Left to Right: Patrick Goggin, David Bronner, Bob McFarland, Senator Mark Leno and David Piller

On May 18th the California Senate voted 22 to 14 to pass SB 676, the hemp farming bill. The bill has now been sent to the Assembly. On Tuesday SB 676 passed out of the Public Safety Committee on a 5 to 2 vote! There are several more committee hearings yet to come, but we are very optimistic that SB 676 will pass the full Assembly and go to the Governor’s desk for his signature.

Although it is perfectly legal to buy, sell, and import hemp products in the US, cultivation of the plant still remains illegal. But there are many reasons to hope that this bill is seen through into law. First, it would offer farmers access to a new cash crop.

Second, it would push hemp production closer toward critical mass and bring down the price of so many healthy and eco-friendly hemp-based products. This would give North American a more sustainable crop alternative to cotton, as well as be an important step toward fighting rising global commodity prices.

But most importantly, it would set a precedent for other US states to rethink their archaic legislation toward the hemp plant. And that would be critical in changing global legislative and industrial attitudes toward a plant that can address so many environmental, energy, and dietary needs.

Aussie Hemp Farmer

Global commodity prices rise are on the rise, driving up the price of all staples, from food to coffee to cotton. These increases have been severe enough that they even have some G20 leaders worried about food security.

On the cotton front, hemp fibers could help consumers save on their clothing purchases. But if hemp farming was legal in the US, the crop could also preempt further environmental devastation as farmers rush to cash-in on the cotton rush.

Short Supply, Growing Demand

The main causes behind poor cotton yields has been severe weather caused by global warming. Indeed, crops in Pakistan, India, China, and Australia all fell short of expectations in 2010.

As CTV reports, this shortage and increasing demands in India and China may push the price of cotton up as much as 80%. And because of rising price, farmers are rushing to plant more cotton. Both Australia and Brazil have increased their production, and some US states are expected to even double theirs. As Business Week reports:

[...] California farmers are expected to plant 400,000 acres of cotton this year. That’s up from a low of 200,000 acres planted two years ago.

In the short-term, increased cotton production and export will help the US manage its trade deficit. In the medium- to long-term, however, increasing cotton production is bound to only exacerbate one of the causes behind the world’s cotton shortage.

Hemp vs Cotton: Crops & The Climate

The problem with ramping up cotton production, though, is that will only contribute to climate change further. Hemp, on the other hand, represent a much more sustainable, less resource intensive alternative.

First, cotton is thirsty crop, requiring considerable irrigation, which disturbs both marine and terrestrial habitats. Indeed, it can take up to 100 gallons of water to produce one pound of cotton. Hemp can subsist off of rainfall in most climates.

Second, cotton is notorious for depleting soil — leading to soil erosion and desertification. Hemp, by contrast, has a deep root system that helps to prevent soil erosion and aerates the soil — to the benefit of other, future crops.

Third, because cotton depletes soil so extensively, it requires considerable fertilization, leading to eutrophication — poisoning the water table and destroying marine ecosystems. Hemp, however, rarely require fertilization.

Finally, while cotton crops constitute on 3% of cultivated land globally, it account for 25% of the world’s insecticides and 10% of the world’s pesticides. Hemp does require the use of such toxic chemicals.

Holding Hemp Back

So while cotton farming not only requires a lot of water, but also uses a lot fertilizer and pesticides (furthering our dependency on petroleum), hemp represents an alternative that is (1) cheaper to produce and (2) much more sustainable as a crop. So what’s holding hemp back as a cash-crop? Well, a number of things.

For starters, there are legal hurdles in many countries. While Canada, Australia, China, and many European countries grow and export industrial hemp, it remains illegal in the US and India because legislation doesn’t distinguish between hemp and its psychoactive counterpart – marijuana. Both the US and India, however, are major cotton producers, so legislative change could bring about considerable agricultural (and ecological) reform.

Hanes Logo

Then, there is the facts that hemp is not as easily spun into a soft fabric as cotton is. Of course, companies such as Hanes and NAT are working on a solution to this, but the technology to spin hemp into a complete substitute for cotton is still a couple years off.

Finally, there are market issues. Simply put, hemp is still not a mainstream fiber, meaning that farmers just do not have the incentive to grow hemp as they do cotton — i.e. they can’t sell it as easily. This, of course, will change as technology makes hemp fabrics more suitable for consumer needs.

As hemp fiber technology gets better, market demand will go up, farmers will have more of an incentive to cultivate it, and markets forces will apply more pressure on governments to accommodate the crop. Perhaps recent change in commodity prices will lend force to such market forces.

Chances are, though, that cotton lobbyists will work against the crop for at least 5-10 years to come. But let’s hope not.

Australian Farmer

Almost a year and a half after Australian farmers were encouraged to grow hemp in the province of New South Wales, it looks like their counterparts in Queensland are sufficiently interested in the crop that they’re considering building a hemp mill to process the fibres of their future cash-crop. As ABC.net.au reports:

A hemp fibre processing mill is being proposed for the Hunter Valley after a strong response from farmers interested in growing the product.

