North Dakota Farmers Get Hemp License Renewed
Dec 11, 2008 Farming, Laws, News
The two North Dakota farmers who are suing the DEA so that they can actually use the hemp growing licenses that the state issued them have been granted a renewal on their licenses. As The Dickinson Press reports:
Two North Dakota farmers who were granted the nation’s first state licenses to grow industrial hemp a year ago have been granted renewals. The farmers have tried to get federal permission to grow hemp, which is a cousin to marijuana but doesn’t produce a high.
Although the state of North Dakota (and a few others) permit the cultivation of industrial hemp, it is still illegal under federal law. Consequently, even though a farmer is licensed to grow the plant, they can still face prosecution by the DEA.
Despite the legal murkiness, North Dakota is still issuing licenses to grow hemp, but warns that applicants will still have trouble with federal authorities. Perhaps that these two farmers re-applied for their license is indicative of what they think their chances are of winning their case against the DEA (i.e. good). However, there is no set date for when the judge is expected to hand down his decision on this case.
For those who want more background info on this case, VoteHemp.com has a page all about the North Dakota Case.
Tags: DEA, Farming, licenses, North Dakota
North Dakota Continues to Issue Hemp Licenses
Dec 9, 2008 Farming, Laws, News
Despite that two North Dakota farmers are still in court with the DEA, fighting for the right to grow industrial hemp licenses without being federally prosecuted, the state is continuing to issue licenses to grow industrial hemp. As the Jamestown Sun reports:
The North Dakota Department of Agriculture is accepting applications for 2009 industrial hemp production licenses.
“The applications are due Jan. 1,” said Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson. “Although the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration continues to prevent holders of state licenses from growing industrial hemp, NDDA remains committed to fully implementing state laws authorizing the production, processing and sale of this crop in North Dakota.”
In addition to the associated fees and paperwork, applicants must submit their fingerprints and clear both state and federal criminal background checks.
Not only does it seem unreasonable to undergo such a process while the legality of North Dakota hemp farming still hangs in the limbo of federal courts, but the process itself is kind of curious. Consider a farmer who was convicted for a non-drug related crime (such as a fraud charge for bouncing a check) twenty years ago: they would be denied a license to grow industrial hemp. That doesn’t seem to make much sense. Of course, the North Dakota Department of Agriculture (NDDA) may very well consider applicants’ history on a case by case basis. Anyone know for sure?
In any case, those interested in applying for a license to grow industrial hemp in the state of North Dakota can contact Ken Junkert at the NDDA at 701-328-2231 or kjunkert@nd.gov. More information can also be found on the NDDA Web site.
Farmer Sues South African Police
A farmer in South Africa is suing the police after his farm was raided despite him having a research permit to cultivate industrial strains. Although charges against him were all eventually dropped, his legal fees forced him to liquidate everything, and he his hoping to recoup those expenses. As IOL.co.za reports:
A cannabis farmer who grew the weed to cultivate strands for possible industrial use, is claiming R620 000 in damages from the police after he was “unlawfully arrested” for possession of the plant.
The farmer had claimed that he in fact had a permit to be in possession of 1,2 tons of seeds.
A second claim for R2-million in damages against the police is expected to be served before the Pretoria High Court at a later stage by Russell de Beer after he claimed he had lost his crops and his business had collapsed because of the conduct by the police.
[...]
De Beer, who lived in Switzerland before, came to South Africa to see whether it was possible to cultivate cannabis for industrial use.
He said he approached the Agricultural Research Council and was told that it was viable as they too were conducting research in this field. De Beer bought a farm where cannabis was planted in 2002 by the council. He said the plan was to cultivate the strands.
[...]
The ultimate idea was to patent his product, but his dream fell through when police raided his farm in 2004.
The cops showed him a search warrant, which claimed that he was dealing in cannabis, that he was selling it and using.
[...]
He said he was arrested and had to spend a night in a police cell, before he was granted R8 000 bail the next day at the Brits magistrate’s court. His subsequent court case dragged on for nearly a year, during which time it was postponed several times. All charges were eventually withdrawn against him.
This story underscores the importance of further spreading awareness of the difference between industrial hemp and its psychoactive counterpart, marijuana. Without knowing the details of the story, it also seems as though the police were completely unaware that research permits were being issues at all. After all, if it was common knowledge, it would be very unlikely that they would have failed to inquire into the validity of the farmer’s claim.
Then again, there may be political intricacies, here, that I am unaware of. I know very little of South African sociology, but from what I understand, there are considerable problems with corruption. Perhaps the police simply didn’t appreciate a foreigner farming on their land.
Tags: lawsuits, Sout Africa
Australian Farmers Encouraged to Grow Hemp
New legislation in Australia recently legalized the cultivation of industrial hemp in the province of New South Wales. Farmers in NSW are now being encouraged to take up the crop. Although it still remain illegal for humans to consume hemp product in Australia, it seems that dogs are exempt. That’s right, farmers are being to encouraged to grow hemp that will be used in everything from bio-diesel to dog food. And it looks like farmers are keen on playing ball. As ABC.net.au reports:
New South Wales farmers are being encouraged to start growing industrial hemp.
The Government recently passed legislation allowing the plant to be grown for use in products ranging from bio-fuel to dog food.
The Primary Industries Minister, Ian Macdonald, says measures have been put in place to prevent hemp crops being used to camouflage marijuana plantations.
[...]
“It’ll require farmers who wish to grow industrial hemp to register to get a licence.
[...]
“Already we’ve had over 200 farmers express interest in growing hemp across the state,” he said.
Well, I guess that dogs really are man’s best friend down under — to the point of receiving preferential treatment. I wonder if hemp-based food products will also be made available to dingos… it just might keep them well-nourished enough to keep them away from all the babies.
