Ron Strider
Well-Known Member
Farmers in the state have proven industrial hemp can be grown in North Dakota. Now it's time to advance from limited test plots around the state to an industry that provides income for farmers and manufacturing jobs for communities.
Industrial hemp is regulated much like marijuana by the U.S. government. If hemp were grown without control, it would make enforcement of marijuana laws more difficult. The only difference between an industrial hemp plant and a marijuana plant is the level of tetrahydrocannabinol, known as THC, that gives marijuana its kick. Industrial hemp plants have only trace amounts of THC and are of no use to the illicit drug user.
But hemp can be useful to the farmer. The crop grows well in our conditions and can make use of ground with high salt content that other crops can't. It could also serve as a high value rotational crop to mix with corn and soybeans.
For industrial hemp to become a major crop, we need to have processing plants. Those plants could crush the seeds into oil or process the plant fibers. Both are useful commodities and are marketable around the world.
In Canada, where hemp is a commercial crop and processing plants operate, industrial hemp is regulated, farmers must be approved and the plants must be tested for THC to ensure fields are industrial hemp rather than marijuana.
Common sense regulation could allow for efficient enforcement of drug laws and the commercial growth and processing of industrial hemp in the United States.
No company will build a plant to process a commodity that has limited and controlled production. And no farmer will expand the crop beyond the limited acres of the test plots if there isn't a consistent market.
Maybe there is an opportunity here for this area. Stutsman County farmers have proven industrial hemp will grow here and the Jamestown area. The Jamestown/Stutsman Development Corp. has proven processing agricultural products is good for the regional economy.
This could be a profitable match, if regulations regarding industrial hemp are changed.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Make industrial hemp part of the areas future | Jamestown Sun
Contact: Contact Us | Jamestown Sun
Photo Credit: AP
Website: Jamestown Sun
Industrial hemp is regulated much like marijuana by the U.S. government. If hemp were grown without control, it would make enforcement of marijuana laws more difficult. The only difference between an industrial hemp plant and a marijuana plant is the level of tetrahydrocannabinol, known as THC, that gives marijuana its kick. Industrial hemp plants have only trace amounts of THC and are of no use to the illicit drug user.
But hemp can be useful to the farmer. The crop grows well in our conditions and can make use of ground with high salt content that other crops can't. It could also serve as a high value rotational crop to mix with corn and soybeans.
For industrial hemp to become a major crop, we need to have processing plants. Those plants could crush the seeds into oil or process the plant fibers. Both are useful commodities and are marketable around the world.
In Canada, where hemp is a commercial crop and processing plants operate, industrial hemp is regulated, farmers must be approved and the plants must be tested for THC to ensure fields are industrial hemp rather than marijuana.
Common sense regulation could allow for efficient enforcement of drug laws and the commercial growth and processing of industrial hemp in the United States.
No company will build a plant to process a commodity that has limited and controlled production. And no farmer will expand the crop beyond the limited acres of the test plots if there isn't a consistent market.
Maybe there is an opportunity here for this area. Stutsman County farmers have proven industrial hemp will grow here and the Jamestown area. The Jamestown/Stutsman Development Corp. has proven processing agricultural products is good for the regional economy.
This could be a profitable match, if regulations regarding industrial hemp are changed.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Make industrial hemp part of the areas future | Jamestown Sun
Contact: Contact Us | Jamestown Sun
Photo Credit: AP
Website: Jamestown Sun
