The 2018 Farm Bill removes hemp from the Controlled Substances Act
By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com
A new piece of ag legislation created another cash crop opportunity for American farmers.
Provisions in the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, commonly referred to as the Farm Bill, remove hemp from the Controlled Substances Act.
Once President Trump signs off on the Farm Bill, American producers can grow hemp the same way they do corn, soybeans and other cash crops. Several states already allow for commercial hemp production.
The American hemp industry could be worth nearly US$2 billion by 2022, the Hemp Business Journal says.
Allowing farmers to grow hemp on a national scale will highlight the crop’s several benefits, said Erica McBride Stark, executive director of the National Hemp Association.
“It’s certainly a very exciting time and hemp legalization is something a lot of us have been working towards for years,” she told Farms.com. “Now that we have the federal legal framework, we can encourage the growth and promotion of the hemp industry. It provides fiber, grain and other products for various industries.”
Hemp legalization, however, doesn’t equate to marijuana legalization.
Commercial hemp’s tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) levels cannot exceed 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis, the Farm Bill says.
Growers typically produce hemp for three reasons, Stark said.
“Hemp for fiber and grain is planted like any other field crop,” she said. “You’ll see it outdoors in evenly spaced rows much like you might see corn. If the hemp is being grown for CBD oil outdoors, the rows will be more spaced out because you want the plant to have more flowers. Hemp for CBD can also be produced in a greenhouse environment.”
Some producers could run into challenges during harvest, as removing crops for fiber production might require specialized equipment.
“Traditional combines can’t have the head lift tall enough because fiber varieties can be up to 20-feet tall,” Stark said. “If you’re growing it for grain, the plants might only get about 5-feet tall, so traditional combines can harvest that crop.”
Growing conditions
Much like other cash crops, producing a good hemp crop requires optimal growing condition.
A loose, well-aerated loam soil with high fertility and organic matter, as well as a pH of 6.0 to 7.5, will help produce a good crop, Purdue University says.
Planting depth should be between 0.75 and 1.25 inches. The seeding rate varies depending on the intended final use. For oil, growers may want to aim for between 25 and 40 pounds per acre. Hemp fiber growers might seed at a higher rate of between 40 and 80 pounds per acre.