While the Pennsylvania hemp industry continues to face growth problems, farmer Rick Fundy knows there is potential in the trade.
This year, he invested $ 5,000 to start growing hemp on his future son-in-law’s Latrobe farm. With equipment already acquired for use in other crops, Fundy invested in seeds and other items needed to start growing the plant. So far, 200 of the 2,100 seeds that have been planted have germinated, Fundy said.
“I know there is very good revenue, but we are learning from our mistakes the first time and we know what to do better next season,” he said. “I’m sure we’ll get to balance, and then I think we’ll make a profit from what I’ve invested, which wasn’t much because the infrastructure was already (on the farm).”
Farmers have struggled heavily since hemp was legalized through the 2018 federal agricultural law. Last year, more than 500 producers and 60 processors with state permits planted less than 1,000 acres of hemp, a 75% less since 2019. Officials noted last year that less than half of those crops were harvested, and most of the rest were lost. weather and pests.
Still, Fundy was not discouraged.
It is one of the 426 producers to whom the authorization has been issued this year, in addition to the 64 processors. Data is being collected on planted and harvested areas and will be published later, said Shannon Powers, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Agriculture.
According to Erica McBride-Stark, executive director of the Pennsylvania Hemp Industry Council and the National Hemp Association, the problems observed in the industry that result in fewer acres being planted are reduced to oversaturation of the hemp market. cannaboids and to the slow progress in the opening of the fiber and cereals markets.
“We are in a strange intermediate phase where cannabis markets are trying to equalize and we are working to build the infrastructure to really put the fiber and grain part of the industry into operation, which is where we will see the sustainable amount of grain grow. surfaces, ”McBride-Stark said.
Industry problems
Sarah Jobes has seen first-hand the struggles of the Pennsylvania hemp industry.
Jobes, whose family owns a farm in Indiana County, said they first planted hemp in 2019 and invested thousands of dollars in growing the plant.
The following year, most of its plants were lost because little rain came to the region, he said.
“We didn’t get any benefit,” he said. “We couldn’t really sell products, and with the drought we lost a lot of things the second year we did. The first year was kind of our test to see if we could do it or not. A lot of work, especially when you are a farmer and you are trying to do it in addition to agriculture ”.
Although the family received permission to grow up this year, they were unable to do so after Jobes ’father was injured in a shipwreck. She wasn’t sure if she would grow hemp again next year.
“It was a lot of work,” Jobes said, noting that the hemp harvest season coincided with its traditional harvest season. “It looked like we had to follow a lot of regulations.”
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has established several regulations for the hemp industry, including the amount of THC, the psychoactive compound in marijuana, that may be present in a hemp plant. If THC levels exceed 0.3%, farmers must destroy the crop.
In addition to regulations, farmers are traversing a highly saturated market that saw an influx of farmers from several states after the passage of the agricultural law. In 2019, an oversupply caused the price of hemp biomass to peak at $ 40 a pound in July. It dropped to $ 10 a pound in January.
“We flooded the market,” McBride-Stark said.
He noted that there has been an increase in new products since the bill was passed, including the highly controversial Delta-8, which has not yet been approved by the FDA. The product has been a topic of discussion in several states, including Texas, which banned products with Delta-8. Others, including Louisiana, have decided to regulate hemp-derived produce.
While CBD markets receive the initial influx of funding, the future of the hemp industry lies in fiber and grain production, McBride-Stark said.
This market will produce nutritional and industrial products such as bioplastics, auto parts and wood product substitutes.
“All the things that will make existing products better, stronger and more sustainable,” he said.
The future of hemp
The future of the fiber and grain markets makes McBride-Stark optimistic that the hemp industry will see growth in the coming years.
“We’re already starting to see investment in this infrastructure,” McBride-Stark said. “We’re probably still three to five years before it’s really common and the amount of infrastructure we need, but we’ll definitely get there.”
In order for the fiber and cereals market to come out, farmers will have to add hemp plants to their crop from other crops such as corn and soybeans, McBride-Stark said. If 5% of the area is changed from corn and soy to hemp, the industry could grow between 8 and 10 million acres, according to an economic impact study recently conducted by the National Hemp Association.
In addition, the report states that by 2030, industrial hemp could have a total economic impact of $ 32 billion.
For Fundy, who decided to grow hemp after using CBD oil for several years, the medical, industrial and environmental benefits of the crop make the industry worthwhile. Its main concern about hemp cultivation is to ensure that THC levels remain below the 0.3% limit set by regulators.
“You’re not getting rich overnight, not in that,” Fundy said. “But if I see potential, I will definitely continue to do that.… It’s a victory, a victory, a victory with that.”
Megan Tomasic is a writer for Tribune-Review staff. You can contact Megan at 724-850-1203, mtomasic@triblive.com or via Twitter.
