC55:09 Hunter Buffington, APS, ASTM 58:10 Beau Whitney, Whitney Economics1:00:30 Peter Dushop, Forever Green1:05:35 Ted Haney, Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance1:14:25 Keenan Stone, CHTA, UniSeeds1:16:14 Ghyslain Bouchard, Askiy, Eko-Terre1:18:19 Sherri Smith-Hoyer, Australian Hemp Council1:24:24 Cait Curley 1:25:27 Morris Beegle 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 La

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 [email protected] 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 [email protected] 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 Ken Meyer's family business Beekeeping history Ori

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: [email protected]. 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/

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/