HEMP GETS HOT

HEMP GETS HOT Meet the Hardest Working Plant on the Planet

by Julie Peterson

Acropthatwasillegalin Right now, it’s Kutztown,Pennsylvania.Since U.S.soilformorethan halfacenturyisnow reachingforthesun.Industhe Wild West of agriculture. hemp’sinclusioninthe2018 FarmBill,Rodale’shempweb pagehitshavegrown10-fold. trialhemp,thelow-orno-THC cousintomarijuana,hascreated ~Dustin Enge Better Products highhopesamongfarmers,agriculturalreAllpartsofthehempplantareusefulin searchers,manufacturersandconsumers.By multipleways,andhemphasapplications 2019,Americahadbecometheworld’sthirdintextiles,construction,bioremediation, largestproducer,behindCanadaandChina, technology,nutritionandhealth,including whereit’sbeencultivatedfor8,500years. cannabidiol(CBD).Theseedsarerichin “It’sthefastest-growingagindustry protein,essentialfattyacidsandvitamins. thatwe’veeverseen,”saysTaraValentine, Theycanbeeaten,groundintoflouror hempspecialistattheRodaleInstitute,in pressedforoilthatisusedforcookingorin

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Thestemsundergodecorticationto separatethelongouterfibers(bast)from theshortinnerfibers(hurd).Hemphurd makesextremelydurablehempcretefor construction,absorbentanddust-freeanimalbeddingorpelletsforheatingstoves. Anexponentialriseintheuseofhempis expectedbecauseitcanreplaceproducts madefrompaper,wood,plastic,cotton andfossilfuels. “Hempfiberisgoingtodominatethe marketoncewegettothefullmanufacturingpotential,”saysEricaStark,executive directoroftheNationalHempAssociation, inWashington,D.C. Thefirstintroductionsconsumerscan expectincludehemppaperproducts,such asplatesandtoiletpaper,andbiodegradablehempbioplasticslikecutleryandcups. Constructionmaterialsandotherproducts areexpectedtoquicklyfollow.

Environmentally Friendly

TheInstituteofPapermakingandPrinting,attheTechnicalUniversityofLodz, Poland,dida2015studycomparingmakingpaperfromwoodtomakingitfrom hemp.Amongthefindings:hemptakes fourmonthstogrow,whiletreesneed20 to80years.Anacreofhempcanproduce fourormoretimesasmuchpaperasan acreoftrees.Hemppaperdoesn’tneed toxicbleachingandcanberecycledtwiceas manytimes.Otherstudiesconcur. Paperwithoutdeforestationwould beamajorbenefit,butit’saminorjobon hemp’sprofoundrésumé.“Hempneedsto beapartofeveryclimatechangeconversation,notonlybecauseitsequestershuge amountsofcarbonduringcultivation,but

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alsobecauseconstructionproductsmadeoutofhempwillcontinuetosequestercarbonforupto100years,”saysStark. HempcouldalsohelpsavethedepletedsoilonU.S.farmland thathasbeendestroyedbytillingandsyntheticfertilizers.“We havetorebuildthesoilbyputtingcarbonbackinandincreasing organicmatter,”saysValentine.Hempdoesthiswithamassive rootbiomassthatbreaksupcompactedsoils,improveswater infiltrationandreducesrunoffanderosion. Fast-growinghempnaturallysuppressesweeds,needsno pesticidesandisn’tpickyaboutsoil,waterorlatitude.Bycomparison,cottoniswater-intensiveanduses25percentofthe world’spesticides.

Income for Farmers

Usedincroprotation,hemp’ssoil-enhancingqualitiescan increaseprofitsonsubsequentcrops. Whilecovercropsdon’t usuallyhavereturnvalue,hempprovidesadditionalrevenue streams. Buttherevenueisn’tquitethereyet,becausethesupply chainisn’tcomplete. Seedsupply,farmequipment,education, processingfacilitiesandmanufacturersarealllinksthatare developingsimultaneously. “Fiberprocessingfacilitieswillbe availablesoon. Manufacturersareanxioustostartincorporatinghemp,”saysStark. Thelackofbuyersisn’tdeterringfarmers.Neitherare warningsthatcurrentharvestingequipmentcansparkdisaster whenhempfiberwrapsaroundrotatingparts,heatsup andcombusts. DustinEnge,athird-generationfarmerinPrairieduSac, Wisconsin,startedHoneyCreekHempin2017.Heplantedsix acresofhemp.“Ithinkit’salong-termviablecommodityfor farmers.Rightnow,it’stheWildWestofagriculture.Everyoneis tryingdifferentthings,”saysEnge,whomodifiedaharvesterfor hemp.“Ispentabouttwohoursharvestingand20hourstorchingthefiberoffmyequipment.”Evenso,hewillplantmoreacres whenheknowsitwillsell. Beholdthesproutingofthehempindustryasanancient planttakesrootinthemodernworld.

Julie Peterson writes from rural Wisconsin and can be reached at JuliePeterson2222@gmail.com.

