farming – Page 7 – US Hemp Co

7 Dec 2012

Kentucky ag chief says support for hemp is increasing statewide

posted in: Latest Hemp News | 0

LOUISVILLE — Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner James Comer said he sees widespread support building in the General Assembly and across the state for legislation pushing industrial hemp.

Comer told the Kentucky Farm Bureau that hemp represents the only potential job-creation effort under discussion in Frankfort.

Afterward, Comer said that the state hemp commission, which he chairs, has received numerous offers to sponsor legislation. The commission meets Friday, and Comer said members will discuss potential legislation and the possibility of a new economic study to evaluate the hemp market.

In a separate interview, state Sen. Paul Hornback, R-Shelbyville, said he supports legislation to move Kentucky to the forefront of potential hemp production. Hornback is widely expected to become the next chairman of the Senate agriculture committee. He said that if he is named chairman, he would call Comer’s hemp bill for a vote.

It is unclear what the legislation would encompass; several states have endorsed hemp production, but under federal law, it can’t be grown because it isn’t distinguished from marijuana.

Comer said Thursday that for Kentucky farmers to really benefit, the state also needs to attract processing and manufacturing facilities, something he said has drawn interest from county executives around the state.

Leigh Maynard, chairman of the University of Kentucky agriculture economics department, said gauging how much farmers could benefit is difficult. With record corn prices, farmers might not want to switch to an unproven commodity without an established infrastructure.

Janet Patton: (859) 231-3264. Twitter: @janetpattonhl.

15 Nov 2012

Comer: Legalizing industrial hemp is top priority

posted in: Latest Hemp News | 0

BRUCE SCHREINER, Associated Press

Updated 2:24 p.m., Wednesday, November 14, 2012

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner James Comer says he will seek to legalize industrial hemp in 2013, and to kick off the effort he convened a Wednesday meeting of a hemp commission that hasn’t met in years.

A grassroots movement seeking to allow Kentucky farmers to grow industrial hemp gained new ground as the commissioner vowed passing hemp legislation would be his top priority. For now, however, federal law prohibits growing the plant for industrial, recreational or medicinal purposes because of its association with marijuana.

A farmer himself, Comer told members of the Kentucky Industrial Hemp Commission that the crop would flourish in the Bluegrass state and create manufacturing jobs if the federal government gives the go-ahead. He said hemp is a versatile crop that can be turned into paper, clothing, food, biofeuel, lotions and many other products.

"We can’t let our feet drag on this," Comer told reporters after Wednesday’s meeting. "We can’t let the General Assembly say, ‘Well we want to create a task force to study it.’ By that time … this will be another thing that the Kentucky General Assembly has loafed around on and let slip away."

He said that if federal authorities authorize industrial hemp cultivation, states would be in a "mad dash" to revive production — and Kentucky needs to be positioned for that possibility.

Comer, a Republican, presided over the first meeting of the hemp commission in a decade.

The board was created in 2001 to oversee industrial hemp research in Kentucky and make recommendations to the governor. Comer convened the 18-member panel to advocate for industrial hemp and work on marketing and education efforts.

Kentucky once was a leading producer of industrial hemp, a tall, leafy plant later outlawed for decades. Hemp and marijuana are the same species, cannabis sativa, but are genetically distinct. Hemp has a negligible content of THC, the psychoactive compound that gives marijuana users a high.

Those seeking to legalize the plant argue that it would create a new crop for farmers, replacing a hemp supply now imported from Canada and other countries. During World War II, the U.S. government encouraged farmers to grow hemp for the war effort because other industrial fibers were in short supply. But the crop hasn’t been grown in the U.S. since the 1950s when the federal government moved to classify hemp as a controlled substance related to marijuana.

Comer said he wants to see farmers planting industrial hemp in Kentucky by the spring of 2014, but only if the federal government approves.

"We will only do this in Kentucky if the United States Congress and the federal government give us permission," he said.

The hemp commission received $100,000 in seed money Wednesday to help pay for its advocacy for the plant.

Republican U.S. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, co-sponsor of federal legislation to remove restrictions on hemp cultivation, is donating $50,000 from his political action committee to the commission. That donation is being matched by Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps, a natural soap manufacturer that uses hemp oil in its products.

David Bronner, chief executive of the California-based company, said the U.S. is the largest consumer market for hemp seed and fiber products, yet its farmers are prevented from growing the crop and sharing in the benefits.

"We’re continuing to hand the world’s largest market to Canadian farmers and Chinese farmers, and it’s ridiculous," he said after the hemp commission meeting.

