SirBlazinBowl
New Member
Jack Witty's dream is to see the South Cariboo bloom from a plant that's rich with potential yet rife with misunderstanding. For the past five years the 108 Mile resident has been researching the feasibility of growing and processing industrial hemp in and around 100 Mile. Over that time the 72-year-old retired economic development specialist has amassed a four-inch thick folder. Its contents include features from established Canadian magazines, European scientific studies, socio-political backgrounders and comprehensive analyses undertaken by the governments of Canada and B.C., all of which focus on the much-maligned plant. "The environment is perfect for it. In our climate you would grow about one crop a year," Witty said.
There are over 25,000 products that can be made from the oils and fibre derived from industrial hemp. Attained from hemp seeds, the oils can be used in a wide-range of medicines and food products. In Manitoba the plant is even being explored as a source of ethanol. Prior to hemp being outlawed in North America in 1930, the fibres were commonly used in textiles, rope and paper. Today the resilient fibre is being experimented for construction materials. Washington State University found that fibreboard produced with hemp to be twice as strong as its wood-based equivalent. Hemp fibre is being used by car manufacturers in Europe and the U.S. for such things as car panels.
And in Europe and Australia hemp has been used to create lighter yet stronger bricks used for housing and other construction applications "What we do need, and need to find somewhere, is an entrepreneur who would be prepared to look at it from a manufacturing point of view," he said. "Give us a manufacturer, and the growing will happen.
That said, Witty recognized that technologies are not where they need to be in North America for hemp to become a viable business of scale, particularly when it comes to cultivating the fibre.
"The problem is the fibre is so tough-it was very hard on traditional equipment," Witty explained. "The problem in North America is we have done nothing up to date. We haven't manufactured in North America since 1945.
Witty noted that while European countries, particularly the UK., Holland and Germany, have made great strides in advancing commercial hemp cultivation and manufacturing technologies, similar technologies in North America can typically be found in museums.
Hemp was grown in the United States and Canada until the 1930s when the development of synthetic fibres along with improvements in technologies for making paper from trees led to a slump in the hemp market. Witty's theory is that corporate pressures lead to political pressures, which a "lead to Canada's Opium and Narcotics Control Act in 1938 and the outlawing of industrial hemp.
"The way I read the history, it was made illegal primarily because the product was cheaper, and interfered with some of the major industrial conglomerates in the U.S. and they did not want the competition from the plant because it's totally renewable," Witty commented.
The Canadian government did require farmers to grow industrial hemp for use during the Second World War, but they had to use the same technology developed in the 1920s.
While other countries continued to advance hemp production after the war, it remained illegal in the U.S. and Canada. In 1996, the Food Production and Inspection Branch of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada issued a statement suggesting that industrial hemp shouldn't carry the stigma of its cousin, marijuana.
"Health Canada now recognizes the difference between these two types of hemp but regulates who can produce a crop for fibre.
In 1996 Health Canada began issuing licences to grow industrial hemp in controlled test plots ( the first in B.C. was issued in 1997 ). And in 1998 Health Canada legalized the commercial production of industrial hemp. Witty noted that in the U.S. it remains illegal to grow hemp, but legal to import hemp products.
Eye on 100 Mile
Hemptown, a Canadian hemp clothing company may be close to tapping that opportunity. Seeking to become a key player in hemp manufacturing, Hemptown is creating an enzyme that will soften hemp stalks, allowing for the a "cultivation of their fibres in a time that Hemptown CEO Jerry Kroll said could revolutionize hemp manufacturing world over, and put Hemptown and Canada on the map for what Kroll refers to as "Canadian cotton.
"What currently happens is it takes 60 days to process those strings out of the plant because the plant has to decompose in a field and go through a mechanical process," Kroll explained. "The enzyme that we're working on in collaboration with Canada's National Research Council, we would be able to process those fibres and pull them out of the plant... in five hours. That's a staggering reduction in time and costs.
Hemptown has already partnered with the small agricultural community of Craik, Sask. Currently engaged in a community-wide sustainable living project, the community has embraced organically grown hemp as a way of the future. Hemptown plans on contributing to that future by building a $5 million, 40,000 sq.-ft. hemp manufacturing mill, where the new enzyme, expected to be patented soon, would be put to its first large scale commercial use.
Kroll suggested that Craik's future could very well be 100 Mile's.
