hemp farming

Santa Paula’s Nutiva grows with hemp, coconut and chia products, plans move to Oxnard

Here’s a great Feature Story on Nutiva, as we prepare to move our HQ.  From Ventura County Star.
Read the original article HERE.

Photo by Chuck Kirman, Photos by Chuck Kirman / Star staff

Nutiva, with its headquarters and warehouse in Santa Paula, has been a pioneer in getting hemp food products to consumers.

Now in its 11th year, the company has branched out into coconut and chia seed products and generated about $10.3 million in revenue during its most recent fiscal year, which ended in June. Its founder wants to reach $100 million in sales by 2015 and $1 billion by 2025.

As it moves toward those ambitious goals, Nutiva continues to expand its product offerings in retail stores and online and will move its headquarters and warehouse to a new 18,000-square-foot location in Oxnard next month to house a growing team of employees and pallets of products.

Selling hemp products has meant becoming an advocate and working to build a domestic hemp industry.

Wearing a shirt of hemp fabric, Nutiva founder and CEO John Roulac quickly sorted through a display of everything that can be done with hemp — from Nutiva’s food products to insulation for cars, pressboard for construction, even the random Frisbee made of hemp “plastic.”

“We’re not just selling a product, but also educating,” Roulac said.

Because of its relation to marijuana, industrial hemp has had a spotty reception in the United States, although the plant doesn’t have the narcotic qualities of its cousin.

Nutiva garnered a lot of press early in its existence. After government officials seized a shipment of Nutiva hemp bars from Canada in 1999, the company became a central figure in the push to get hemp food products on store shelves and keep them there.

“It’s changed a lot, but it has a long ways to go,” Roulac said of the current perception of hemp.

He shakes his head that medicinal marijuana can be grown in California, but industrial hemp is still illegal. [click to continue…]

{ 0 comments }

Hemp Lovers Cause for Concern | Dry Weather Crisis in Western Canada

Organic Canadian hemp farmers are busy preparing to harvest their hemp crops right now. Nutiva is counting on a decent harvest to supply our delicious certifed-organic hemp seed, hemp oil, and hemp protein powders.
As many folks know, the funny weather this year caused most crop plantings in June 2010 to be delayed from 10-30 days in western Canada. Thus our hemp crops are 10+ days late. The good news was that in general  the weather in August  was for the most part   pretty warm with  decent rain  the provinces of Alberta, SK, and Manitoba. So hemp’s tall branch’s grew fast and seeds are becoming ripe for harvest.

Now we just need some warm conditions to get the last growth spurt, combined with dry weather so the harvesting equipment can get into the fields. And no frost to hurt the crops. May the weather god’s smile on the hemp harvest. And our hard working hemp farmers be rewarded for growing this amazing super food.

Note: many hemp foods sold are not certified-organic.
Did you know that organic hemp farming use rotations with plants to fix nitrogen into the soil ? Much healthier for the soil and all critters that we live with.  Most non-organic hemp farmers order their fertilizer from chemical dealers, and when applied into the soil cause runoff in lakes and streams. The gulf of Mexico has a huge dead-zone over 50 miles wide caused by these same non-organic chemical fertilizers. So when choosing hemp foods, look for the USDA Organic Symbol and choose an ethical brand which is focused on organics.
As they say- don’t panic go organic ! [click to continue…]

{ 2 comments }

Using Hemp to Halt Climate Change

This article comes to us from hempnewstv.wordpress.com, and brings up some very important connections between global climate change and the beneficial CO2 to oxygen conversion created by large hemp crops.  Enjoy!

globalwarmingThe hemp plant can be used in thousands of different products, including large-scale things such as houses and cars. Hemp is also able to be made into smaller goods as well, from health products to paints.

An extremely important goal that hemp must be applied to immediately is the reversal of global warming. Upon first hearing such a statement, it may seem ridiculous that one thing could solve a world problem. However, utilizing hemp on a massive scale could indeed achieve this objective.

To understand how hemp can stop global warming, you need to understand how climate change is occurring. Greenhouse gases, primarily carbon dioxide, build up in the atmosphere. This high concentration of gas traps heat inside the Earth, leading to a general increase in temperature.

The negative effects of the advanced stages of global warming would be devastating and destructive. We cannot afford to wait; we must act now to counter these horrible consequences.