The commission’s membership includes state lawmakers, hemp advocates and law enforcement representatives.

Maj. Anthony Terry, commander of the Kentucky State Police Special Enforcement Troop and a commission member, said after the meeting that law enforcement has reservations about legalizing hemp.

"We’re not supportive of it at this point," Terry said.

Terry raised concerns that people charged with marijuana possession or trafficking would claim they were caught with hemp instead of marijuana. That would force law enforcement to test every confiscated sample to determine if it was in fact marijuana, at great expense, he said.

Comer said the agriculture department wants to work with law enforcement.

"There’s nothing to hide," Comer said. "This crop has suffered from false stereotypes and misperceptions for years."

Other hemp commission members present included John Riley, a former magistrate in Spencer County; state Rep. Tom McKee, D-Cynthiana, chairman of the House Agriculture Committee; state Sen. John Schickel, R-Union; and M. Scott Smith, dean of the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture.

After the meeting, Comer went to the state Capitol pitch the legislation to a joint meeting of the House and Senate Agriculture committees.

Comer, a former state lawmaker, tried to assure his former colleagues that legalizing industrial hemp wouldn’t risk a voter backlash, saying misconceptins about hemp are "past us now."

"The people of Kentucky know the difference between industrial hemp and that other plant," he said.

Sen. David Givens, chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, said afterward that the Republican-led Senate is open-minded about the issue.

He said that Comer’s strong support for the hemp legislation will advance the legalization campaign. Givens, R-Greensburg, said hemp supporters are making headway in changing perceptions, but he has questions about establishing state regulatory oversight of a crop that may someday be legal.

"Do we need to create a bureaucracy for what would be a legal crop?" he said.

14 Nov 2012

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul Champions Legalization of Industrial Hemp Bill S.3501 (Oct 17, 2012)

posted in: Latest Hemp News | 0

Sen. Rand Paul Answers Farms.com Questionnaire on Hemp Bill

By Amanda Brodhagen, Farms.com

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul introduced a historic bill on Aug. 2, 2012 that would remove restrictions on industrial hemp farming in the United States. While Bill S.3501 has gained wide bi-partisan support, it has also sparked a controversial debate largely over federal policy that currently doesn’t distinguish between non-drug oilseeds – hemp from psychoactive drugs such as Marijuana. There have been over seventeen states that have passed pro-hemp legislation to date including, Colorado, Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, Vermont and West Virginia. However, despite state authorization for farmers to grow hemp, state laws are overridden by the federal drug policy.
Although, farmers have technically been given permission to grow hemp for industrial use, they don’t for fear of raids by federal agents or even face prison time if they plant hemp as a crop. Sen. Rand Paul has been advocating on behalf of farmers to make changes to a 75 year old law that prohibits farmers from growing hemp for industrial use. If the bill passes, the Industrial Hemp Farming Act would remove federal restrictions to allow farmers to grow industrial hemp, distinguishing hemp from marijuana.
Sen. Rand Paul answers a questionnaire prepared by Farms.com Editor Amanda Brodhagen – explaining the history of the bill, how it could help farmers, the economic benefits and the key participants involved. The Senator answers thirteen questions that provide greater insight into the importance of this bill.

• Can you provide some insight into the historical resistance towards hemp?
“The passing of 1937 Marijuana Tax Act in conjunction with the Controlled Substances Act of 1970 essentially banned the industrial use of hemp by defining hemp as a narcotic and requiring farmers to hold Drug Enforcement Administration permits. Our nation is a far cry from the one that used to encourage farmers to grow hemp for its versatility through the Hemp for Victory program.”
• Why does the Senator support the efforts to legalize hemp for industrial use in Kentucky?
“In addition to the economic benefits associated with the industrialization of hemp, there has been substantial grassroots support behind this issue in Kentucky. Hemp can be used for nutritional supplements, cattle feed and bedding, textiles, paper, cosmetics and alternative fuels. Prior to the industrial ban, the Commonwealth routinely accounted for half of all hemp production in the United States.
Being from an agricultural state, I often think of our farmers who have dealt with persistent droughts and the toll it has taken on them and their families. This environmentally sustainable crop requires fewer pesticides and can replenish our soil through crop rotation, increasing yields the following year.”

(Source: http://www.votehemp.com/PDF/hempstudy.pdf)
• How does the Senator defend the comparisons between industrial hemp and marijuana?
“I’ve found that these comparisons are often made by those who are unfamiliar with the crop. It is true that hemp is in the same plant species as marijuana. However, the two are very different. On average, hemp contains less than 1 percent of THC, the primary psychoactive chemical in marijuana, while marijuana can contain upwards of 10 percent THC.

