Background of Industrial Hemp

Industry Background

Industrial Hemp was commercially produced in the 1800’s in many parts of the world. It was used to manufacture rope, cloth, sails and paper etc. The seed was crushed for oil, food and feed. The introduction of cotton and petroleum products and new processing techniques for these products lead to the demise of the hemp industry in the early 1900’s. Legislated changes in North America at the time also made the propagation of known varieties virtually impossible.

Industrial hemp production has remained legal throughout most of the world. The world hemp fibre market continues to be dominated by many of the low cost producers. China, South Korea, and the Former Soviet Union produce about 70% of the world supply. China alone produces about three fourths of the world supply of hemp fibre. Until the early 2000’s, there has been a steady decline of world acreage.

In the 1930’s, the anti-marijuana crusade gained momentum in North America with the passage of an act in USA that prohibited its use and circulation. Canada followed suit in 1938 with the passage of the Opium and Narcotics Control Act. This was basically the end of hemp production in North America until the mid 1990’s. Hemp varieties with low THC levels have been developed, and in March of 1998 the ban was lifted, permitting the production of hemp under license with Health Canada. Canada has adopted a THC level of 0.3 per cent as the concentration that separates non-narcotic from narcotic cultivars. Most varieties being grown in Canada today have originated in Eastern European countries. In the past few years, Canadian adapted varieties have been registered and are becoming available.

In Canada, Industrial Hemp is viewed as a new alternative crop, which compliments prairie crop production rotations. It breaks the traditional crop disease cycles affecting cereals while offering enhanced cropping profits for farm businesses.

Industrial hemp is a high volume renewable source of quality fibre. The fibre is well suited to for supplementing or substituting non-renewable sources of fibre used in big market products such as paper, insulation, biocomposites, or in the horticultural industry. The full plant utilization of hemp and flax crops has a high potential in the emerging bio-economy. Manitoba Industrial Hemp Industry

Manitoba growers were quick to see the potential after industrial hemp was licensed for production in Canada, Hemp grows in Manitoba in a wide variety of climate and soil types, making it ideal for areas of the province that do not have the option of some of the longer season crops like beans and sunflowers.

Manitoba Farmers have been very innovative in growing and in particular harvesting the crop. A crop that can be 10 to 12 feet tall has some challenges at harvest time. Producers have made many of the necessary equipment modifications at the farm level to overcome many of the obstacles.

Presently, the Industrial Hemp Industry is a new industry in Western Canada. Existing Manitoba grain processors include Hemp Oil Canada (Ste. Agathe, MB) and Manitoba Harvest (Winnipeg, MB). These companies primarily crush industrial hemp grain for oil, the nut and other products. Other grain processing companies using Manitoba hemp grain are located in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, and Quebec.

Parkland Industrial Hemp Growers Coop Ltd. (PIHG) in Dauphin is a grower Coop that is sponsoring a Manitoba plant breeding program and providing the fundamentals for a fibre processing facility. They have dedicated growers prepared to grow the crop for grain or fibre.

Fibre processing is in the development stages in Manitoba. The Emerson Hemp Distribution Company at present is the only company that processes raw hemp fibre into specific useful composites

Manitoba production is summarized in Table 3 (Manitoba Crop Insurance seeded acreage reports). The production has been in response to the growing demand for grain and processed products. 2006 saw an increase due to the increased contracting, high yields, economics and non contracted production. 2007 saw a drop of acres due to the increased inventory and positive economics of producing other crops. Table 3 also indicates the total acres licensed each year by Health Canada.

Table 3

Manitoba Industrial Hemp Acres

Year	Acres1	Yield per acre (Lbs.)	Licensed acres in Canada 2
2001	1,307	487	3,250
2002	1,498	560	3,778
2003	5,776	560	6,750
2004	4,348	264	8,721
2005	11,910	302	24,030
2006	29,865	578	50,767
2007	4,268	N/A	11,569

1 - Source: http://www.mmpp.com/ 2 - Source: Health Canada