Morrisville, N.Y. — The industrial hemp market is taking root and starting to grow in not just Central New York, but across the state as farmers see a potential booming crop.
The 2018 Farm Bill removed industrial hemp from the list of controlled substances and is allowing New York farmers to grow it — under guidelines.
On Jan. 22, the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Madison County invited local farmers from the area to sit down with local experts for a round-table discussion to answer their questions about growing industrial hemp. With the possibility of new markets in Central New York, the crowd of more than 75 people had several farmers with pens and notebooks ready to take notes.
Industrial hemp has many uses, from textiles and biofuel to insulation and even fuel for 3D printers. One of the other uses being researched is cannabidiol or CBD oil. It doesn't contain THC and according to the Mayo Clinic, the oil is being studied as a treatment for a wide range of conditions, from Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, anxiety and more. New York State Agriculture and Markets estimates more than 25,000 produces can be produced from industrial hemp.
Morrisville State College Professor Jen Gilbert Jenkins said industrial hemp presents new opportunities for farmers and while it might not be the silver bullet to save failing farms, it will be another crop in the rotation with a potentially large market.
Timothy Sweeney, policy analyst for the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, said after an open application period for hemp growers and processors for the month of December, the NYSDA received 348 applications for hemp growers, with more than 3/4 related to CBD production.
While people have been registering as growers or processors and getting prepared for the 2018 Farm Bill to go into effect, Sweeney said farmers still have to operate under the 2014 Farm Bill until the United States Department of Agriculture establishes a program for the 2018 bill.
"The way the law is written, the USDA has to come up with regulations to implement the Farm Bill and the Industrial Hemp Program," Sweeney said. "They are tasked with doing that as expeditiously as possible. In government speak, that's God knows how long. One year after they have established their program, the 2014 program will subset. Until then, we operate under the 2014 Farm Bill parameter."
Under the new law, the state will have to submit a plan to the USDA on how they will run the Industrial Hemp Program.
"Once we know what the USDA is expecting from us, we'll know how to develop a state program, submit it and they'll approve it," Sweeney said. "Thing is though, ever since the 2018 Farm Bill has been signed, the USDA hasn't been to work." Thanks to the partial government shutdown, workers across numerous government offices have been furloughed and in the USDA's case, delaying the implementation of the Industrial Hemp Program.
And even when the program goes into effect, not just anyone can grow industrial hemp — it needs to be regulated, Sweeney said.
Industrial hemp comes from the cannabis sativa plant, the same plant as marijuana. However, industrial hemp is required to have a THC level less than .3 percent. Anything higher than that is considered marijuana, Sweeney said. People who want to grow industrial hemp have to register with New York state.
"It's clear from the language of the 2018 Farm Bill," Sweeney said. "Everyone still has to register with the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets. We need to know where you're growing it, we have to report that to the federal government and we have to come out and sample your plants, send them to our laboratory and make sure they're .3 THC or less."
Hemp is a flexible crop, Larry Smart said. As a professor of horticulture at Cornell University, Smart has worked with the hemp research program at Cornell for the last two years.
"You can grow hemp as a field crop for grain or fiber," Smart said. "For CBD, most people are growing it as a horticultural crop in raised beds with plastic and drip irrigation. If you're a vegetable grower and you're growing tomatoes, you probably have that equipment. If you're a grain farmer and doing small grains, you probably have a combine that can work."
The only issue, Smart warned, is that not all combines work with hemp. When harvesting hemp with a combine, long hemp fibers can get caught in the moving parts and force farmers to clear it out repeatedly.
Among questions on the minds of attendees was just how much it cost to grow per acre and what the profit margin could be.
"CBD hemp is worth one-tenth of marijuana," Smart said. "Grain hemp is worth one-tenth of that and fiber hemp is worth one-tenth of that. It's a low value crop that needs to be grown locally because of the trucking costs."
In the CBD market, Smart said producers are fairly close to the vest. But the current market prices are between $3 to $5 per pound of dried floral material per percent CBD.