As my father, Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), sponsor of an industrial hemp bill in the House often jokes, you would need to smoke a hemp cigarette the size of a telephone pole for it to possibly have any effect.”
• What are the most commonly grown cash crops in Kentucky?
“The top five cash crops in Kentucky last year were corn, soybeans, tobacco, wheat and hay.”

(Source:http://www.kyagr.com/pr/kpc/September102012/documents/2011-Kentucky-cash-receipts.pdf)
• What do you foresee as the economic benefits of allowing farmers to grow industrial hemp?
“Hemp has grown increasingly popular in the United States. Selling between $60 million to $100 million in hemp-based foods and nutritional supplements each year, these products could be produced and grown in the U.S. rather than abroad.”
(Source: http://nationalaglawcenter.org/assets/crs/RL32725.pdf)

• What kind of response has the Senator been receiving from farmers about the bill to legalize hemp?
“I’ve spoken with many farmers in Kentucky and the response has overwhelming been, “I wish this would have been done sooner!” This bill has brought in a lot of support from the both sides of the aisle. It is an economic issue rather than a partisan one.”

• How profitable would growing hemp be for Kentucky farmers?
“According to the University of Kentucky, the industrialization of hemp would create 70,000 jobs in the Commonwealth with upwards of $1.5 trillion in annual earnings.”
(Source: http://www.votehemp.com/PDF/hempstudy.pdf)

• What would be a typical profit margin for a farmer growing industrial hemp after all input costs have been calculated?

“According to Vote Hemp, farmers in Manitoba, Canada, have yielded $150/acre once costs are factored in. To put this into perspective, the profit margin for hemp is between $50-75/acre more than canola, one of the U.S. and Canada’s most abundant crops.
While these numbers are based on Canada’s agricultural landscape, U.S. farmers are expected to yield higher profit margins by growing different varieties of hemp.”
• Is there a market demand for industrial hemp?
“The demand for hemp has grown exponentially in recent years. In 1997, hemp-based sales were at $75 million worldwide. Since that time, North America alone has grossed $400 million in hemp-based sales annually. Nearly half of that can be attributed to the U.S.”
(Source: http://nationalaglawcenter.org/assets/crs/RL32725.pdf)
• Do you think some farmers would still be skeptical about growing hemp for industrial use even if the bill passes?
“Farmers and consumers in Kentucky have been advocating for the use of industrial hemp for years; our legislature has also been working towards this. I believe that when this bill is passed, the Commonwealth will be ready.”
• What are some of the key things that the Senator is doing to raise awareness and gain support for his sponsored bill?

“During my time at the Kentucky State Fair, I participated in a rally with Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner James Comer advocating for industrial hemp.”
• Who are the key advocates of the bill?
“Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) is the leading sponsor of the Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2012. I am an original cosponsor with Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).”
• Is the Senator confident that the bill will pass?
“Although there is a groundswell of public support behind this bipartisan bill, we will need to make some headway with current Members of Congress for S. 3501 to pass.”

Note from the Editor Thank you Senator Rand Paul for shedding light on Bill S. 3501. It’s apparent that the Hemp Bill is pro-farmer and eliminates the barriers for agricultural producers to cultivate hemp has a legal crop recognized by states and the federal government. This bill not only provides opportunities for economic benefits for rural economies but it also puts an end to the negative association that industrial hemp has from marijuana.
CONTINUE READING…

1 Oct 2012

Research: Feeding hens with hemp

posted in: Latest Hemp News | 0

Researchers at Aarhus University, Denmark have been experimenting with feedings chickens hemp, to test whether giving the birds extra roughage with a high nutritional value can benefit the environment, their welfare, and their product quality.

