Friday morning, Governor Kemp signed HB 213, the hemp farming bill. A reminder, that is hemp, notably separate and distinct from marijuana. Hemp contains almost no tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive chemical abundant in marijuana. Hemp does contain cannabidiol (CBD), but CBD does not contain any psychoactive properties – a note for other legislation not discussed here.
Kemp will be signing the bill at Corbett’s Country Corner in Lake Park, a familiar location to the lead sponsor of the bill, Rep. John Corbett (R-174 Lake Park). Corbett worked hard to overcome the hemp versus marijuana problem but was excited to see the bill’s passage that will allow Georgia farmers to compete with those in 41 other states.
The bill may be the first step in developing a hemp industry in Georgia, grower numbers will likely not take off quickly. A permit through the Department of Agriculture will run farmers $25,000, with renewal years costing $10,000 – among the most restrictive regulatory environments for the crop in the country. If those that do take the plunge see success, there is likely to be pressure on the Gold Dome to relax some of those restrictions.
Hemp is primarily used for industrial purposes, a fibrous plant that can be used for many of the same products as timber – including rope or paper, even clothing. Hemp takes much less time to mature than does timber, depending on the purpose and conditions, as few as 70 days versus years that it might take timber. Plants typically reach between 6 to 15 feet in height and one acre of hemp can be remarkably productive.
According to a study from Notre Dame University, one acre of hemp can produce:
- 8,000 pounds of hemp seed yield over 300 gallons hemp seed oil and a byproduct of 6,000 pounds of high protein hemp flour. This seed oil can either be used as a food or biodiesel fuel, think soybeans or sunflower seeds, but more productive;
- Six to ten tons of hemp bast fiber, which can be used to make canvas, rope, lace, linen and specialty thin paper, like for cigarettes or bibles; and,
- Twenty-five tons of hemp hurd fiber, which makes all grades of paper, composite building material, or animal bedding.
Hemp is also a potentially popular rotation crop as it suppresses weeds and decreases insect or disease problems. The deep tap root pulls up sub-soil nutrients and, when the leaves fall to the ground, these nutrients are returned to the soil for next crop rotation.
For the history fans, founding father Thomas Jefferson was a prodigious hemp grower, both at Monticello and a plantation in Bedford County, Virginia. Jefferson praised hemp both for its versatile uses and versatile growing ability.