Read the rest of this article HERE.

{ 1 comment }

Hemp, an option for farmers, and the public option

This article comes to us from the Progressive Party blog.01hemp

By Rep. David Zuckerman

This week a Vermonter, Will Allen, joined others from around the country in an act of civil disobedience in order to get attention to the laws governing hemp cultivation. By attempting to plant help seeds on the lawn of the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) they clearly were pushing the envelope to generate this discussion.

To put this in context, North Dakota and Vermont are the only two states that have adjusted their laws (We did this while I was chair of the Agriculture Committee) to allow farmers to cultivate and harvest hemp. However, both states laws are trumped by federal law due to the interstate commerce clause of the US constitution. This section has been interpreted widely by the US government to take control of many policy areas that used to belong to the states. It does this by the idea that any product that can cross state borders for commercial purposes is to be regulated by the federal government.

Hemp was brought into the federal law jurisdiction back in the 30’s and 40’s when it competed with trees as the main ingredient in paper as well cotton as a fiber. The paper and cotton industries went after it with false media claims and corporate propaganda to tie it to marijuana use as well as to the latino/a culture (racism). While the general public had used and known hemp as a very good product (as both paper and fiber) public opinion was swayed over a very short period of time. Soon, through an act of Congress, it was made illegal to grow by categorizing it a schedule 1 drug under our drug laws. Thus becoming the only drug that has been classified by Congress instead of through the regulatory process (Crack, Cocaine, Morphine, Heroine, all classified by the DEA, not Congress). As a schedule 1 drug, it is deemed to have no useful purpose to society whatsoever.

Click HERE to read the rest of this article at the Prog Blog.

{ 0 comments }

Farmers, Hemp Industry Leaders Arrested!

Nutiva Applauds Hemp Advocates Arrested for Planting Hemp at DEA’s HQ in Washington DC.

Six hemp advocates planted hempseeds at the US DEA headquarters (700 Army Navy Dr Arlington, VA) lawn today October 13th.

Four of the planters are my friends (see full VoteHemp.com post below) and they have been arrested and are being held in jail. Please contact your US House of Representatives and US Senators and President Obama to:

A)  request  they be released from jail and
B)  the US federal government allow American farmers to grow industrial hemp (a non-drug crop).

Nutiva is a strong supporter of growing hemp once again in America and congratulates the hemp planters for taking this brave action in the face of DEA injustice against this healthy and sustainable crop. The world needs hemp farming if we want to get off oil reliance and create a better future.

Check back for more updates and on VoteHemp.com. We suggest everyone reading this post become a VoteHemp.com member and support this great cause.

Article from VoteHemp.com:

Farmers, Hemp Industry Leaders Arrested for Planting Industrial Hemp at DEA Headquarters in Act of Civil Disobedience to Protest ‘Reefer Madness’

Fed Up Captains of Hemp Industry Plant Hemp Seed on DEA’s Lawn with Ceremonial Shovels

DEA’s Continued Blockade of State Industrial Hemp Programs Violates Common Sense as well as Obama’s Presidential Directive to Federal Agencies to Respect States’ Rights

WASHINGTON, DC – At approximately 10am this morning, North Dakota farmer Wayne Hauge, Vermont farmer Will Allen, and fed up American entrepreneurs, who have dedicated their livelihoods to developing and marketing healthy, environmentally-friendly hemp products, for the first time turned to public civil disobedience with the planting of industrial hemp seed at DEA headquarters (700 Army Navy Dr Arlington, VA 22202) to protest the ban on hemp farming in the United States. Even though the U.S. is the largest market for hemp products in the world, and industrial hemp is farmed throughout Europe, Asia and Canada, not a single American farmer has the right to grow the versatile crop which is used for food, clothing, body care, paper, building materials, auto paneling and more.

