Hemp growing to be allowed in 10 states under agreement in farm bill

[RainDog]

Those ten states are: Colorado, Washington, California, Kentucky, Maine, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, Vermont and West Virginia.

Farm legislation breezing through Congress could make northern Colorado the nation's leader in the cultivation, study and use of industrial hemp.

The farm bill provision authored by Rep. Jared Polis, D-Colo., and Reps. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., and Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., would allow colleges, universities and state agriculture agencies to grow and do research on the crop without being penalized by the federal government.

The provision applies only to states where industrial hemp is legal, Polis said Wednesday after the House approved the five-year, $500 billion farm bill by a vote of 251-166.

Though the farm bill includes his hemp language, Polis voted against the legislation citing a host of other problems, including an $8.6 billion cut in the food stamp program.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2014/01/29/hemp-cultivation/5039263/

Hemp -- marijuana's non-intoxicating cousin that's used to make everything from clothing to cooking oil -- could soon be cultivated in 10 states under a federal farm bill agreement reached late Monday that allows the establishment of pilot growing programs.

The plant's return to legitimacy could clear the way for U.S. farmers to compete in an industry currently dominated by China. Even though it hasn't been grown in the U.S., the country is one of the fastest-growing hemp markets.

In 2011, the U.S. imported $11.5 million worth of legal hemp products, up from $1.4 million in 2000. Most of that growth was seen in hemp seed and hemp oil, which finds its way into granola bars and other products.

"This is big," said Eric Steenstra, president of Vote Hemp, a Washington-based group that advocates for the plant's legal cultivation. "We've been pushing for this a long time."

http://www.cleveland.com/nation/index.ssf/2014/01/hemp_growing_to_be_allowed_in.html

McConnell: Farm Bill to promote hemp revival

Hemp production may be on the verge of a comeback in Kentucky, where the non-potent cousin of marijuana once thrived.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says the final version of the federal Farm Bill will allow limited hemp cultivation in pilot programs in states that permit the production.

Kentucky lawmakers passed a bill last year to allow industrial hemp's reintroduction but only if the federal government lifts its ban.

McConnell says the Farm Bill language he secured will allow state agriculture departments to oversee pilot hemp projects. Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner James Comer has promoted the crop, which can be turned into products ranging from paper to cosmetics.

http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/McConnell-Farm-Bill-to-promote-hemp-revival-5180399.php

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. I am pleased to see this.

And I cannot believe that McConnell and I actually agree on something!

[RainDog]

2. McConnell and Paul (KY) are two sponsors

Polis and Blumenauer are Democrats behind the bill.

They're smart on this issue - those who are behind this inclusion - because hemp would be a great cash crop for farmers - so that's where the support in KY comes from. Many farmers have long supported legalized hemp.

Of course, we also need the industrial start ups to utilize such crops - and that won't happen because of this bill - yet - because it's so limited in scope.

But it's one more step along the road back to sanity.

[RainDog]

3. Campaign for the Restoration and Regulation of Hemp

http://hemp.org/restore/

[GreenPartyVoter]

4. Finally, some good news!

[madrchsod]

5. better material than cotton..

it was grown here in northern illinois during ww2. it was supposed to have been eradicated in the 70`s but there`s still some plants that pop up along the fence rows.

[RainDog]

8. Also the best source for paper products

such moves in industry that mitigate deforestation are excellent ideas.

The majority of paper should be made from hemp, not wood pulp. The move to wood pulp occurred in the 19th century, but wood pulp paper is an inferior product. It is more acidic and, therefore, more likely to degrade over time, or "fox" with oxidation - anything printed prior to 1830 is more likely to be on linen or hemp paper, and it shows because the condition of the paper is often better than items printed afterward.

Hemp has a 180 day growth cycle. It's the most efficient plant for the purpose of paper-making. While growing it captures carbon. Equally importantly, hemp paper means the forests are left alone.

The carbon capture from trees is important to our world as part of its cycle of climate regulation. Some trees (conifers) actually help regulate the earth's temperature by releasing terpenes into the atmosphere. The terpene molecules seed clouds and, thus, cool down the air.

So a switch from wood pulp to hemp would be a great thing to heal the earth's fever from our consumption.

[The Wizard]

6. Not in NJ

Christie veto is looming.

[SunSeeker]

7. Awesome. Hemp is a great crop for drought-sticken California.

[polichick]

9. So ridiculous that it was ever banned!

[trublu992]

10. WTH no Illinois What happened Durbin!

[RainDog]

11. It had to be legal already in the state

so you can ask your state legs about it.

[ancianita]

12. Durbin, Dick. Checker of political winds. Among the 90% of incumbents people keep voting back in.

I'd love to see a Democratic candidate make him campaign hard to keep his job.

[trublu992]

29. I'd be happy with a successful challenger to Mark Kirk.

[ancianita]

30. Agreed.

[ancianita]

13. Almost all red states that would still invite the jailing of nearby blue state residents who try to

cash in as 'suppliers.'