In organic egg production, hens are offered roughage in the form of pasture vegetation in the hen yard, silage or vegetables as a supplement to their organic ration. Scientists from Aarhus University are now developing a new feeding concept whereby the rough, green forages are not simply used as a snack but as an integral and nutritious part of the diet.
“Roughage has a nutritional value of its own, which can provide additional nutrients to that supplied in the ready-mixed feed, senior scientist at Aarhus University Sanna Steenfeldt explained.
“Since the ration is formulated to cover all the requirements of the hens, the roughage only provides extra nourishment. In the new concept roughage is considered as an ingredient that contributes its own nutrients.”
Benefits for the environment, animal welfare and product quality
The new concept, where the composition of the total ration is optimised in combination with roughage, combines three key issues in organic egg production: consideration for the environment, animal welfare and product quality.
Product quality of organic eggs as result of feeding the various types of roughage on offer will be characterised by analysing, among other things, the taste and appearance of the egg yolk, egg albumen, eggshell quality, the composition of carotenoids, which give colour to the yolk, and the composition of fatty acids in the egg yolk.
The effects of the different types of roughage on the immune status and bowel health of the hens will be investigated, such as whether they are resistant to infection with the roundworm Ascaridia galli in order to increase the robustness and welfare of hens.
Optimising the composition of the diet could help reduce the excretion of nitrogen and phosphorus with benefits for the environment.
The hens used for the experiment is the robust and productive Hisex White breed, which at present is very common in organic egg production
Hemp or carrots?
The menu has a wide selection, where hemp is but one of the quirkier choices.
“Hemp is difficult to harvest but the hens love it because of its aroma. They do not get a high from the hemp, though, as there is so little cannabidiol in it that it cannot be detected,” Steenfeldt assured.
Each experimental group will have only one choice among the range of forages on offer, which includes maize silage, alfalfa silage, grass and herb silage, hemp silage, maize cob silage and a seasonal vegetable – either carrots, kale or beet roots. The control group will receive no roughage and only have access to bare ground in the hen yard. This means that the control group is not reared organically. They are included in the study to compare the general welfare of hens receiving roughage with those that do not.
The ready mixes that have been specifically formulated according to the type of roughage the hens receive are produced with the help from the agribusiness company DLG.
The experiments are a continuation of previous experiments that looked at the effect of different breeds and types of feed on egg quality.
The project is a joint effort between DLG, Danæg, and Knowledge Centre for Agriculture and has been funded by the Danish Innovation Act under the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries and by the Danish Poultry Council (Fjerkræafgiftsfonden).

1 Oct 2012

The Cultural Amnesia of Hemp

posted in: Latest Hemp News | 0

mmj1 Civilizations in Europe and Asia began harvesting hemp in 8,000 BCE to make textiles, paper, food, and medicine. In 3727 BCE, cannabis was called a superior herb in the world’s first medical text, the Shen Nung’s Pen Ts’ao, in China. In 1500 BCE, Cannabis helped to invent the scythe. In 300 BCE, social situations arose where Carthage and Rome struggled much over the political and commercial power over hemp & spice trade routes in the Mediterranean. In 100 BCE, paper was made from hemp and mulberry in China.

Even though there is this rich history of hemp common knowledge amongst the public is dismal. What factors contributed to the cultural amnesia of hemp?

Background: U.S.

Cultivation of hemp began in Virginia in 1611. King Henry VIII required farmers to set aside land for the cultivation of hemp, one quarter acre of hemp for every sixty acres of land, and this law had to be followed by the colonists. England wanted to continue their trends of manufacturing hemp textiles such as paper, clothing, and medicine & the New World was a perfect place where hemp could be grown and harvested to then be processed overseas.

Many colonies passed laws, independent of Europe influence, that encouraged farmers to produce hemp. Lobbyists were hired and books were published to educate the public about the importance of hemp and thereby establish hemp as America’s trademark product. Even the Puritans at Jamestown grew hemp. Mandatory cultivation of hemp continued throughout the New World so much so that several colonies passed legal tender laws to enact taxes on hemp to benefit the colonies because it was such a widely produced crop.

Hemp was without a doubt one of the most important crops to the common wealth in the 19th century. Founding fathers such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson were both huge promoters of hemp.Washington even spoke of hemp in his farm diary citing the quality of the seeds and how he always took care to sow seeds in best areas on his farm.

As these educational efforts dwelled on, England continued to demand the raw materials of hemp to ensure the growth of their work force and economy overseas. Colonists began to get curious about becoming self sufficient with the idea of not only growing hemp but keeping it all to themselves which led to colonists declaring their independence from Britain. The Independence War from Europe was ignited via hemp production rights alongside the creation of the American paper industry. Hemp, linen, and cotton rags provided writing materials throughout the war that were essential for communication amongst the colonists to ensure victory.

Drifting Changes

As trends of industrialization increased the invention of a machine, the Decorticator, was introduced tot he American market. It was hailed as the gadget that was going to revolutionize the hemp industry in New World. It’s design began in 1861 in Germany and it’s popularity was made infamous in an article from a Popular Mechanics magazine dated February 1938. In the piece, the author spoke of how this machine implied that hemp industry had the potential of being worth over a billion dollars. In lieu of the technological revelation, hemp farmers were becoming very content with their cash crop of hemp.