Hoping to focus the attention of the Obama Administration on halting DEA interference, North Dakota Farmer Wayne Hauge; Founder of Cedar Circle Organic Farm in Vermont Will Allen; Hemp Industries Association (HIA) President Steve Levine; Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps President David Bronner; Vote Hemp Communications Director Adam Eidinger and Founder of Livity Outernational Hemp Clothing, Issac Nichelson were arrested while digging up the DEA’s lawn to plant industrial hemp seed imported from Canada. At this time, they are currently being held in Arlington County jail and are awaiting charges. They are expected to be released later this afternoon and will be available for interviews upon release. The six protesters planted hemp seeds with ceremonial chrome shovels engraved with:

Hemp Planting Oct. 2009 ~ DEA Headquarters ~ American Farmers Shall Grow Hemp Again ~ Reefer Madness Will Be Buried

Mr. Hauge is licensed by North Dakota to cultivate and process non-drug industrial hemp, just as Canadian farmers across the border have done profitably for over ten years supplying the booming U.S. market. However, the DEA refuses to distinguish non-drug industrial hemp cultivars grown for millennia for seed and fiber and has unconstitutionally blocked all state hemp programs such as North Dakota’s. Mr. Hauge, along with North Dakota State Rep. David Monson, sued the DEA in the U.S. District Court of North Dakota in 2007, and the case is currently before the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.  “In recent years there has been strong growth in demand for hemp in the U.S., but the American farmer is being left out while Canadian, European and Chinese farmers fill the void created by outdated federal policy,” said fourth-generation farmer Hauge. “When hemp is legalized, land grant universities across the nation will develop cultivars suitable to different growing regions to enhance yield and explore innovative uses such as cellulosic ethanol.”

Pictures and video of the action for free and unrestricted use, along with hemp farming footage and background information are available upon request in hardcopy and online. An HIA produced video of the action will also be posted, after 6pm on 10/13 at:www.votehemp.com/DEAhempplanting.html

In the back drop of the spectacle at DEA headquarters, dozens of hemp business owners in town attending the HIA convention over the weekend fanned out across Capitol Hill to lobby lawmakers in support of hemp legislation introduced by Representatives Ron Paul (R-TX) and Barney Frank (D-MA) that would permit states to cultivate non-drug industrial hemp under state industrial hemp programs.  Nine states have such programs, but their implementation has been blocked by DEA bureaucratic intransigence.  This spring, however, President Obama instructed federal agencies to respect state laws in a presidential directive on federal pre-emption:

“Executive departments and agencies should be mindful that in our federal system, the citizens of the several States have distinctive circumstances and values, and that in many instances it is appropriate for them to apply to themselves rules and principles that reflect these circumstances and values.  As Justice Brandeis explained more than 70 years ago, ‘it is one of the happy incidents of the federal system that a single courageous state may, if its citizens choose, serve as a laboratory and try novel social and economic experiments without risk to the rest of the country.’”
- Source: www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Presidential-Memorandum-Regarding-Preemption/

Vote Hemp and the HIA are dedicated to a free market for low-THC industrial hemp and to changes in current policy to allow U.S. farmers to once again grow this agricultural crop.  Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps President and Vote Hemp Director David Bronner stated: “Dr. Bronner’s has grown into the leading natural soap brand in the U.S. since incorporating hemp oil in 1999, due in significant part to the unsurpassed smoothness it gives our soaps. As an American business, we want to give our money to American farmers and save on import and freight costs. In this difficult economy, we can no longer indulge the DEA’s self-serving hemp hysteria.”

Also, please check out this essential video
 Controversial Crop from America’s Heartland – Episode 315




{ 2 comments }

Thai Cabinet approves hemp farming

The Thai cabinet agreed to promote the
growing of hemp as a new economic plant for Thailand.

Another country takes a positive step forward in creating new rural jobs utilizing the amazing hemp plant. It’s a non-drug crop yet the US government still bans it’s growing in America. How many more years before the US government jumps on the hemp bandwagon?

Writer: BangkokPost.com
Published: 22/09/2009 at 05:11 PM

The spokesman said the cabinet agreed to set up a committee to implement the plan.

The cabinet on Tuesday agreed to set up a committee to promote growing of hemp as a new economic plant on high land, as proposed by the National Economic and Social Development Board, deputy government spokesman Vachara Kannikar said.

Mr Vachara said the NESDB submitted a proposal for planting and growing hemp on high land from 2009-2013 to the cabinet. The plant was already being grown by various royal projects aimed at generating supplementary income for farmers.

The NESDB  had concluded that hemp can be used to produce textiles, food, furniture, health products, and cosmetics.

However, there were limitations on growing hemp since it is categorised as a No 5 narcotic plant in the form of  marijuana.

Therefore, farmers have to grow it secretly, despite the fact that hemp is an economic plant.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...

{ 2 comments }

← Previous Entries