July 30, 2018
Katherine Schwarz, Lower Hudson Group
What do you think when you hear the word “hemp”? I know what you think! But different kinds of hemp exist – the marijuana type and the industrial variety. Industrial hemp is not the same plant as the hemp that produces marijuana! It’s in the same family of plants, but has much less tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content, so cannot induce the high that marijuana can. But because the leaves look the same, the cultivation of hemp has been outlawed in the US since 1970.
Industrial hemp, however, has many uses. It is biodegradable and has other amazing environmental benefits. Here are a few:
• Its cultivation is protective of the soil,
• It is adaptive to growing in many environments and climates,
• It is less water intensive than many other plants,
• It is naturally resistant to most pests so wouldn’t need much in the way of pesticides to grow,
• Because it grows very tightly spaced, it allows few weeds to grow, so doesn’t need herbicides either,
• Its cultivation nurtures the soil by extracting toxins and returning nitrogen and other nutrients
Wow!
Hemp used to be a major crop in the US, including in New York State, but all hemp products you may have seen recently – such as edible and nutritious hemp seeds, hemp milk, hemp-based clothing, etc. have been imported from other countries that have continued to grow it, like China, Canada, and the EU. Well, finally we are taking steps to again allow for the growing and manufacturing of hemp in the US.
The 2014 U.S. Farm Bill legalized state departments of agriculture and research institutes of higher education to proceed with the undertaking of hemp research pilot programs to study growth, cultivation and marketing of industrial hemp. New York State launched its Industrial Hemp Agricultural Pilot Program in December 2015 and Cornell and SUNY Morrisville began initial research. Then in July of 2017, Governor Cuomo signed legislation that committed up to $10 million in grants for researchers, farmers, and processors and is now partnering with a limited number of farmers to grow test plots around the state.
Although this hasn’t gotten a lot of press (when does agriculture get much press in the US?), this is a very significant development. Industrial hemp could bring back jobs as we create new manufacturing opportunities from this plant. Industrial hemp could mean new income for farmers and for workers in factories involved in hemp processing and manufacture of innumerable products. Hemp could be used as a substitute for many more environmentally unsustainable products. Look at its many uses:
From Forbes Magazine, May 29, 2013
Think of the possibilities! Hemp for clothing substituting for cotton, the cultivation of which uses more than 25% of the world’s insecticides and over 10% of the world’s pesticides. Hemp used to make plastic-like products, currently made from fossil fuels, but these would be biodegradable. Trees that wouldn’t need to be cut down because we could make our paper out of hemp. And hemp used as insulation in building construction compared to oil-based alternatives like polyurethane, which are currently used.
It is great that New York State is on the band wagon with research and pilot programs, as are 25 other states thus far, and, the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets says there is a great deal of interest among farmers and possible processors/manufacturers. Grant money for processing has been allocated and applications for this money will be available soon. For New York State, Susie Cody, a long-time advocate for hemp in New York State and president of the New York Hemp Industries Association (a voluntary position) foresees we will be moving toward processing the seed and not the fiber and stalk here in New York, because the seeds are easier to harvest. More research is needed in this area, if we are to make the best use of the whole plant.
But it doesn’t appear like there is much planning or coordination happening on the national level (surprise, surprise). Instead, those interested states are going forward and we may miss an opportunity to have the availability of this “new” plant help us transition into some hugely needed changes in our agricultural system altogether. For instance, we should be encouraging big cotton-growing states to be transitioning to growing hemp for fabric, but some of the biggest have yet to begin research (such as Texas, Georgia and Mississippi.) Could we possibly convince Texas and Louisiana, major oil refining states, to grow hemp and start some of the manufacturing of plastic products made of hemp and not fossil fuels?. Neither is onboard to begin researching hemp. Perhaps we will need some encouragement from the Federal Government to start-ups of some of these transitional industries.
We are in desperate need of reforms of our entire agricultural system as we face challenges of climate change, soil depletion, and water degradation and scarcity and hopefully begin thinking about moving toward a more sustainable diet. Hemp could be a major part of that reform and we should seize the moment, but it needs to be analyzed, planned and coordinated very carefully.
It could be destructive if each state is just thinking about its own opportunity for building its economy and jobs. We could end up with hemp growing on fields that currently supply organic vegetables, thus lessening the availability of those desirable food sources, causing the price of organic food to rise, which, in turn could discourage the public from supporting those farms that damage the environment the least. We could instead be encouraging hemp to be used instead as a harvestable cover crop to be planted after the harvesting of the vegetables. This could be done instead of letting the soil lie exposed to erosion and nutrient loss. This is one of the techniques that is being researched right now in New York State. Hopefully, it will prove to be an effective use and will be encouraged by the Department of Agriculture & Markets and then shared with other states. And another possible helpful technique would be to use hemp as a rotation crop, to discourage the damaging technique of monocropping.
Also, at this point hemp seeds for planting may be difficult to obtain because hemp is still regulated under the Controlled Substances Act. So the federal government will need to change that regulation. With President Trump wanting to create jobs and eliminate regulations, this part, one would hope, would be the easiest to accomplish – yet Attorney General Sessions is taking steps to undo legislation that allowed states to legalize the use of marijuana for medical purposes. He hasn’t taken steps to tie industrial hemp to this possible change in marijuana legislation, but he certainly could, so he might be a huge stumbling block. And, who knows what the current Congress could do with the next Farm Bill, which is already being worked on – could they even reverse the progress that had already been made?
Although it could be great for the economy of New York State to make industrial hemp a major crop, and we know that hemp could grow here quite easily, there should be some discussion nationwide so we can make the most and best use of this newly-available resource. Perhaps, if New York State and New York City are exploring divesting from fossil fuels, they could think about investing that money into hemp production and manufacturing.
We also have an opportunity to make our voices heard on the national level, as our Senator, Kirsten Gillibrand, sits on the Senate Agriculture Committee. We should express our hopes and concerns to her so she can influence the debate over the next Farm Bill. Additionally, New York State has 2 representatives who sit on the House Agriculture Committee: John Faso (R – District 19) and Sean Patrick Maloney (D – District 18). Perhaps such a coordination of efforts can be put into place to make the most of this new opportunity to cultivate and manufacture this environmentally friendly plant which has so many potential uses. Also, an attempt to exempt hemp plants from the controlled substance designation has been introduced in the House, The Industrial Hemp Farming Act (HR-3530). So you could contact your Representative in any district and ask them to support this piece of legislation. And, we can also send any support and any concerns to the NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets as they go ahead overseeing the cultivation and then the processing of hemp in New York State.