Category: Hemp

  • Honeywell to Make Chemicals From Industrial Hemp

    Honeywell to Make Chemicals From Industrial Hemp

    Credit: Wolterke

    Honeywell has announced a partnership with a US bioenergy company to produce biochemicals from industrial hemp and other non-food crops.

    Honeywell, a huge multinational corporation, has its fingers in several pies, including energy and sustainability solutions. SGP BioEnergy is a fully integrated bioenergy products development firm based in New York, according to media reports. The pair announced last week that they are teaming up to develop new technology to convert industrial hemp and other biomass materials into biochemicals that can be used to produce plastics and other everyday items.

    Under the arrangement, Honeywell will develop new feedstock tech and ongoing operational support and workforce training, while SGP BioEnergy will provide the infrastructure, workforce, and second-generation feedstock via its “Ready. Grow” program. The program delivers low-carbon-intensity feedstocks with full traceability and sustainable certification using the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC).

    “By using hemp and other non-edible feedstocks to produce these important chemicals, Honeywell and SGP BioEnergy are helping to reduce the world’s reliance on fossil fuels without impacting the food chain,” said Honeywell’s Bryan Glover.

    While hemp can be used as a food crop, industrial hemp, as the name suggests, can be used for other purposes, including cordage, building materials, textiles, paper, biofuel, and bioplastics. Furthermore, it can help restore soil integrity to damaged and depleted farm soils.

  • New Bill Would Reduce Burden on Industrial Hemp Farmers

    New Bill Would Reduce Burden on Industrial Hemp Farmers

    A bipartisan team of U.S. senators presented a bill in the country’s Senate that would reduce the burden on industrial hemp farmers.

    U.S. Senators Jon Tester (D) and Mike Braun (R) introduced bipartisan legislation dubbed the Industrial Hemp Act, that would exempt farmers who exclusively cultivate industrial hemp from the arduous background checks and expensive sampling and testing requirements.

    These protocols would, however, remain, for farmers growing cannabinoid hemp, according to The Dales Report.

    “Montana farmers don’t need government bureaucrats putting unnecessary burdens on their operations,” stated Senator Tester. “It’s time we cut red tape, and make it easier for industrial hemp farmers to get their product to market. My bipartisan bill builds on Montana’s leadership on hemp policy and creates good-paying jobs for folks across rural America.”

    The current U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) rules require all hemp crops must be compliant and are subject to a test, while the end-use products made from industrial hemp have always been exempt from the Controlled Substances Act.

    The new legislation would still require industrial hemp farmers to meet compliance standards, but would not require background checks and testing protocols if their crops are in compliance.

    Producers who go against these regulations would be banned from taking part in the hemp program for five years.

  • Global Hemp Market May Reach $18.6 Billion by 2027

    Global Hemp Market May Reach $18.6 Billion by 2027

    Photo: Kaylen Settles

    The global hemp market could reach $18.6 billion by 2027 if nations around the world take action to clarify the crop’s legal status and address other key issues, according to an extensive report on the industry from the United Nations Conference on Trade & Development (UNCTAD).

    Citing figures from researcher Krungsri Research Intelligence, a part of Bangkok-based Bank of Ayudhya, the report suggests the next five years could see the market value of hemp quadruple from the estimated $4.7 billion recorded in 2020, as reported by Hemp Today.

    The UNCTAD report addresses:

    • Information: More transparency is needed for the hemp industry, including public data about production of hemp across all outputs, country-specific data, and pricing, the report’s authors advise.

    “At the international level, there is a clear need to improve availability and accessibility of information. Efforts should be devoted to improving the current state of information about all aspects of this commodity.

    “Additional categories need to be included to cover, for instance, hemp seeds, hemp seed oil, hemp seed products, hemp oleoresins and essential oils,” according to the report.

    • Sustainability: The report also suggests that environmental and social considerations are “core to the success of any hemp-related policy” and therefore should be taken into account in broader legal and regulatory frameworks.

    “In order to ensure a sustainable hemp sector globally hemp farming can offer environmental benefits that can be considered in policies aimed at mitigating the effects of climate change and restoring healthy ecosystems,” the report observes.

    As hemp cultivation can help to maximize the use of land, it may also contribute to increasing the incomes of farmers and rural communities, especially in developing countries, the report notes.

    • Industrial strategy: A whole-plant strategy for hemp should be considered in most parts of the world, UNCTAD recommends, noting “this is all the more desirable because of the still relatively small size of hemp markets and the economic constraints inherent in such markets.”

    A whole-plant approach can mean business in both primary and secondary markets, and hemp farming could be further monetized by integrating carbon credit schemes on a voluntary basis, the paper also observes.

    The 84-page report defines the steps that governments can take to capitalize on hemp for its economic and social potential, gives an overview of industrial hemp by output categories, and shows how those hemp subsector derivatives are reflected in trade statistics.

    “Hemp value chains can boost growth in rural areas and contribute to both manufacturing and food-processing industries. However, to fully exploit such potentialities, countries may have to take specific actions,” according to the report, which marks the first time an international intergovernmental body has issued a paper promoting the use of industrial hemp.

    The report also addresses the legal issues surrounding hemp. Clarifying the legal status of hemp as a non-intoxicant is the first step governments need to take in order to minimize legal and financial risks for producers, the report observes.

    “Cultivation of non-intoxicant C. Sativa L. cultivars should be permitted in all countries even though it may require strict governmental control. Moreover, an approach favoring THC threshold in final products, rather than in the field, should be adopted to incentivize a whole-plant approach and uses,” the report says.