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Fr om Soil to Oil A Local CBD Evolution

by Kyle Henderson

It’shardtodenythevalidityofsomeone’s life-changingexperience.That’swhere

IfoundmyselfwhenWaltFletcher, anoccasionalpatronofmyroadsidefarm stand,calledonedaytoshootanideaby me.Heexplainedhis10-yearagonizing journeyofdeclineinhealth,misdiagnoses, over-prescriptionandfrustrationthatultimatelyledhimtoexperimentingwithCBD. Aftersometrialanderror,Fletcherfound reliefandwasoffhismanymedicationsand feltlikehehadhislifeback.Heexpressed hisdesiretohelpotherpeopleinsimilar situations,buthadnointentionoflearninghowtofarm.Heapproachedmetosee ifI’dbewillingtohelphimgrowthecrop thatultimatelywouldbeprocessedintothe productthathefoundreliefin:CBD. Asayoungfarmerwhohasseenthe upsanddownsofaseven-year-oldfarmingbusiness,Iknowwhentobewaryofa newandseeminglyexcitingcrop.Hemp tomewasanoveltyandwouldprobably beawasteofmytimeandenergywith littleoverallreturn,butafterhearingWalt’s story,myinterestwaspiqued.Onemajor componentofmyfarmingphilosophyisto contributetothehealthofmyfamily,the peoplethatbuyfrommeandourenvironment.Ihadtoaskmyselfthen,whynot jumpattheopportunitytogrowanamazingplantthatcouldmakeanadditionalimpactonpeople’shealthandprovideanother channelforincomeformyfamily?Atthis pointIwasoperatingona“whathaveIgot tolose”mentalityandIagreedtohelpWalt. Fastforwardacoupleofmonthsand wehadourfirstplantsinthegreenhouse.I studiedasmuchasIcouldaboutcannabisbecauseIhadnoexperiencegrowing it.Ifeltlikeastudiouscollegekidagain, exceptIwasn’ttryingtogetagoodgrade; Iwastryingtoproducetopqualityhemp. Iwashavingablastlearningalltheways cannabiswasdifferentfromothercrops I’vegrownandfeltvalidatedbyhowmuch Icouldapplyfrommyothergrowingexperience.Onceweharvestedourfirstcrop, wehadtofigureoutwheretogonext. Waltspentmanyhoursexperimentingin theearlydaysbymakingsmall-batchCBD oilwithtabletopequipmentinhishome kitchen.Weranthehempthroughour processandsentoutsamplestocheckfor CBDcontent.Wefinallyhadasetofsteps thatwererepeatableandaproductthat worked.I’vealwaysbeenthankfulforWalt inatleastonerespect;heistheperfect litmustestforouroils.Ifitdidn'tworkfor him,wehadtochangesomething. WaltandIhadsomedecisionsto make.Weneededtodecidewherewe'd gofromthereandseeifwecouldmake itwork.Outofmanyconversationsand deliberations,RestorationHempwasborn. Ourideawastostaysmallintheacreage wegrewsoastonotoversupplyourown requirements,butexpandenoughtobe abletoproduceasmuchoilasweneeded. WewouldprovidetheCBDmarketwitha trustworthynameandtransparentprocess. Weknewthatwehadsomethingspecial:a top-quality,artisanal,small-batch,localsoil tooilCBDtincturemadewithnon-toxic hempthatwasaffordableandveryeffective. I’vealwaysbeenabigadvocateofthe “nextstep”mindset.Whenfacedwitha longjourneyahead,justfocusonthenext step.It’sthatmentalitythatbroughtme towhereIamtodaywithHumbleRoots Farmandit’sthementalityWaltandI havebeenusingsincethebeginning.The nextstepforusatthatpointwastoform aproperbusinessandbuildafacilitythat couldaccommodateourprocessingneeds. Wesetstraightawaytodoingbothand in2019ourlabwascompleteandsetup withtop-of-thelineprofessionalextractionequipment.Thereareamultitudeof companiesouttheretryingtogetfolks likeustobuyveryexpensiveextraction machines,butwecouldn'tjustifythat expense,sowedecidedtouseamethod ofethanolextractionanddistillationthat wouldallowustocaptureeverythingwe wantedtoandrefineourextractintothe productweneededwithoutgoingtoofar intodebt.Todayweareexploringnew channelsintheCBDmarketandhopingto helpasmanypeopleaspossible.Welove educatingpeopleatthefarmers’market, spendingtimemakingCBDinourlaband gettingourhandsdirtyinthefield. Lookingbacknow,I’mbeyondthankfulthatWaltaskedmetoconsidergrowing hempandwearegratefultobeapartof thisnewandexpandingworld.

Kyle Henderson and Walt Fletcher are the co-founders and co-owners of Restoration Hemp, Wilmington’s own and locally grown. For more information and to purchase their products, call 910-547-3763 or visit RestorationHemp.com. See ad, page 18.