Queensland company Ecofibre undertook a series of crop trials across the Lower and Upper Hunter during last summer which achieved better than expected results.

The fibre would replace imported hemp used by an Australian company in the manufacture of flotation products.

Ecofibre managing director Phil Warner says interest in growing the crop this year would allow a local processing facility to be established.

In 2008, the Australian government passed legislation that allows the plant to be cultivated for use in products ranging from bio-fuel to dog food.These aren’t the first Australian hemp trials to go better than expected. And since then, these aren’t the only hemp trials to produce encouraging results. In November of that same year, another Australian company, Hemp Resources, reported that their initial hemp trials had gone better than expected.

It’s not surprising that Australia has moved forward so quickly with adopting hemp as an industrial crop while US law continues to make no distinction between hemp and its psychoactive counterpart. While the US can import much of its hemp from its northern neighbour, Canada, Australia is sufficiently isolated that the costs associated with having to import all its hemp would be extraneous to say the least. Now that Australia can cultivate and process its own hemp, not only will farmers have another cash-crop, but consumers will also benefit from cheaper hemp products.

The two North Dakota farmers who are suing the DEA so that they can actually use the hemp growing licenses that the state issued them have been granted a renewal on their licenses. As The Dickinson Press reports:

Two North Dakota farmers who were granted the nation’s first state licenses to grow industrial hemp a year ago have been granted renewals. The farmers have tried to get federal permission to grow hemp, which is a cousin to marijuana but doesn’t produce a high.

Although the state of North Dakota (and a few others) permit the cultivation of industrial hemp, it is still illegal under federal law. Consequently, even though a farmer is licensed to grow the plant, they can still face prosecution by the DEA.

Despite the legal murkiness, North Dakota is still issuing licenses to grow hemp, but warns that applicants will still have trouble with federal authorities. Perhaps that these two farmers re-applied for their license is indicative of what they think their chances are of winning their case against the DEA (i.e. good). However, there is no set date for when the judge is expected to hand down his decision on this case.

For those who want more background info on this case, VoteHemp.com has a page all about the North Dakota Case.

Despite that two North Dakota farmers are still in court with the DEA, fighting for the right to grow industrial hemp licenses without being federally prosecuted, the state is continuing to issue licenses to grow industrial hemp. As the Jamestown Sun reports:

The North Dakota Department of Agriculture is accepting applications for 2009 industrial hemp production licenses.

“The applications are due Jan. 1,” said Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson. “Although the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration continues to prevent holders of state licenses from growing industrial hemp, NDDA remains committed to fully implementing state laws authorizing the production, processing and sale of this crop in North Dakota.”

In addition to the associated fees and paperwork, applicants must submit their fingerprints and clear both state and federal criminal background checks.

Not only does it seem unreasonable to undergo such a process while the legality of North Dakota hemp farming still hangs in the limbo of federal courts, but the process itself is kind of curious. Consider a farmer who was convicted for a non-drug related crime (such as a fraud charge for bouncing a check) twenty years ago: they would be denied a license to grow industrial hemp. That doesn’t seem to make much sense. Of course, the North Dakota Department of Agriculture (NDDA) may very well consider applicants’ history on a case by case basis. Anyone know for sure?

In any case, those interested in applying for a license to grow industrial hemp in the state of North Dakota can contact Ken Junkert at the NDDA at 701-328-2231 or kjunkert@nd.gov. More information can also be found on the NDDA Web site.

A farmer in South Africa is suing the police after his farm was raided despite him having a research permit to cultivate industrial strains. Although charges against him were all eventually dropped, his legal fees forced him to liquidate everything, and he his hoping to recoup those expenses. As IOL.co.za reports:

A cannabis farmer who grew the weed to cultivate strands for possible industrial use, is claiming R620 000 in damages from the police after he was “unlawfully arrested” for possession of the plant.

The farmer had claimed that he in fact had a permit to be in possession of 1,2 tons of seeds.

A second claim for R2-million in damages against the police is expected to be served before the Pretoria High Court at a later stage by Russell de Beer after he claimed he had lost his crops and his business had collapsed because of the conduct by the police.

[...]

De Beer, who lived in Switzerland before, came to South Africa to see whether it was possible to cultivate cannabis for industrial use.

He said he approached the Agricultural Research Council and was told that it was viable as they too were conducting research in this field. De Beer bought a farm where cannabis was planted in 2002 by the council. He said the plan was to cultivate the strands.

[...]

The ultimate idea was to patent his product, but his dream fell through when police raided his farm in 2004.

The cops showed him a search warrant, which claimed that he was dealing in cannabis, that he was selling it and using.

[...]

He said he was arrested and had to spend a night in a police cell, before he was granted R8 000 bail the next day at the Brits magistrate’s court. His subsequent court case dragged on for nearly a year, during which time it was postponed several times. All charges were eventually withdrawn against him.