However, businesses and corporations with a differing agenda began to grow weary of hemp’s continued popularization. They wished to take control of the paper industry themselves by changing the materials used for production from hemp to trees. This feat was a bit impossible due to the fact that hemp was an easy and accessible plant that all farmers could grow and produce for a multitude of reasons. Hence, the incredulous businesses began a campaign to control how the public viewed the substance to ultimately change the trends of agricultural acceptance.

Even though the THC levels of hemp are extremely low companies, businesses, and governments used this fact to their advantage and began to spread information that the recreational habit of ingesting or smoking the plant for it’s hallucinogenic properties was something to fear. This type of cultural practice stems all the way back to China in 5,000 BCE when pioneering herbalists would ingest the plant to expand their medicinal research.

The corporations responsible for the information behind the campagin were Hearst and DuPont. Hearst was a corporation that owned large timber holdings in the U.S. that joined efforts with DuPont who dominated the petrochemical market at the time: they manufactured plastics, paints, and other products consisting of varied fossil fuels. They began to be associated very close with marijuana, a plant with higher levels of THC, in a way that was misleading, confusing, and detrimental to the agricultural production of hemp. Hysteria ensued. In 1937, business efforts proved successful and the Marihuana Tax Act HR 6385 was passed with the help of the Senate. Even to this day it is difficult for public to accurately report the differences amongst hemp and marijuana thereby showing that the efforts of the old campaign were very powerful.

Environmental Benefits

Hemp is still grown in the U.S. but to a lesser extent than it was a century ago. What would happen if the U.S. decided to produce hemp yet again on a massive scale to manufacture products that we currently depend on other countries to make and import onto our soil? Let’s begin answering this question by going over the facts.

Hemp grows extremely fast in any kind of climate which means it could be easily integrated into a vast variety of agricultural systems. On top of that reality, hemp can be grown sans herbicides, fungicides, or pesticides. Plus, hemp is a natural weed suppressor because it grows so fast and so dense that it blocks out available sunlight that would otherwise be utilized by other weeds trying to grow.

Hemp has deep roots that naturally replenish soil with nitrogen. Furthermore, the stability of the plant contributes to controlling the erosion of topsoil.

Hemp can clean up toxins underground by removing or neutralizing detrimental toxins present in the soil, a process otherwise known as phytoremediation. What substance was used to clean up the Chernobyl nuclear disaster site to remove radioactive elements from the ground? You guessed it – hemp.

Switching to hemp paper would reduce deforestation significantly. For every 4 acres of trees that are required annually to make paper, only one acre of hemp is required to make the same amount of product.

These facts about hemp used to be a well known strand of cultural knowledge that farmers proudly touted. In modern times, many are oblivious to the great benefits of hemp and most incorrectly assume that it’s a drug due to the misinformation that was spread with the passage of the Marihuana Tax Act in 1937.

17 Sep 2012

Dad raised hemp for rope production, not for smoking, after World War II 5:43 PM, Sep 8, 2012

posted in: Latest Hemp News | 0

John Newport, Springfield

“Festival-goers celebrate hemp’s diversity” (News-Leader, Sep. 3) brought back memories. In 1946, I was living on a farm in south central Kentucky, and one spring day a couple of “feds” came by and asked my dad and the farmer on an adjoining farm if they would raise a few acres of hemp and harvest the seed.

The seeds were being grown for export to the Phillipines, where hemp had been a main crop before the war, and was used to make rope. As a result of the war, hemp seeds in the Phillipines were either in short supply, or nonexistent. My dad and the other farmer agreed to raise some hemp, and were well paid to do so.

The feds specified how the seeds were to be planted — in crossed rows, which made it possible to cultivate for weed control by plowing from east to west and from north to south.

They also specified how the seeds were to be “thrashed” by hand, and said that all stalks and leaves were to be burned immediately after the seeds had been gathered — which we thought was somewhat unusual.

Gathering and piling up the stalks, which were about 8 feet high, and burning them turned out to be the hardest part of the job.

My dad smoked his home-grown tobacco, and the thought of smoking some hemp leaves probably never occurred to him. However, the farmer on the adjoining farm didn’t smoke tobacco, and he smoked some hemp leaves — one time, he said.

He said the strange feelings he had after smoking hemp were such that he was afraid of something different, and worse, happening if he smoked it again.

Each summer for the next three years, the feds came by and looked for any hemp plants that might have grown from seeds lost in the “thrashing” process, and from being carried by birds far from the areas where the hemp had been grown.

Today, when I hear about people growing marijuana, I think, “Been there, done that.”

« 1 … 4 5 6 7