    Alternatively, increased THC thresholds for crops “on the field” up to levels scientifically recognized as non-intoxicant could be put in place by lawmakers. “This would allow increasing the pool of varieties useable in hemp production chains, thus de facto increasing the possibility to cultivate cultivars best adapted to specific environmental conditions and characteristics,” according to the report.

    Other production constraints imposed by regulatory frameworks also must be identified, and strategies should be developed for regional cooperation to establish viable and sustainable value chains, the report also suggests.

  • Costa Rica Authorizes Country’s First Hemp Farm

    Costa Rica Authorizes Country’s First Hemp Farm

    Credit: Gian

    Costa Rica has for the first time has given an agricultural conglomerate authorization to grow and process hemp under a recently signed resolution from the country’s agriculture ministry.

    Ingenio Taboga SA, a farming and food company, said it plans to plant hemp and build a processing factory on a 150-acre site.

    Taboga, based in Bebedero de Cañas, Guanacaste, lists products in alcohol-based sanitizers, specialty sugars, natural sweeteners, protein powders and CBD on its website, according to Hemp Today.

    “For the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, the development of responsible and efficient agricultural activities with significant agro-export potential is extremely important,” said Agriculture Minister Víctor Carvajal, adding that seven hemp more projects are being considered for authorization, with approval expected soon.

    Under rules approved by agriculture and health officials in September, hemp farming and production licenses are intended to be inexpensive and widely available in Costa Rica. Individuals and legal entities can be authorized to grow and process hemp, and rules are set for post-harvesting, storing, transporting, product manufacturing, marketing, importing and export of health, food and industrial products.

    Costa Rica’s rules set the limit for THC in hemp plants at 1.0 percent. Most countries follow a generally accepted limit of 0.3 percent THC as the dividing line between hemp and marijuana.

    Industry advocates in Costa Rica say establishing a robust hemp sector can spark development of agricultural value chains by bringing economic and social opportunities to the country’s rural areas, and contribute to the growth of the pharmaceutical industry.

  • Judge Orders Kentucky Sheriff to Return Delta-8

    Judge Orders Kentucky Sheriff to Return Delta-8

    A federal judge in Kentucky has ordered a Laurel County sheriff to return hemp products and derivatives that were seized from a pair of stores. The judge found that the store owner is likely to succeed on his claims that they were unlawfully taken.

    In an order filed last week, U.S. District Judge Claria Horn Boom said Joseph Bingham most likely has federal and state law on his side and his products were lawful, according to law360. She said Sheriff John Root must return what was seized in the February raid and is blocked from seizing similar products in the future.

    According to the suit, Bingham operates two CBD stores and on and Feb. 25, Root and others from the Laurel County Sheriff’s Department raided those businesses and seized products containing delta-8 THC without a warrant.

    While Root argued the products were in plain sight, Bingham alleged many of the products were in a back store room. There is also a dispute as to whether an employee at one of the stores consented to the search and seizure, according to the suit.

    In the order, Judge Boom noted that the 2018 Farm Bill exempts hemp and its derivatives from the definition of cannabis that is listed in Schedule I of the Controlled Substances Act, and the Farm Bill specifically excludes THC in hemp and its derivatives, with courts finding that this depends on the delta-9 THC concentration.

  • Hemp Association Appoints 2 to Board of Directors

    Hemp Association Appoints 2 to Board of Directors

    The Hemp Industries Association (HIA) today announced that Jennifer Knaack, senior director of compliance and science for Koi CBD, and La Vonne Peck, co-Founder of Native Network Consulting, have been appointed to the HIA Board of Directors through 2022.

    Credit: Mex Chriss

    The vacancy appointments were made strategically to advance two of the HIA’s top hemp industry priorities: Elevating standards and sustainable development, according to a press release. “We are really lucky as an industry to have leaders willing to contribute their time and efforts to making it better,” said HIA’s president Mike Lewis. “La Vonne’s background helping indigenous groups to approach this plant as a socio-economic opportunity for their communities is going to be invaluable to our efforts to help farmers get the most value out of hemp. And Jan Knaack’s scientific expertise and focus on elevating standards are exactly what is most needed in the cannabinoids discussion we are having as an industry right now.”

    Peck has more than 20 years of experience supporting the economic development of native communities, and has assisted 65 tribes with cannabis planning, according to the release. “I hope having an indigenous citizen on the Board will open avenues in the future for our Tribal communities,” said Peck, who is the former Chairwoman of the La Jolla Band of Luiseno Indians in Southern California, and a current member of the California Cannabis Advisory Committee. “We have a Board with years of experience, and I look forward to working with them,” said La Vonne, whose company Native Networks Consulting has been a member of the HIA since 2016.

    Knaack earned a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Southern California and will occupy the seat designated for a cannabinoids expert on the Board and act as Chairperson of the HIA’s Cannabinoids Council, an ad hoc members group focused on elevating industry standards and scientific regulations that prioritize consumer safety. She has more than 15 years of experience in analytical chemistry including serving as a laboratory director and consultant for multiple cannabis testing laboratories.

    “The HIA has made such a great impact on this industry. I’m excited to join the other members of the Board and, through the Cannabinoids Council, to continue advocating for the development of hemp products from a scientific perspective —one that extends through extraction and testing of final products, and that includes safety and mechanisms of action.” Jen heads compliance and science for Koi CBD, a leading national producer and distributor of hemp extract products that is committed to the highest standards of scientific accuracy, consumer education, and safety.

    The Hemp Industries Association Board of Directors, currently at 11 members, is the governing body for the association and has seen service by numerous prominent hemp industry and activist leaders over its nearly 30-year history. Nominations for HIA’s 2021 Board Elections are underway now, with a slate of candidates to fill four upcoming vacancies to be announced in September. Business and farming members with at least two consecutive years of membership are eligible to stand as candidates.