EXPERT OPINION

Sibling Rivalry

Hemp and Cannabis are like fraternal twins - closely related but not exactly the same. These are siblings who need to learn how to get along with one another. As both Cannabis and hemp become legal across the country, they’re bound to butt heads. It’s in everyone’s best interest to avoid a cattle versus sheep, Hatfields against McCoys clash among farmers with different objectives.

There are two words that stop both hemp and Cannabis farmers in their tracks: pollen drift. Farmers growing female plants outdoors don’t want them pollinated by male plants upwind. This is especially true where THC-rich Cannabis has historically been grown, like California. Hemp farmers growing for the CBD market want to grow female plants outside, but don’t want pollen drift either. Meanwhile, industrial hemp cultivation is legal nationwide except in Idaho, South Dakota and Mississippi.

Before you shout “buffer zone” - nix any idea that three, five or even 10 miles prevents pollen from drifting into neighboring farms. Nope. Not even close.

I live in Seattle and we’ve enjoyed spectacular sunsets the last few summers thanks to forest fires as far away as Canada and California. If smoke can travel literally hundreds of miles, so can pollen. That’s its job.

Some hemp farmers want seeds and it takes pollen to make them. This includes commercial seed farmers, those growing hemp for grain and fiber, not to mention anyone planting regular non-feminized seeds.

The grain and fiber markets alone will scale to Big Ag proportions and tens of thousands of acres will be planted. Over time, hemp will replace a chunk of the corn, wheat and soy now being grown in the farm belt.

Visualize a map of the U.S. with an overlay highlighting where Cannabis is grown and where corn, wheat and soybeans are grown.

There’s very little overlap between them and this is how the fraternal twins can get along. Cannabis gets first dibs where it’s being grown now. Hemp farmers are given priority in the Dakotas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas where outdoor Cannabis is rare, if not illegal. These potentially new hemp farmers already have big tracts of land, large farm machines and out buildings.

Hemp for fiber or grain can be grown much like wheat or corn is, compared to growing flower for CBD extraction. Wheat or corn to hemp is a lateral transition.

Good fences make good neighbors. Hemp and Cannabis farmers need to get to know one another. An open dialogue can avert potential conflicts down the road and both sides can share and learn from each other. There’s no reason to lock horns with your neighbors.

America’s traditional bread basket will grow acres upon acres of industrial hemp. Hemp for paper, hempcrete, textiles - all of the things we’ve all been waiting for. Hemp food will soon be common in grocery stores and restaurants. Hemp pellets for wood stoves will be sold without fanfare. That hemp toilet paper people have been joking about for years? It’s going to happen, and when it does it has to be big in order to be profitable. Existing farms will grow large amounts of hemp like any other bulk agricultural commodity.

When hemp expands, today’s existing agricultural infrastructure will need to adapt and catch up. Hemp will find its way into 4-H, farm stands, state fairs and ag schools. Miss Hemp beauty pageants will pop up in rural America. Will progressive cultural and lifestyle changes be far behind? Hemp and Cannabis, the fraternal twins, will learn to get along - perhaps even like each other. Squabbles aside, neither is going away. Each twin will have their side of the room, their own bunk bed. Hemp farmers and Cannabis farmers have a lot in common, and each will benefit when the other thrives.

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