Hemp offers an eco-friendly solution for our customers and farmer
Hemp can offer sustainable solutions to these unsustainable practices
Synthetic Plastic
Hemp plastic is non-toxic and biodegradable. It is also much stronger than conventional plastic
Cotton
Cotton uses 50% more water than hemp to grow. It also uses up 25% of the world’s pesticides.
Tree Paper
One acre of hemp yields as much paper as 4 acres of trees in one growing season (~100 days)
Crude Oil
Hemp based biofuel is 86% greener than gasoline and can be used in existing transportation vehicles
How Hemp Can Save Our Farmers
“This is about rescuing wheat and corn farmers who are losing their soil due to monoculture and climate change”
– Lynda Parker
Hemp continues to grow in the US
Since hemp was legalized in Colorado, we have seen exponential growth in hemp cultivation. Initially, in 2014, hemp was seeded and harvested in 250 acres of land. Since then, many farmers have adopted the crop and hemp was harvested in over 2,000 acres in 2015. That is almost a 1000% growth! Demand of hemp seems to continue to grow and the total acreage cultivating hemp is looking to grow to 20,000 acres this year.With Colorado leading the way, many more states are observing and learning from its success. States such as Hawaii and North Dakota that are looking for a suitable crop to replace their traditional staple crops are looking at hemp as the alternative solution. The success in these few states will be key in accelerating the hemp adoption across the US.
Hemp is a cash crop for farmers
So why are farmers in Colorado utilizing hemp in their crop cycle? This is easy to answer if we just observe what has happened in Canada. Today, Canadian hemp farmers rake in profit of about $250 per acre for hemp. This is a significant amount when you compare this with the $30-$100 that wheat brings in. A farmer who planted a thousand acres in 2012 netted $250,000. The Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance has said that Canada’s hemp acreage has doubled to 100,000 acres in 2015.For US farmers, the enticing aspect of this growth is that 90% of Canadian hemp’s demand comes from the US. Just last year, US has imported roughly $150M worth of raw hemp. Considering that the US hemp market has been growing 20% annually, this number will continue to grow in the future.
Hemp plants can restore our farmland
Hemp is the most eco-friendly answer to the soil pollution that is causing headaches for our farmers. The GMO monoculture of harvesting corn and wheat has caused considerable damage to our fields. Our heartland is becoming more dry and causing soil erosion. Farmers from Eastern Colorado are claiming that soil conditions are similar to those during the Dust Bowl in the 1930s.Hemp is a great answer to these problems as its wide climatic adaptation and fast-growing foot-long roots allow it to thrive in drought-damaged soil. It also helps with soil stabilization thanks to its long, fast-growing taproots. Internationally, in countries like China, hemp has traditionally been used for erosion control. Just in the past 3 years, lot of Coloradans decided to try out hemp for this reason.
Our Farmers Need The Government’s Help
The European Union subsidizes its farmers to grow hemp
In order for hemp’s introduction into our agriculture to be successful, we will need the government’s support. The European Union subsidizes its farmers $400 per acre for growing hemp. This type of incentive will be critical in making hemp sustainable in the US as US is severely lagging behind the global market in its hemp production and research.
Globally, hemp is already an established crop that is dominated by three regions. In China, hemp has been cultivated for textiles for over a decade and is now a $200M industry. Europeans have had a head start in planting and utilizing hemp for construction and other industrial markets. Since 1998, Canada has grown to dominate the hemp food product industry with its hemp seeds. Now, being decades behind other regions, we have a lot of catching up to do. In order to incentivize and support our farmers to successfully grow hemp, it will be tremendously helpful to get our government’s support.