Blaine County's first hemp seed crop harvested under new state guidelines

Dick Nicholson recently harvested 200 acres of industrial hemp. The crop is a first for Blaine County under a provision of the national Agricultural Act of 2014, also known as the 2014 Farm Bill. That bill allowed states to devise a program to license the growing of industrial hemp. Montana's first planting under the process occurred in 2017. Nicholson said, "Last year there were 10 licensed hemp producers, this year there were 49." And he expects the number of industrial hemp growers in Montana to continue upward.

Ian Foley, Pest Management Program Manager for the Montana Department of Agriculture, oversees the industrial hemp licensing process in Montana. He wrote in an email, "To obtain a pilot program license (to grow industrial hemp) a grower must submit a license application, pay $450 in fees and submit a copy of their fingerprints...." A felony drug conviction or other violent felony conviction bars participation in the program. Seeds are certified by the Montana Department of Agriculture and then distributed to licensed growers.

Industrial hemp seeds must be certified to produce plants that contain less than 0.3% THC (THC is the chemical responsible for the "high" marijuana users experience). Foley with the state ag department added, "Cannabis over the 0.3% THC is defined as marijuana under federal and state drug laws and would be reported to local law enforcement and the DEA (federal Department of Drug Enforcement Administration). Dick Nicholson said, "When I deliver my seeds to be pressed for oil one of the requirements is they be tested to assure they are at or below the 0.3% level of THC." He added, "You could smoke all 200 acres of our industrial hemp and likely have only a very bad headache. This hemp will not produce a high like marijuana."

Nicholson got his seed from Canada. The oil that will be pressed from Nicholson's crop is contracted to a buyer in Canada. State ag official Foley said Canada already has "a long-standing hemp food processing industry" and added most hemp foods (and products containing hemp) available in stores in Montana are of Canadian origin. Both Nicholson and Foley mentioned that the proposed 2018 Farm Bill has language that would hopefully clear up the legality of industrial hemp and separate it from regulation that applies to marijuana.

The history and uses of industrial hemp

Ancient Chinese used hemp seeds for food and oil and used the stalks as building materials as well as to make clothing, shoes, hemp cord (rope) and paper. Prior to the development of cotton, hemp was a primary source of material for clothing and sails for ships. In the New World settlers at Jamestown grew hemp in the early 1600's and for a time the Virginia Assembly (state legislature) required all citizens to grow hemp because it was so important to making sail cloth and rope. Hemp has been grown as a domesticated crop for as long as 10,000 years. About a century ago much of the western world stopped growing hemp, with a few notable exceptions. The current major producers of hemp seeds and fiber are China, France, Chile, South Korea and The Netherlands.

Hemp has a great many uses and there are markets for both the seeds and stalks of hemp. Hemp oil is used in lotions, cosmetics and other body products as well as detergents, plastics and building materials. In some applications hemp oil is an environmentally preferable choice as a lubricant or as a varnish for wood.

The stalks of hemp plants are desirable for bedding for livestock because it is such a clean plant. Regarding more familiar uses of the fiber, Nicholson said, "I've been told that the fibers of hemp can be used to make clothing as soft as silk or as rough as a gunny sack. It's said hemp-based sewing materials could make a shirt that would last a lifetime." Hemp fiber is touted as "the longest, strongest and most durable of all natural fibers."

There are also numerous medical benefits attributed to hemp oil because of the plant's high level of fatty acids (especially Omega-3). Fatty acids are known to boost one's immune system and several studies have shown fatty acids to be an essential component in treating disorders like depression and anxiety. Hemp seed oil has other health-related uses, like reducing inflammation, and using the oil is often included as a part of holistic health plans.

Growing industrial

hemp seeds

Dick Nicholson has farmed and ranched since the early 1980's and has worked in several sectors connected to agriculture. He said, "One of my motivations to grow industrial hemp is that I like to see new things grow and learn about them. And it's always good to have some alternative crops to deal with fluctuating markets and farming conditions." As with any new crop he says there's been a bit of a learning curve and he's still learning. Here's some of what he shared about his initial experiences growing industrial hemp.

