http://www.purdueexponent.org/campus/article_5076336e-3999-5e60-beb6-704702007626.html
Article in Purdue Exponent newspaper about 3rd year of research. Purdue Botany and Plant Pathology professor and extension researcher Dr. Janna Beckerman has some comments.
Hemp is a crop that grows like any other, but with more legal boundaries.
Purdue’s Agriculture personnel have been growing and researching hemp since 2015. They hosted their second Industrial Hemp Field Day on Thursday at Meigs Farm, south of Lafayette.
Janna Beckerman, field day organizer and professor of botany and plant pathology, said she has seen limited change for hemp due to being in the “murky legal realm” but that the public is becoming more accepting, which stems from more education.
“I’d like to see this going in as something that growers would consider in rotation, similar to wheat,” she said. “(Hemp) has more of a role than what we currently have it used for. Of course, the federal government has to legalize it first, and all of those ‘little’ details.”
This year’s field day, those who have been working with the hemp fields gave presentations about the potential challenges and opportunities growing hemp can have for one’s business.
Leah Sandler is a doctoral student working with Kevin Gibson, professor of botany and plant pathology, to reintroduce industrial hemp into the Midwest. Sandler said Indiana was one of the leading producers of hemp in the United States before it became illegal 70 years ago.
So, the knowledge of how to grow industrial hemp in this type of climate has dwindled. She and her colleagues are researching the various types of industrial hemp to determine which would be best suited here.
Purdue is researching eight variations, or cultivars — six seed varieties from Canada and two fiber varieties from Europe — according to Sandler.
“Hemp is a day length-dependent crop, which means that flowering is induced at a certain amount of hours of daylight,” Sandler said. “We were curious as to how they would grow here, since we were getting all of our seeds from Canada, which is at a much farther northern latitude.”
To research effectiveness, Sandler’s group planted seeds on different dates to monitor how it would affect the growth of the plants.
“The idea being, the earlier you planted it the more growth you could get, the more robust your yield, because it’s produced more,” she said. “What we’ve found ... is that this doesn’t seem to be the case. The hemp seems to flower at about four weeks after we plant it, regardless of when we plant it, regardless of the day length.”
The hemp seeds grown can be tested for composition, but according to Indiana law, they must be destroyed afterward.
Many who attended the field day asked questions regarding hemp’s tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol content, and how it could be compared to marijuana’s properties.
“Legally, hemp has to have 0.3 percent of THC content or below, to be legally grown; however, hemp in general has very low THC content, but a higher CBD content,” she said.
Marijuana, on the other hand, has high THC and low CBD, she said; Purdue Ag does not study marijuana.
“The key difference (between hemp and marijuana plants) is that hemp does not have a significant amount of THC,” said Marty Mahan, agricultural director for the Indiana Hemp Industries Association. “And other than that, there is no difference.”
Mahan was sitting at an INHIA booth during the field day. He said he is seeing a shift in the industry, because when he first became involved, its No. 1 priority was “to get people to understand that there was a difference between marijuana and hemp — and I don’t feel like that’s necessarily the case anymore.”
But INHIA volunteer Michelle Lennis said she is still surprised by how many people don’t know there is a difference.
“As popular as it seems, you still get a lot of people who just can’t understand that it’s a separate plant,” she said.
Mahan said he finds the need for explanation is dwindling as he sees public acceptance of hemp growing. This is especially true when looking at hemp-related legislation.
“(Hemp legislation) is much more interest-driven than education-driven,” he said. “If it’s not about corn or soybeans, they don’t care, they’re not interested. ... They just don’t see it as a commodity like they do with other crops.”
During last year’s field day, Beckerman said she saw some odd businesses and mildly interested people come in, but this year it seemed more focused.
“They’re starting to realize this is an agricultural enterprise and that you need to have that background to go into it,” she said. “You’re not going to buy a bag of seed and cast it like chicken feed. And when we started, I really do think we had people who thought that.”
One interested woman who attended was Gail Hale, who came with her husband, Stephen, from Bloomington.
The Hales, both Purdue alumni, have gone through two major careers and attended the event to see about branching out. Hale works with fibers to create artwork, and although she and her husband “can’t grow anything,” she is excited by opportunities hemp presents.
“We work with a lot of young people doing tours of (Bloomington) orchards, and they’re all into organic stuff,” she said. “This (field day) gives us some hope for something good to happen that can boost the economy and give these young people the know-how to grow.”
Hemp research and education is something Beckerman said should grow in prominence in the Midwest — but support from other research agencies is crucial.
