hemp farming

This article was published this morning at MNDaily.com which is The Minnesota Daily news blog.
The study contains encouraging news for the future of Hemp, Hemp Foods, and Hemp Clothing products in America.

We’re excited about this.

University research demonstrates the irrationality of U.S. pot policy.

PUBLISHED: 09/17/2009
EDITORIAL BOARD
Scientists in the College of Biological Sciences have identified the genes in Cannabis sativa responsible for the production of psychoactive chemical tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. Cannabis can be used for both industrial hemp and marijuana production, although the appearance and chemical composition vary similar to the difference between dog breeds. This research is a clear reminder of the folly of America’s ill-conceived marijuana policy; where worries about individual recreational use has spilled over onto the unrelated issue of hemp cultivation. Current industrial hemp varieties have THC levels at or below 0.3%, while the average THC content of marijuana is above 10% and can surpass 30%. Fearing this trace amount of THC, scientists hope to apply this research to genetically engineer a fully-THC free plant.

Hemp was once a widespread crop throughout the upper Midwest. Its long, strong fibers were used to make cloth, paper, and rope while the oil in the seeds was important in food and cosmetics . The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 banned hemp production , fearing cultivation could mask the growth of marijuana. But no industrial farmer would risk the quality of hemp fiber or seed oil by cross-planting marijuana.

Despite the domestic ban, hemp production has continued abroad and hemp-based products are increasingly imported. Furthermore, hemp’s rapid growth and woody interior make it a leading candidate to replace flawed corn-based ethanol as a renewable fuel. The University’s research did not make hemp plants more productive, demonstrate new uses, or find techniques for converting hemp into bio-fuel. The perceived necessity of removing the minimal amount of THC in hemp is solely based on an irrational fear of marijuana.

Click HERE to browse through this and other stories over at MNDaily.com

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This month Maine Governor John Baldacci signed into law LD 1159, the Maine hemp farming bill. The bill establishes a licensing regime for farming industrial hemp, though the licensing is contingent upon action by the federal government.

A joint resolution was passed by Vermont urging Congress to recognize industrial hemp as a valuable agricultural commodity.

Read the whole story.

Nutiva® 1% donations helps support VoteHemp in the hemp industry’s efforts to grow hemp once again in the USA.

Hemp Factoid:
The 1913 Yearbook of the U.S. Department of Agriculture called hemp “the oldest cultivated fiber plant,” mentioned how the crop improves the land, and said that it yields “one of the strongest and most durable fibers of commerce.”

More amazing facts on hemp history.

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Posted By: Jane Wells

CNBC – View original article on Hemp

What if Americans could buy cigarettes but were banned from growing tobacco? Buy bread but not allowed to grow wheat? That is the case with industrial hemp, a product in everything from car doors to milk…legally.

Hemp farming was banned in the U.S. decades ago as part of the earliest drug wars. Hemp contains THC, like marijuana. But hemp is not marijuana. “It’s like a Chihuahua versus a Saint Bernard,” says David Bronner, President of Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps, which sold $29 million in hemp-related products last year. The THC in industrial hemp is so minute that “the only thing you will get from smoking it is a headache,” says Gregg Baumbaugh, CEO of FlexForm Technologies, which uses hemp in car doors for Dodge Vipers. Both companies import their hemp from Canada or France, adding 10 to 15 percent to costs.

>> Continue reading on CNBC

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Growing Hemp Food and Body Care Sales is Good News for Canadian Hemp Seed and Oil Producers

WASHINGTON, April 29 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The Hemp Industries Association (HIA), a trade association consisting of hundreds of hemp businesses, has just released final estimates of the size of the U.S. retail market for hemp food and body care products in 2008. Data supporting the estimates show that retail sales of hemp food and body care products in the U.S. have continued to set records in 2008.

Strong sales of popular hemp items like non-dairy milk, shelled hemp seed, soaps and lotions have occurred against the backdrop of state-licensed hemp farmers in North Dakota fighting a high stakes legal battle against the DEA to grow hemp for U.S. manufacturers. The new sales data validate U.S. farmers’ position that they are being shut out of the lucrative hemp market that Canadian farmers have cashed in on for over a decade now. [click to continue…]

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