Special report | HEMP
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a ‘hero’ crop for farmers Words and photos by: Karen Trebilcock
T
here is a sign on a Dunedin office door that says ‘Flemish Interpretive Dance Society’. But rather than a niche European cultural group, behind it is a possible solution to New Zealand farmers’ greenhouse gas problems.
For those in the know, the sign was an ongoing joke, Southern Medicinal executive director Greg Marshall said. Since 2017 he’s been heading a small team, currently six people, which aims to have up to 170 hectares of Southland dairy, sheep and beef farms planted in hemp this spring. The plants will be low in THC but
high in cannabidiol (CBD) and, most importantly for dairy farmers, will reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Greg wants the plants to be in riparian areas to soak up nitrates from grazed pasture, stopping them from entering waterways. With no fertiliser, pesticides or herbicides used to maintain the value of the harvested
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Dairy Exporter | ©www.nzfarmlife.co.nz May 2021 NZ/SALB/1117/0002(1)a 2020 Intervet International B.V. All|Rights Reserved.
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