“This really is a ‘joint’ effort,” she said with a laugh.
Article in Purdue Exponent newspaper about 3rd year of research. Purdue Botany and Plant Pathology professor and extension researcher Dr. Janna Beckerman has some comments.
Hemp is a crop that grows like any other, but with more legal boundaries.
Purdue’s Agriculture personnel have been growing and researching hemp since 2015. They hosted their second Industrial Hemp Field Day on Thursday at Meigs Farm, south of Lafayette.
Janna Beckerman, field day organizer and professor of botany and plant pathology, said she has seen limited change for hemp due to being in the “murky legal realm” but that the public is becoming more accepting, which stems from more education.
“I’d like to see this going in as something that growers would consider in rotation, similar to wheat,” she said. “(Hemp) has more of a role than what we currently have it used for. Of course, the federal government has to legalize it first, and all of those ‘little’ details.”
This year’s field day, those who have been working with the hemp fields gave presentations about the potential challenges and opportunities growing hemp can have for one’s business.
Leah Sandler is a doctoral student working with Kevin Gibson, professor of botany and plant pathology, to reintroduce industrial hemp into the Midwest. Sandler said Indiana was one of the leading producers of hemp in the United States before it became illegal 70 years ago.
So, the knowledge of how to grow industrial hemp in this type of climate has dwindled. She and her colleagues are researching the various types of industrial hemp to determine which would be best suited here.
Purdue is researching eight variations, or cultivars — six seed varieties from Canada and two fiber varieties from Europe — according to Sandler.
“Hemp is a day length-dependent crop, which means that flowering is induced at a certain amount of hours of daylight,” Sandler said. “We were curious as to how they would grow here, since we were getting all of our seeds from Canada, which is at a much farther northern latitude.”
To research effectiveness, Sandler’s group planted seeds on different dates to monitor how it would affect the growth of the plants.
“The idea being, the earlier you planted it the more growth you could get, the more robust your yield, because it’s produced more,” she said. “What we’ve found ... is that this doesn’t seem to be the case. The hemp seems to flower at about four weeks after we plant it, regardless of when we plant it, regardless of the day length.”
The hemp seeds grown can be tested for composition, but according to Indiana law, they must be destroyed afterward.
Many who attended the field day asked questions regarding hemp’s tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol content, and how it could be compared to marijuana’s properties.
“Legally, hemp has to have 0.3 percent of THC content or below, to be legally grown; however, hemp in general has very low THC content, but a higher CBD content,” she said.
Marijuana, on the other hand, has high THC and low CBD, she said; Purdue Ag does not study marijuana.
“The key difference (between hemp and marijuana plants) is that hemp does not have a significant amount of THC,” said Marty Mahan, agricultural director for the Indiana Hemp Industries Association. “And other than that, there is no difference.”
Mahan was sitting at an INHIA booth during the field day. He said he is seeing a shift in the industry, because when he first became involved, its No. 1 priority was “to get people to understand that there was a difference between marijuana and hemp — and I don’t feel like that’s necessarily the case anymore.”
But INHIA volunteer Michelle Lennis said she is still surprised by how many people don’t know there is a difference.
“As popular as it seems, you still get a lot of people who just can’t understand that it’s a separate plant,” she said.
Mahan said he finds the need for explanation is dwindling as he sees public acceptance of hemp growing. This is especially true when looking at hemp-related legislation.
“(Hemp legislation) is much more interest-driven than education-driven,” he said. “If it’s not about corn or soybeans, they don’t care, they’re not interested. ... They just don’t see it as a commodity like they do with other crops.”
During last year’s field day, Beckerman said she saw some odd businesses and mildly interested people come in, but this year it seemed more focused.
“They’re starting to realize this is an agricultural enterprise and that you need to have that background to go into it,” she said. “You’re not going to buy a bag of seed and cast it like chicken feed. And when we started, I really do think we had people who thought that.”
One interested woman who attended was Gail Hale, who came with her husband, Stephen, from Bloomington.
The Hales, both Purdue alumni, have gone through two major careers and attended the event to see about branching out. Hale works with fibers to create artwork, and although she and her husband “can’t grow anything,” she is excited by opportunities hemp presents.
“We work with a lot of young people doing tours of (Bloomington) orchards, and they’re all into organic stuff,” she said. “This (field day) gives us some hope for something good to happen that can boost the economy and give these young people the know-how to grow.”
Hemp research and education is something Beckerman said should grow in prominence in the Midwest — but support from other research agencies is crucial.
“This really is a ‘joint’ effort,” she said with a laugh.