The "commissioners" commission who all get to play in the new hemp markets.

[Comrade Grumpy]

15. Wrong. It's half and half.

Colorado, Washington, California, Kentucky, Maine, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, Vermont and West Virginia.

And we're talking about hemp here, not weed.

[ancianita]

17. Fair point. So, in the states where hemp isn't legal to grow, there wouldn't be this spillover

free market problem?

[RainDog]

21. hemp has very low levels of THC

Last edited Mon Feb 3, 2014, 04:21 PM - Edit history (2)

it is not competitive as a recreational cannabis product.

of course, it could be bred to become a higher THC-bearing product, but that would be silly because decades of research has already gone into creating seeds that, for the most part, bear as female-only, with high levels of THC.

eta: hemp is grown for the fiber - the stalk of the plant, or for the seeds. Farmers have bred hemp so minimize THC to meet standards for nations that already allow hemp farming. Seeds for purchase to plant a commercial hemp field, iow, will not yield much THC, no matter if they go to seed or not (i.e. flower, fertilization and seed setting.)

marijuana is grown for the (non-seed bearing) flower of the plant. marijuana grown for recreational purposes has been hybridized to make use of the shorter stature of indica, crossed with the uplifting quality of sativa (which is also the species for hemp, with long stalks.) Seeds for purchase to plant a commercial recreational marijuana crop have been bred to maximize the THC and minimize the height of the plant, for most all hybrids.

marijuana has maximum potency when the female plants only are grown, and grown so that they are not pollinated by males releasing pollen into the air. THC is found throughout the plant, but is concentrated in the sticky globules of resin on the flowers that, in natural conditions, serve as pollen traps. Flowering without pollination is the key to maximum THC yield.

so, people are getting high on the unrequited lust of the female cannabis plant.

[RainDog]

22. To grow recreational cannabis and hemp together

would destroy the value of both.

If someone wanted to grow both, they would need to have more than 50 feet between the two fields and some sort of pollen trap from a tall hedge to offset pollination of recreational cannabis from hemp.

however, this would make no sense to do, considering the value of planting recreational cannabis in a situation that does not present such risks, such as greenhouses, which would also maximize the growing season, allowing a farmer two yields per planting season rather than one.

eta: hemp is harvested in one of two ways. The first is a harvest before the plant has set seeds. The second is done after it sets seeds. There are pluses and minuses for each, but farmers who want to have a dual yield (the stalk of the plant for hemp fiber and the seeds for industrial production of oils, etc.) would also have to deal with birds. Birds love hemp seed - in fact, hemp seed is a major feed for birds.

[ancianita]

28. Very interesting, indeed. Thank you for enlightening me.

[yellowcanine]

14. This is a good thing but hemp is not the panacea people think it is.

As with many "new" crops, there is a lot of hype - yes there is some promise - but the idea that this is going to be a great crop for many small farmers is not realistic. As with other fiber crops, hemp is going to be grown for the most part as a commodity crop - think cotton if you want a good comparison. On the other hand, marijuana lends itself to small scale production.

[Comrade Grumpy]

16. Yeah, this is for farmers. You know, the guys with acres and acres...

[yellowcanine]

18. Who will grow it the way every other commodity crop is grown.....for maximum yields

With lots of fertilizer and pesticides and water in areas not getting enough rainfall at the right time. Contrary to the hype, hemp needs a lot of inputs for maximum yields just like any other crop. And as with other commodity crops such as cotton, rice, soybeans, peanuts, wheat and corn, after an initial period of high prices when the processors are trying to get commitments from farmers to raise hemp, the price will drop to a level where only the large scale farmers will be able to compete. This is not going to be a big boon for small farmers.

I am in favor of allowing hemp production. It will definitely give some farmers more choices for rotations. But it is not a panacea.

[RainDog]

19. who said it's a panacea?

this is like a talking point here on this board. "It's not a panacea." Nobody said it was. Okay, next.

pesticides are applied based upon the threat to the crop. hemp's biggest issues that I know of are powdery mildew and mold. why would any farmer waste money on a pesticide to treat for things that aren't issues?

that's not cost effective.

I think my posts imply, if not state outright, that this would be a cash crop for farmers. that implies large-scale industry, not small farmers. The paper pulp industry is a large-scale industry, for instance. There is no assumption, except yours, that anyone was talking about hobby or small farms in the production of industrial hemp.

The PNW may not be the best part of the nation to grow industrial hemp, because of its rainy season, but that's not the only part of the nation looking at hemp as a cash crop.

When grown under favorable conditions, hemp is very competitive with weeds, and no herbicides are generally used in fiber hemp production. Many authors have commented on the exceptional ability of hemp to suppress weed populations (Dewey, 1901 and 1913; Robinson, 1935; Dempsey, 1975, Van der Werf, 1991). Weed suppression with minimal pesticide use is potentially one of the greatest agronomic and environmental benefits of growing hemp in rotation with other crops. Thick stands of hemp have been reported to suppress aggressive weed species including quackgrass (Agropyron repens) (Wright, 1918), bindweed (Robinson, 1935a), and yellow nutsedge (Cyperus esculentus) (Lotz, 1991). The use of hemp to suppress weed populations may offer conventional and organic growers an effective alternative to current weed control practices. Recent commercial experience in the U.K. has shown that with proper timing of planting, weeds can be almost completely suppressed during the hemp growing season.

