Could hemp be a cash crop for Washington County farmers? Steve Frey thinks it could be what this county needs. This year, he received a license to grow hemp on his properties in Akron. Once you receive a license, you have to buy seed that is certified in Colorado and that could be the most expensive part of the process, along with buying the license and having the seed you raised to be certified. “Hemp is a very durable product. You just plant it and I didn’t fertilize the plants and I probably over watered, but I grew eight feet tall plants. The hail did some damage, but not much,” Frey said. Hemp needs to be processed in Colorado and a processing plant is going to be opened in Sterling, so it would be close. Once it is processed, it can be sold anywhere in the world. One acre of hemp can produce as much fiber as two to three acres of cotton. The fiber from hemp is stronger and softer than cotton, will not mildew and lasts twice as long as cotton. For hemp you don’t need to use any pesticides or herbicides. One acre of hemp produces as much paper as two to four acres of trees and ropes made from hemp are used widely in the world. There are so many uses in which hemp is utilized. Hemp production was a common practice in the United States from 1776 to 1937 and most textiles were made from hemp. After that, it became associated with marijuana and it seemed the only people who grew it were those who wanted the THC, which is the part of hemp that can give people the feeling of being high.
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“The seed of hemp produces several cannabinoid, which are the chemical compounds present in the seed. THC is the only mood altering compound. The other compounds are used in the medical field for many reasons: lowering blood pressure, relieves Crohn’s disease, protects against cancer and many, many more,” Frey said. The whole plant of hemp can be harvested and used for many different uses. The inner woody core of the plant is THC free and can be used in housing construction. It can also be used in food, fiber and fuel. The fuels could be biodiesel because of the oils in the seeds and the stalk and another would be biofuel from the stalks. For industrial hemp, the federal government has issued a limit of .3 percent THC content. In Canada, the content level is one percent. When Frey had his seed that he raised tested for THC, some plants had no THC or zero percent and others tested 0.14 percent THC. Because of this fear that the THC could be extracted from the seeds, the production of hemp has been limited, although the planting of hemp in some other countries has seen a rise. Plant breeders are now working on the development of new varieties of hemp, which are low in the THC content. Duane Sinning, Assistant Director in the Division of Plant Industry, Colorado Department of Agriculture is the person who issued Frey a license to grow hemp. It has taken Colorado 14 years to set up the program to issue licenses to grow hemp, but they had everything in order before they ever started the process. There are some places on the Front Range where hemp is grown on one or two acres plots. Frey believes that Colorado, and especially Washington County, can be on the ground floor as a location to produce hemp and that it could make money for the farmers who were to plant it. To find out more, visit his web site at www.washingtoncountyhempcultivation.com or check him out on Facebook.
Akron man believes hemp to bwe economic market for county
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