Smart said if a CBD industrial hemp farmer was growing a crop with 10 percent CBD, the farmer could be getting around $40 per pound.
But starting the CBD farm is another story. Most CBD farmers, Smart said, plant a density of about 2,000 plants per acre.
"You average around a pound per plant," Smart said. "But there is quite a bit of input cost."
CBD oil comes from the flowering plant and requires female seeds. Feminized seeds cost around $1 per seed, meaning the 2,000 plants for 1 acre can cost a farmer $2,000.
"You want to make sure you buy high quality, feminized seed because normal seed is 50/50 male and female," Smart said. "Growing for CBD, you want all female and no male. When female plants get pollinated, their CBD level goes down two to three fold."
On top of that, no herbicides currently exist on the market for industrial hemp, leaving it up to the farmer. Fortunately, things like raised beds and plastic sheets can help with weed control and are worth the cost, he said.
Harvest is done by hand and it needs to be brought to a drying facility with a lot of air movement and dehumidifiers, adding another capital investment. And once dried, the floral material needs to be removed by hand.
"There are machines you can buy that can run the stems through, but they don't work very well right now," Smart said. "I can't recommend them. In our own experience, you do it by hand."
At the end of the day, farmers could be looking at around $20,000 input cost per acre and Smart recommends having a crew of 20 to 30 people for harvesting.
In the field crop side of industrial hemp, Jenkins said the input cost is about the same for any other crop.
"You're going to plant it at about 25 pounds of pure live seed per acre. If you're growing for fiber, you're doubling your seeding rate," Jenkins said. "On the low end, seeds cost about $3.50 a pound. High end is $9, but the majority of what I've bought this year is in the $4 range."
enkins said when growing for fiber, it's very similar to the hay industry.
The clean, dry grain can be sold for around 65 cents per pound, Jenkins said, or $1.20 for organic. And on average, when harvesting for grain, farmers could be looking at anywhere from to 800 to 1,000 pounds per acre.
Fungus and water was another concern voiced by attendees. New York state is no stranger to rain and Smart agreed hard rains can be detrimental to industrial hemp crops.
"Hemp is very intolerant to flooding," Smart said.
"You can't say that strongly enough," Jenkins added.
Smart said one time the program hosted a field day with 120 guests, three inches of rain fell. The standing water in low ends of the field killed the plants within a week.
As for fungus, Smart said there are a number of molds that threaten hemp and can be harmful to other plants as well.
"One of the most threatening diseases to industrial hemp is scleretinia, or white mold," Smart said. "It's a very broad host range fungus that's very damaging and it can go to all beans and sunflowers. So if you're in rotation with any of those crops, I'd be very hesitant. We haven't done this type of rotation research yet."
At the end of the day, farmers left the round-table with something new and something to think about.
Dan Sullivan drove all the way from Richfield in Otsego County to represent the Otsego Farmland Protection Implementation Committee.
"I came out for two reasons," Sullivan said. "The first is personal. I have some cropland I might want to dedicate to hemp production and I want to be a conduit of information for the county farmers that might be interested."
Sullivan said he's learned a lot at the round table about yield and licensing of hemp. He thinks the grain production of hemp might be the easier path for himself and with his farm certified organic, Sullivan said he'd able to produce organic hemp grain.
"I think that hemp is going to be a good alternative to those in dairy production who feel the need economically to get something of a cash crop," Sullivan said. "I know we're in the early stages, but I think there's potential for Mohawk Valley and Central New York farmers to turn some sort of revenue with this cultivation."
New York farmers would have to compete with markets in Canada and overseas, since those hemp farms already have a head start and a foothold in the American market, but Smart thinks New York farmers can compete.
"The top cultivar across five sites averaged 1,400 pounds of clean, dry grain per acre," Smart aid. "The top yield of our top cultivar was 2,400 pounds per acre. The average in Canada is about 800 pounds to the acre. Can we be competitive with Canadian growers? I think we can be."
https://www.oneidadispatch.com/news/local-news/industrial-hemp-taking-root-in-new-york/article_158aee76-1e74-11e9-aae3-1f1076b5d469.html
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