Insect and disease pests have generally not been considered agriculturally significant problems in industrial hemp production, and pesticides are not commonly used in hemp production. This does not mean that hemp is free of pests or that there is no potential for pest problems with hemp. Significant insect damage to hemp fields is apparently rare despite reports of nearly 300 insect pests associated with the crop. Most serious among these are the European corn borer (Ostrinia nubilalis) and the hemp borer (Grapholita delineana).

Although a number of plant diseases have been reported on hemp, major disease outbreaks are uncommon. The most important disease of hemp is gray mold, caused by the fungus Botrytis cinerea. This disease attacks hemp stems under conditions of cool to moderate temperature and high humidity.

http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/html/sb/sb681/

[RainDog]

20. other ag. surveys

http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/ncnu02/v5-284.html

http://www.votehemp.com/PDF/uk_hempproduction_2013.pdf

http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RL32725.pdf

[yellowcanine]

24. You may not be but many are. There is a lot of hype. Look at some of the other posts.

For some it is the greatest thing since the proverbial sliced bread.

And again, you may be thinking large farms but many people, particularly in places like Kentucky, have seen hemp as a replacement for small farm tobacco production. Lots of small farms produce cash crops.

As for pests, etc. we really will not know what the potential problems are until there is more widespread production. Most of the university research on hemp production in the U.S. is very old - for good reason, it is hard to do research on an illegal crop. The Oregon State pub you cite is from 1998 and it in turn cites many very old publications, some going back to the early 1900s.

[RainDog]

25. The link in the post about weed reduction

Last edited Mon Feb 3, 2014, 07:03 PM - Edit history (1)

and pest and herbicide reduction is from 2005.

While the U.S. has not had legal hemp for a long time, other nations have. The citations from the 2005 study note the reduction in the need for either pesticides or herbicides.

That study also notes that the overwhelming use of pesticides concerns cotton farming.

If hemp was useful as a rotation crop for the above reasons in 2005, it was also useful for the same reasons in 1905.

eta: the Purdue study was from 2002 and utilized reports from European hemp growers since 1999.

The University of Kentucky profile was published in 2013 and the majority of its sources are later than 1999 and most are from the last decade.

The Congressional Research Survey report was from 2013 and the majority of research cited is from the last decade.

It would almost seem as though you were cherry-picking to support your own belief.

[RainDog]

23. hemp used in rotation is an excellent way to deal with weeds

If someone wants to start a new field for some other plant, and if they rotate their fields and have fallow fields - this is old-school farming and, also new school, sustainable farming with less harmful environmental impact.

anyway, hemp is a great plant to condition soil prior to planting another crop. A season of a hemp crop in a field would result in the death of many of the weeds in that field because hemp would outcompete and deny sunlight, etc. Of course, weed seeds can also lie dormant until soil is tilled. But part of sustainable farming is about low-till and no-till fields to build and replenish soil as part of the farming cycle. After the growing cycle, plants are allowed to compost to build the soil.

rather than herbicides, hemp can can be utilized for its weed-killing properties.

The roots of the hemp plant reach several feet into the soil, as well, and this aerates and breaks up hard soil. In addition, hemp serves as a phytoremediator for the soil itself, pulling out heavy metals, etc. - these long roots pull toxins into the long stalks.

http://www.naihc.org/KerrIHbenefits.pdf

Hemp grown in rotation with wheat in England resulted in a 20% increase in wheat yield, without a commensurate increase in chemical or energy inputs. In Ontario, hemp grown in rotation with soy resulted in a 50-75% reduction of cyst nematodes.

Hemp crop rotation reduces the need for herbicides or pesticides. The hemp planted as a rotation crop may also be harvested.

FIFTY PERCENT of all pesticides used in this country are associated with cotton. Hemp can replace cotton in nearly every use it has.

If industry moved from cotton to hemp, iow, half of the use of pesticides in this nation could be reduced or eliminated.

[rdharma]

26. Why is it that I can buy Hemp Butter and Hemp seeds.......

..... but they can't grow hemp in the USA?

[RainDog]

27. because, silly

The DEA needs to justify arresting millions of African Americans to uphold the traditions of institutional racism in this nation.

[RainDog]

31. More states include hemp legislation

So far in the 2014 legislative season industrial hemp legislation has been introduced or carried over in thirteen states: Arizona, Hawaii, Indiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Jersey (carried over from 2013), New York, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Washington (two bills were carried over from 2013), West Virginia, and Wisconsin. The New Jersey bills from 2013 were passed in January of 2014, but were pocket vetoed by Governor Christie.

You can read about particular states and their bills here: http://www.votehemp.com/state.html