Tags: australia, bio diesel, biofuel, dog food, New South Wales, pets
Australian Hemp Trials Update
Yesterday, we posted about how Hemp Resources, that recently conducted hemp trials in China, also concluded additional trials in its native Australia. Well, last night, the managing director and CEO of Hemp Resources dropped us a line with some additional insight into just how well the Australian trials went. Kim wrote:
The trials in Kununurra have been extremely promising to date and we’ve just managed to locate a decorticator for processing and separation of the fibre and hurd.
We’ve also produced over 6,000 kgs of parentage seed for re-planting next season so there’s an air of excitement about next season with the ability to process on a large scale, a real key factor.
So it truly does seem that whether or not there’s a change in Australian hemp laws (it is legal to grow industrial hemp, but not to consume it) hemp, Hemp Resources will be moving right ahead with another crop. More importantly, they have secured the resources process the fibers. That should significantly reduce the cost of selling the hemp for fiber.
Normally, the costs associated with having to outsource the fiber production and then ship the fibers to an additional third party can be rather high, especially on a continent as isolated as Australia. By processing the hemp themselves, however, Hemp Resources would seriously be cutting down on the volume of material that needs to be shipped — not to mention the total distance over which their crop has to travel before being ready to go to market.
Tags: australia, hemp fiber, hemp fibre, hemp resources, Kim Hough
Hemp Trial Conclude in Australia
Click to Enlarge
Australian based firm, Hemp Resources, that recently conducted hemp trials in China just concluded additional trials in its native country. It also seems that they went well enough that the firm is considering cultivating another crop next year, even though Australian law would prevent them from selling it in the country. As ABC.net.au reports:
Western Australia’s Ord Valley region has just wrapped up its first hemp harvest in nearly a decade, and the company involved in the trial says it will now look to plant 500 hectares next year.
Hemp hasn’t been grown in the Kimberley since an unsuccessful trial in 2000, and growers have mixed feelings about the crop’s value.
The story goes on to explain how Chief executive of Hemp Resources, Kim Hough, believes that the Australian law that prohibits the consumption of hemp will soon be changed, and if that change doesn’t come soon enough, Hemp Resources will simply look at exporting the seeds. Hemp Resources is both a company focused on developing sustainable business and lobbying for hemp in Australia. Here’s a picture of their team (click to enlarge).
Tags: australia, hemp resources, Kim Hough
Ontario Farmers Considering Hemp
Farmers in Ontario, Canada, are bracing to feel the economic crunch of world markets this spring. It is common for farmers in this area (and many others) to borrow money to plant crops, and lending markets may not be so favorable come springtime. Consequently, experts in the are are looking at alternative crops and, of course, hemp is near the top of the list. However, as it often is, one of the obstacles to adopting hemp as a crop is the lack of facilities to process it. As the Northumberland Today reports:
An alternative crop under study for this area is industrial hemp. Hemp would not be subject to the price fluctuations of current cash crops and so could provide some stability for farmers.
Industrial hemp was first seeded on the north shore of Lake Ontario by the British more than 200 years ago to make rope and sail cloth for the British navy.
Today hemp seed, oil and fibre are used in a variety of products, from beer and body-care items to construction materials, and it is a “green” product that actually revitalizes the soil by adding nitrogen during the growing process.
Currently, a major obstacle to growing hemp locally is the lack of a processing facility.
When it comes to mainstreaming industrial hemp, the industry seems to be stuck between a rock, a hard place, and another hard place. For farmers to adopt industrial hemp as a crop, there has to be processing facilities. For investors to allot resources into such infrastructure, there has to be a market demand. To stimulate demand in the market, the price of hemp products needs to come down. For the price of hemp products to come down, additional facilities are needed so that hemp production could be increased.
All in all, I’m optimistic that something will give in the coming decade. Whether that’s in 2 years or 10 years, however, is anyone’s guess.
Tags: farmers, Northumberland, Ontario
Market Poses Obstacles for Hemp Processing Plant
Less than a month ago, the Manitoba government invested $4 Million into a hemp processing plant. Despite this encouraging influx, area farmers are still hesitant to adopt the crop. Both processing the hemp and marketing it pose a challenge. As the Portage Daily Graphic reports:
While plans for a new hemp production plant in Dauphin are moving ahead, crop producers in the Portage la Prairie area may not be jumping on the bandwagon so quickly.
[...]
Initially, [Chris McCallister] grew hemp grain for pedigreed seed, but, after finding there was no market for the seed, instead he sold the grain for the production of hemp oil for human consumption.Unfortunately, McCallister found the market to be saturated this year, so he did not grow the product.
In the past, McCallister has grown hemp only for the grain as there had not been a market for the fibre.
MacGregor-area producer Lorne Hulme used to grow about 80 hectares of hemp for the grain to be crushed to make hemp oil and to be hulled for the meat as a human snack item.
However, Hulme stopped growing hemp about three years ago because the market was small and unstable, he said.
He noted shipping hemp straw to a plant in Dauphin would be costly.
Of course, much of the challenges to processing and marketing industrial hemp seems to be a chicken-or-the-egg problem: while a plant such as the one being built in Dauphin would help drive down the price-point on processed hemp products, investing in such infrastructure seems rash until market (interest) is stimulated by lower priced products.
Hopefully, the kind of government investment we’re seeing from Manitoba becomes more widespread. After all, it’s part of government’s role to push for longer-term economies that the private sector won’t invest it.
Besides, one plant in Manitoba won’t be enough to stimulate the market for industrial hemp. Rather, similar plants would need to be reproduced in both Manitoba and other hemp growing regions.
Tags: Dauphin, hemp market, hemp plant, industrial hemp processing, investment, Portage
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