"I can't confirm that we'd be doing anything in 100 Mile House at this point in time, but I can confirm that it has been discussed already," Kroll said. "100 Mile House is an ideal area for us to see it in there. Lots of agricultural opportunity, cool climate, lots of rail access. It is an area where we can very easily see a Craik-type of situation developing, and having all the spin-offs, not just for the growing of the seed stock, but also jobs at the plant. And the key thing is the secondary industries coming out of that like potentially locating a spinning mill, that sort of thing in 100 Mile House - and the usual retail, housing, those sort of booms that accompany a new industry.
Liberal
B.C.'s new Agriculture and Lands Minister Pat Bell sees great potential in the area for hemp production, particularly as a means of mitigating the impact of the mountain pine beetle.
"We have all these mountain pine beetle lands that are going to be defoliated over the next few years here, and it makes a lot of sense to me to look at how we can convert some of those lands to agriculture," Bell said. "And I am not suggesting that you would take 10 or 15 or 20 per cent of the provincial forest. But to put some perspective on it, if you took 100,00 hectares, which is a significant amount of land, and converted that to agriculture, that would represent about 0.2 per cent of the provincial annual allowable cut, so it's a relatively small portion.
Bell said his ministry is working with six B.C. First Nations groups on developing pilot projects around the production of industrial hemp oils. He also said the ministry is working with 100 Mile Mayor Donna Barnett on "putting a package together and moving forward.
"I did discuss that with the minister," Barnett said. "And the minister actually was going to get us some information on some projects elsewhere.
Bell said Witty's dream is realistic. Kroll thinks so too, sharing a similar dream for all of Canada.
"I see a $25 billion dollar a year industry coming to Canada," said Kroll. "I see vast tracks of industrial hemp being grown, and I see dozens of these-processing facilities receiving the industrial hemp feed stock from the farmers coast to coast, churning out 480 lb. bales of fluffy, white 'Canadian cotton'.
Witty's first and foremost concern, however, has always revolved around the future of the community he calls home.
"I got involved because I really believe that a healthy community requires jobs," Witty commented. "I've lived in communities that had their income totally taken away from them for reasons beyond their control. So when I came here, I thought it would be interesting to see what kinds of things could be done that improve or increase rural income. And one of the things I came across was industrial hemp. It seemed like a no-brainer that something could be done with this. All the technology is available. All the information is available. But unless there's a market, nobody's going to get involved in growing. The only way to get a market is if somebody somewhere builds a manufacturing facility. Well, my dream would be that manufacturing facility should be here."
Newshawk: SirBlazinBowl - 420Times.com
Source: 100 Mile House Free Press (CN BC)
Copyright: 2005 100 Mile House Free Press
Contact: newsroom@100milefreepress.net
Website: Welcome to the 100 Mile Free Press | 100 Mile House News
Author: Lachlan Labere
There are over 25,000 products that can be made from the oils and fibre derived from industrial hemp. Attained from hemp seeds, the oils can be used in a wide-range of medicines and food products. In Manitoba the plant is even being explored as a source of ethanol. Prior to hemp being outlawed in North America in 1930, the fibres were commonly used in textiles, rope and paper. Today the resilient fibre is being experimented for construction materials. Washington State University found that fibreboard produced with hemp to be twice as strong as its wood-based equivalent. Hemp fibre is being used by car manufacturers in Europe and the U.S. for such things as car panels.
And in Europe and Australia hemp has been used to create lighter yet stronger bricks used for housing and other construction applications "What we do need, and need to find somewhere, is an entrepreneur who would be prepared to look at it from a manufacturing point of view," he said. "Give us a manufacturer, and the growing will happen.
That said, Witty recognized that technologies are not where they need to be in North America for hemp to become a viable business of scale, particularly when it comes to cultivating the fibre.
"The problem is the fibre is so tough-it was very hard on traditional equipment," Witty explained. "The problem in North America is we have done nothing up to date. We haven't manufactured in North America since 1945.
Witty noted that while European countries, particularly the UK., Holland and Germany, have made great strides in advancing commercial hemp cultivation and manufacturing technologies, similar technologies in North America can typically be found in museums.
Hemp was grown in the United States and Canada until the 1930s when the development of synthetic fibres along with improvements in technologies for making paper from trees led to a slump in the hemp market. Witty's theory is that corporate pressures lead to political pressures, which a "lead to Canada's Opium and Narcotics Control Act in 1938 and the outlawing of industrial hemp.
"The way I read the history, it was made illegal primarily because the product was cheaper, and interfered with some of the major industrial conglomerates in the U.S. and they did not want the competition from the plant because it's totally renewable," Witty commented.
The Canadian government did require farmers to grow industrial hemp for use during the Second World War, but they had to use the same technology developed in the 1920s.
