b'h HEMP / AGRONOMICSProduction PainsDESPITE ITS HISTORY,hemp remains a mysteryOn the CBD side, you have 1,000 to 1,600 plants to most U.S. producers. While the National Hempper acre, planted and tended to as separate plants, Association and most groups have been focused onBowman says. Traditional hemp, grown for mass advocacy and policy, theres a big hole to fill when itmarket products such as textiles and bioplastics, has a comes to grower education. planting rate of 400,000 per acre (roughly 100 plants Michael Bowman, who authored Section 7606per square meter), and is drilled in like wheat.of the 2014 Farm Bill and is a founding chair of theIt grows tall and you harvest the tops for seed National Hemp Association, admits education is a bigproduction and then use the stalk for a number of challenge and that they are trying to work with theindustrial purposes.national corn and soybean associations. Farmers looking for a pot of gold at the end of the If we are going to have significant acreage, itsrainbow should be prepared for a bumpy ride.going to come from those camps, he says. Everything is in flux right now, Tyler says. Hemp Mark Tyler, a University of Kentucky ag economistproduction is not like producing corn and soybeans echoes that sentiment. There are no standard man- where production practices are well established. You agement practices that have been established as of yetcan apply commercial NPK fertilizer, but at what rates?for hemp, Tyler says. Demand for the crop is growingThere is little public research. There are no chemi-faster than producers know how to grow it. cals labeled for use on hemp, which means you might have to spend a lot of money on labor for weeding. Neither is hemp immune to pests. We are starting to see them come in and attack hemp. It is not a miracle crop; there is no silver bullet.Everything is in For this very reason, universities have initiated research programs. The University of Kentucky initi-flux right now. There ated its agronomic research program, led by agrono-mists Bob Pearce and Tom Keene, in 2015.is little public research.They are looking at everything from seeding rate to row spacing and from soil pH to nitrogen, phosphorus There are no chemicalsand potassium, as well as the timing of harvest.labeled for use onTyler cautions would-be producers to have their crop contracted with a buyer before planting. There hemp .is no organized, ready market for hemp like for corn and soybeans. Finally, growers should have their cropMark Tyler tested to know its THC level. Depending on conditions, plants can go hot late in the season and produce THC that exceeds the 0.3% limit.Seed Quality CriticalThe emergence of the CBD market has been aTyler advises growers to purchase good quality, certi-game-changer for hemp producers. CBD offers a muchfied seed. The hemp market has expanded so rapidly higher economic return, but it also possesses morethat there are few if any varieties developed for U.S. volatile financial, policy and regulatory risk than mar- growing conditions. A few established varieties are kets for hemp fiber and grain, he explains. The lucrative,being imported from Europe and Canada, but there is short-run profits that may exist during the early yearslittle field plot testing. Online seed sellers offer strains will likely lure additional supply, which will diminish profitat prices ranging from $10,000 to $40,000 per pound potential and commoditize the market.for feminized seed. Clones sell for $2.50-$7 per plant. The end market (CBD or fiber) also determines pro- Poor seed quality and low germination rates can bank-duction practices, as they are very different. rupt a crop before it is even planted.28/ SEEDWORLD.COMOCTOBER 2019'