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Fewer farmers in Kansas are signing up to grow hemp each year, likely due to declining demand for CBD oil. But hemp advocates say there are markets for hemp fiber and beans that could still be a boon for Kansas.
A drop in CBD oil production in Kansas appears to be causing a huge reduction in the number of farmers growing hemp.
When the state launched its program to monitor the newly legalized crop in 2019, more than 200 farmers signed up. This year, only 41 have obtained licenses from the state to grow it.
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Before the drop in demand, most Kansas hemp was used to make CBD oil, a product used for health and as a food additive.
But industrial hemp experts say there is still a growing market for other hemp products, such as fiber for clothing and grain for animal feed.
“There’s been a reduction in the number of growers and the number of acres next to the CBD,” said Sarah Stephens, CEO of Midwest Hemp Technologies in Augusta, Kansas. “But there has been an increase in the number of producers and the number of hectares on the fiber and grain side.”
Hemp is related to cannabis, but hemp varieties have very low levels of the psychoactive compound THC.
The US government legalized the cultivation of hemp in 2018, making cannabidiol, or CBD, legal in all 50 states. The following year, Kansas began to regulate the crop and a rush of farmers registered to grow it.
Hemp supporters touted it as a promising crop due to the popularity of CBD oil, especially in states that have not legalized the use of medical or recreational marijuana.
But the demand for CBD appears to have declined, and with it the need for hemp plants to produce it. The Kansas Department of Agriculture reported that 90% of the hemp produced in Kansas between 2019 and 2020 was used for CBD oil production. This year, it has dropped to less than 5%.
Assistant Secretary of Agriculture Kelsey Olson said the early years of hemp production in Kansas were driven by a strong market for CBD. But since then, more states have legalized the use of recreational marijuana, including neighboring Missouri. Now only a handful of states like Kansas completely ban the use of marijuana.
Legalized products made from marijuana may be more appealing than CBD to some customers.
“The landscape has changed over the last few years across the country,” Olson said, “I think that might have changed some of the use.”
But farmers and processors who have stayed with the crop say there is still value in other hemp markets. The plant’s fiber can be used for everything from clothing to biodegradable plastic alternatives.
Melissa Nelson is the co-owner of South Bend Industrial Hemp, a processing facility in Great Bend, Kansas. He said his business ignored the CBD fad and focused on processing hemp for fiber. The biggest market he sees now is using hemp stalks for stronger animal bedding than standard straw bedding.
That decision seems to have paid off. Despite the decline in hemp farmers across the state, Nelson said his business continues to grow.
“More farmers,” Nelson said, “are growing for fiber and grain production rather than cannabinoids.”
Stephens said there are also markets for hemp that Kansas farmers are not yet taking advantage of. For example, Stephens said, health food stores sell hemp seed food products. But not enough American farmers produce the grain needed for these products, so they are mostly imported from Canada.
To counter that, Stephens said he’s part of a group of Kansans hemp growers working to educate farmers about the unlocked potential of the fiber and grain markets. If successful, Stephens said Kansas could become a major producer of the crop.
“We have the right land masses,” Stephens said, “the right farmer knowledge, the right seasons and the right temperatures to lead this industry.”
Dylan Lysen reports on politics for the Kansas News Service. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanLysen or email him at dlysen (at) kcur (dot) org.
The Kansas News Service is a collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio, KMUW and High Plains Public Radio focused on health, the social determinants of health and their connection to public policy.
Media may republish Kansas News Service stories and photos at no charge with proper attribution and a link to ksnewsservice.org.
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