First, a major benefit is that planting and harvesting industrial hemp doesn't require any special farm equipment, but the seed "is not cheap." Nicholson said, "I planted the seed with a wheat drill and used a conventional combine to harvest it. The settings on the combine are about the same as for wheat." On the day I visited he was combining and after some tweaking of the settings the seeds coming in to the hopper looked very clean. He added, "I'm getting clean seeds but might be throwing some out the back of the combine." He planted the field on May 18-20 and combined it the first week of September.

When the plants first came up they seemed to reach a certain point and then stopped growing. Nicholson believes because the plants are "deep rooted" that the pause in growth had to do with the young plants getting roots deep enough to reach moisture. He explained, "Once the plants got established they really began to take off." In a typical year the variety he was using could be expected to be about five feet tall. Nicholson's first crop was around three and a half to four feet tall and he believes the dry year accounted for that.

Both male and female seeds are planted but only the female plants produce seeds. The plants self-pollinate and do not require bees to pollinate. Prior to harvest the male plants all die and the female plants lose their leaves, with only a greenish pod of seeds remaining. Nicholson chuckled when he added, "One unusual thing about hemp is half of what you planted dies before you harvest the crop."

See Page B6: Industrial Hemp

Industrial hemp doesn't require any special type of soil to produce. Nicholson said he planted his first hemp crop on a field where he'd raised two prior crops in succession. "If I could start all over again," he said, "I might have put this first crop in a different field just to give it a little head start." The hemp crop is organic so no pesticides or insecticides were used. Like wheat, once planted there is no additional cultivation to the crop.

Nicholson said other producers had told him their yield was about 400 pounds of seed per acre, with some yields going as high as 800-1200 pounds. Though at the time of our visit he was still combining the field, he believed he was averaging about 400 pounds per acre. He thinks a better location for the first crop and a wetter year might have increased the yield.

The only major expense for the first attempt at growing hemp was the purchase of bins to store and dry the industrial hemp seed. Nicholson said, "I could have used my existing bins but wanted to start with new bins." Hemp seeds are combined wetter than wheat and other grains. He said, "It's recommended to combine hemp at 19%, then try and dry it down to about 12%--a level where it will keep."

This year's seeds will be pressed at the Oil Barn in Big Sandy, then shipped to Canada where the oil was sold on contract. Nicholson said, "Oil from organic seed is selling at about twice that of conventionally raised seed. That made the difference for me this year." He added that the market for both seeds and stalks had softened a bit this year.

Local law enforcement requested the Nicholson's keep the existence of the field of industrial hemp quiet until after the seed was harvested. Other producers told Nicholson it was a good idea to touch base with the local sheriff's department and let them know what he was raising. Apparently the word 'hemp' has caused some folks in other areas to conclude that industrial hemp was the same thing as marijuana and that mistaken belief resulted in some problems.

The future of

industrial hemp

Ian Foley, with the Montana Department of Agriculture, said Canadian varieties of hemp seem to do well in Montana. Foley believes hemp could be another option for Montana producers to diversify their farm crop rotations and revenue sources. He noted, "The next steps involve clarification of the legality of the crop (under consideration in the current farm bill), increasing U.S. processing capacity and increasing consumer acceptance and purchases of hemp food products."

As noted above, the new farm bill has language that would separate industrial hemp from marijuana. Fact is, nearly 40 states have already passed legislation to allow producers to grow industrial hemp in experimental programs, much like Montana's pilot program implemented in 2017. The acceptance of industrial hemp by producers seems to be well underway.

Dick Nicholson added, "Like any new crop there's a certain learning curve we have to go through to achieve maximum efficiency and productivity." He said researchers are already at work developing varieties of industrial hemp that would produce shorter plants resulting in less stalks to deal with when harvesting. As more producers begin planting industrial hemp more uses for it in products will likely develop. The return of a once commonly grown crop has started. How far that return progresses is yet to be determined.