Agricultural Hemp Essay Research Paper THE NEW

Agricultural Hemp Essay, Research Paper

THE NEW GLOBAL HEMP INDUSTRY

Industrial hemp is similar to marijuana, but has only a tiny amount of Tetrahydro

Cannabinol, or THC, the ingredient that produces a high. Industrial hemp could even hurt

the state’s marijuana trade, because when people smoke hemp leaves they are only left

with a headache. Hemp is a type of the cannabis plant that has been selected over many

generations for fibre and seed production. Hemp is a bast fibre similar to flax, kenaf, and

sun hemp. It is flax with an attitude.

Hemp fiber is very similar to flax and has been cultivated for thousands of years.

Fiber hemp grows in many different climates, altitudes, soils and weather conditions. It is

grown for the fibers (outer bark), hurd (woody inner core) and seed. Hemp is sown during

April and May depending on climate. The stalks typically grow 10 to 12 feet tall in 100 to

120 days. Hemp cultivation requires no pesticides or herbicides. In many cases small

amounts of fertilizer are used.

Hemp crops are seeded in very tight rows. As the plants mature they form a dense

forest which chokes out weeds leaving the field in excellent condition for planting at the

beginning of the next season. When fiber hemp is harvested, the foliage can be left to rot

and then be turned back into the soil. This returns much of the nitrogen and nutrients back

to the soil so that less fertilization is required on subsequent plantings.

Hemp is typically harvested in August. Harvest times in other parts of the world

depend on climate and time of planting. Hemp fiber crops are harvested prior to flowering

for optimal fiber quality.

Fiber hemp is densely planted in rows. Very little foliage is produced. The foliage

in fiber hemp contains minute amounts of tetrahydral cannabinol (THC) which is the drug

component in marijuana. Marijuana is also comes from the cannabis plant but the THC

levels in marijuana varieties are 10 to 20 times higher than fiber hemp varieties. Fiber

hemp plants typically contain between .01% and .05% THC. Marijuana plants contain

between 3% and 15% THC. The hemp stalks and fiber contain no THC. Hemp stalks,

fiber and even the sterilized seed are legal under US law but hemp is still illegal to grow

without special permits.

After the hemp stalk is cut, it is laid out on the ground for 3 to 7 days (depending

on weather) so that it can be dried by the sun. It is then bundled and stacked in upright in

shocks that look like tee pee’s. In a good season a farmer can yield 10 to 12 metric tons of

dry stalk from 1 hectare (approximately 2.5 acres) of land. Hemp has been cultivated

continuously in eastern Europe for hundreds of years.

After drying and bundling, the hemp stalk must be baled and transported to a

rotting and processing facility. The drying process prepares the stalk for rotting. Rotting

is the process which begins to separate the fibers from the hurd by breaking down the

lignins or glues that hold the fibers and hurd together. Huge outdoor in ground tanks are

filled with water. Hemp stalk bales are placed in the water and allowed to “rott” for about

a week. The natural bacteria contained in the water breaks down the lignin’s and pectin’s

that attach the fibers to themselves as well as the herd.

Cotton, for example, has desirable features but is hard on the environment. Cotton

requires not only huge amounts of water but also enormous quantities of pesticides,

herbicides and fertilizers. Hemp, in contrast, will grow almost anywhere without depleting

the soil and needs little, if any, pesticides and herbicides. Those features, plus its high

yield per acre, also make hemp a potential raw material for paper.

One acre of hemp can produce as much usable fiber as 4 acres of trees or two

acres of cotton. Hemp fabric requires fewer chemicals than cotton and is stronger and

longer lasting. 5-10,000 Cancer related deaths are caused yearly from pesticide use.

Cotton uses as much as 40% of all agricultural pesticides. Hemp uses no pesticides and

crowds out weeds without herbicides. Cotton has a drinking problem…extensive water

subsidies. Hemp requires less water than cotton and grows in cooler climates.

Hemp is an excellent rotation crop: it crowds out weeds and its deep tap roots

break up hard pan soils. Hemp particle board may be up to 2 times stronger than wood

particleboard and holds nails better. Low-THC fiber hemp varieties developed by the

French and others have been available for over 20 years. It is said to be impossible to get

high from fiber hemp. Over 600,000 acres of hemp is grown worldwide with no drug

misuse problem.

In 1941 Henry Ford built a plastic car made of fiber from hemp and wheat straw.

Anything made from a hydrocarbon can be made from a carbohydrate. The 21st century

should be the era of the carbohydrate (sustainable agricultural products.) Hemp plastic is

biodegradable, synthetic plastic is not. Hemp is the world’s most versat

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