This story underscores the importance of further spreading awareness of the difference between industrial hemp and its psychoactive counterpart, marijuana. Without knowing the details of the story, it also seems as though the police were completely unaware that research permits were being issues at all. After all, if it was common knowledge, it would be very unlikely that they would have failed to inquire into the validity of the farmer’s claim.

Then again, there may be political intricacies, here, that I am unaware of. I know very little of South African sociology, but from what I understand, there are considerable problems with corruption. Perhaps the police simply didn’t appreciate a foreigner farming on their land.

New legislation in Australia recently legalized the cultivation of industrial hemp in the province of New South Wales. Farmers in NSW are now being encouraged to take up the crop. Although it still remain illegal for humans to consume hemp product in Australia, it seems that dogs are exempt. That’s right, farmers are being to encouraged to grow hemp that will be used in everything from bio-diesel to dog food. And it looks like farmers are keen on playing ball. As ABC.net.au reports:

New South Wales farmers are being encouraged to start growing industrial hemp.

The Government recently passed legislation allowing the plant to be grown for use in products ranging from bio-fuel to dog food.

The Primary Industries Minister, Ian Macdonald, says measures have been put in place to prevent hemp crops being used to camouflage marijuana plantations.

[...]

“It’ll require farmers who wish to grow industrial hemp to register to get a licence.

[...]

“Already we’ve had over 200 farmers express interest in growing hemp across the state,” he said.

Well, I guess that dogs really are man’s best friend down under — to the point of receiving preferential treatment. I wonder if hemp-based food products will also be made available to dingos… it just might keep them well-nourished enough to keep them away from all the babies.

Yesterday, we posted about how Hemp Resources, that recently conducted hemp trials in China, also concluded additional trials in its native Australia. Well, last night, the managing director and CEO of Hemp Resources dropped us a line with some additional insight into just how well the Australian trials went. Kim wrote:

The trials in Kununurra have been extremely promising to date and we’ve just managed to locate a decorticator for processing and separation of the fibre and hurd.

We’ve also produced over 6,000 kgs of parentage seed for re-planting next season so there’s an air of excitement about next season with the ability to process on a large scale, a real key factor.

So it truly does seem that whether or not there’s a change in Australian hemp laws (it is legal to grow industrial hemp, but not to consume it) hemp, Hemp Resources will be moving right ahead with another crop. More importantly, they have secured the resources process the fibers. That should significantly reduce the cost of selling the hemp for fiber.

Normally, the costs associated with having to outsource the fiber production and then ship the fibers to an additional third party can be rather high, especially on a continent as isolated as Australia. By processing the hemp themselves, however, Hemp Resources would seriously be cutting down on the volume of material that needs to be shipped — not to mention the total distance over which their crop has to travel before being ready to go to market.

Click to Enlarge

Australian based firm, Hemp Resources, that recently conducted hemp trials in China just concluded additional trials in its native country. It also seems that they went well enough that the firm is considering cultivating another crop next year, even though Australian law would prevent them from selling it in the country. As ABC.net.au reports:

Western Australia’s Ord Valley region has just wrapped up its first hemp harvest in nearly a decade, and the company involved in the trial says it will now look to plant 500 hectares next year.

Hemp hasn’t been grown in the Kimberley since an unsuccessful trial in 2000, and growers have mixed feelings about the crop’s value.

The story goes on to explain how Chief executive of Hemp Resources, Kim Hough, believes that the Australian law that prohibits the consumption of hemp will soon be changed, and if that change doesn’t come soon enough, Hemp Resources will simply look at exporting the seeds. Hemp Resources is both a company focused on developing sustainable business and lobbying for hemp in Australia. Here’s a picture of their team (click to enlarge).

Farmers in Ontario, Canada, are bracing to feel the economic crunch of world markets this spring. It is common for farmers in this area (and many others) to borrow money to plant crops, and lending markets may not be so favorable come springtime. Consequently, experts in the are are looking at alternative crops and, of course, hemp is near the top of the list. However, as it often is, one of the obstacles to adopting hemp as a crop is the lack of facilities to process it. As the Northumberland Today reports:

An alternative crop under study for this area is industrial hemp. Hemp would not be subject to the price fluctuations of current cash crops and so could provide some stability for farmers.

Industrial hemp was first seeded on the north shore of Lake Ontario by the British more than 200 years ago to make rope and sail cloth for the British navy.

Today hemp seed, oil and fibre are used in a variety of products, from beer and body-care items to construction materials, and it is a “green” product that actually revitalizes the soil by adding nitrogen during the growing process.

Currently, a major obstacle to growing hemp locally is the lack of a processing facility.

When it comes to mainstreaming industrial hemp, the industry seems to be stuck between a rock, a hard place, and another hard place. For farmers to adopt industrial hemp as a crop, there has to be processing facilities. For investors to allot resources into such infrastructure, there has to be a market demand. To stimulate demand in the market, the price of hemp products needs to come down. For the price of hemp products to come down, additional facilities are needed so that hemp production could be increased.

All in all, I’m optimistic that something will give in the coming decade. Whether that’s in 2 years or 10 years, however, is anyone’s guess.