While other countries continued to advance hemp production after the war, it remained illegal in the U.S. and Canada. In 1996, the Food Production and Inspection Branch of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada issued a statement suggesting that industrial hemp shouldn't carry the stigma of its cousin, marijuana.
"Health Canada now recognizes the difference between these two types of hemp but regulates who can produce a crop for fibre.
In 1996 Health Canada began issuing licences to grow industrial hemp in controlled test plots ( the first in B.C. was issued in 1997 ). And in 1998 Health Canada legalized the commercial production of industrial hemp. Witty noted that in the U.S. it remains illegal to grow hemp, but legal to import hemp products.
Eye on 100 Mile
Hemptown, a Canadian hemp clothing company may be close to tapping that opportunity. Seeking to become a key player in hemp manufacturing, Hemptown is creating an enzyme that will soften hemp stalks, allowing for the a "cultivation of their fibres in a time that Hemptown CEO Jerry Kroll said could revolutionize hemp manufacturing world over, and put Hemptown and Canada on the map for what Kroll refers to as "Canadian cotton.
"What currently happens is it takes 60 days to process those strings out of the plant because the plant has to decompose in a field and go through a mechanical process," Kroll explained. "The enzyme that we're working on in collaboration with Canada's National Research Council, we would be able to process those fibres and pull them out of the plant... in five hours. That's a staggering reduction in time and costs.
Hemptown has already partnered with the small agricultural community of Craik, Sask. Currently engaged in a community-wide sustainable living project, the community has embraced organically grown hemp as a way of the future. Hemptown plans on contributing to that future by building a $5 million, 40,000 sq.-ft. hemp manufacturing mill, where the new enzyme, expected to be patented soon, would be put to its first large scale commercial use.
Kroll suggested that Craik's future could very well be 100 Mile's.
"I can't confirm that we'd be doing anything in 100 Mile House at this point in time, but I can confirm that it has been discussed already," Kroll said. "100 Mile House is an ideal area for us to see it in there. Lots of agricultural opportunity, cool climate, lots of rail access. It is an area where we can very easily see a Craik-type of situation developing, and having all the spin-offs, not just for the growing of the seed stock, but also jobs at the plant. And the key thing is the secondary industries coming out of that like potentially locating a spinning mill, that sort of thing in 100 Mile House - and the usual retail, housing, those sort of booms that accompany a new industry.
Liberal
B.C.'s new Agriculture and Lands Minister Pat Bell sees great potential in the area for hemp production, particularly as a means of mitigating the impact of the mountain pine beetle.
"We have all these mountain pine beetle lands that are going to be defoliated over the next few years here, and it makes a lot of sense to me to look at how we can convert some of those lands to agriculture," Bell said. "And I am not suggesting that you would take 10 or 15 or 20 per cent of the provincial forest. But to put some perspective on it, if you took 100,00 hectares, which is a significant amount of land, and converted that to agriculture, that would represent about 0.2 per cent of the provincial annual allowable cut, so it's a relatively small portion.
Bell said his ministry is working with six B.C. First Nations groups on developing pilot projects around the production of industrial hemp oils. He also said the ministry is working with 100 Mile Mayor Donna Barnett on "putting a package together and moving forward.
"I did discuss that with the minister," Barnett said. "And the minister actually was going to get us some information on some projects elsewhere.
Bell said Witty's dream is realistic. Kroll thinks so too, sharing a similar dream for all of Canada.
"I see a $25 billion dollar a year industry coming to Canada," said Kroll. "I see vast tracks of industrial hemp being grown, and I see dozens of these-processing facilities receiving the industrial hemp feed stock from the farmers coast to coast, churning out 480 lb. bales of fluffy, white 'Canadian cotton'.
Witty's first and foremost concern, however, has always revolved around the future of the community he calls home.
"I got involved because I really believe that a healthy community requires jobs," Witty commented. "I've lived in communities that had their income totally taken away from them for reasons beyond their control. So when I came here, I thought it would be interesting to see what kinds of things could be done that improve or increase rural income. And one of the things I came across was industrial hemp. It seemed like a no-brainer that something could be done with this. All the technology is available. All the information is available. But unless there's a market, nobody's going to get involved in growing. The only way to get a market is if somebody somewhere builds a manufacturing facility. Well, my dream would be that manufacturing facility should be here."
Newshawk: SirBlazinBowl - 420Times.com
Source: 100 Mile House Free Press (CN BC)
Copyright: 2005 100 Mile House Free Press
Contact: newsroom@100milefreepress.net
Website: Welcome to the 100 Mile Free Press | 100 Mile House News
Author: Lachlan Labere
