Farm saving crop or just another money losing venture? A local farmer’s perspective.
By James Cassidy
Have you heard of hemp? Hemp (Cannabis sativa L) is an herbaceous, anemophilous plant belonging to the Cannabaceae family. It is among the most ancient, cultivated plants and should not be confused with marijuana, which is not legal. The difference is hemp products contain less than .3% of THC.
The possibilities of turning hemp into a multitude of plant-based products are very exciting and would benefit farmers, industries, and consumers throughout America. Imagine hemp plastic that biograde quickly. Or hemp home insulation grown by our Wisconsin farmers! How about hemp batteries! Or the medicinal side of hemp – CBD. Furthermore, hemp is a bioremediator for contaminated soil sites keeping our environment clean. The possibilities are endless. So why haven’t we seen fields of hemp around our state? Here is my personal perspective as a small-scale hemp farmer.
In 2018 the federal government made the cultivation of hemp legal again in the United States after a long hiatus. There was a buzz of excitement in Wisconsin about this crop’s comeback. Wisconsin used to be a leader in the hemp industry until its prohibition in the 1940s. Entrepreneurs felt hemp had the potential to spawn a new lucrative industry which would grow many small businesses and put farmers’ books back in the black. As such, many existing and several new farmers, both large and small throughout the state jumped at the chance to grow hemp.
In 2019, a small group of farmers, including myself, formed the South Central Wisconsin Hemp Cooperative and began raising hemp for the organic production of CBD oil tinctures. We were part of the over 1,200 hemp growing licenses issued in 2019, the first full year of hemp cultivation in Wisconsin resulting in over 4,000 acres planted and harvested in the same year. As a result, the state saw 560 businesses open to process hemp into crude CBD oil and a variety of other hemp by-products. Three years later, in 2022 the number of hemp acres grown dropped to 870 acres with 740 acres harvested. The last year of data from DATCP show hemp processors dropped to 524. Keep in mind there is a budding hemp industry in Wisconsin connected to the CBD side of the hemp industry and not the by-product side.
Well not yet anyway.
What has caused the decline in numbers and lack of growth in an industry that had so much initial excitement? The answer to this is complicated and the reasons blend together. Here are a few possible answers.
Reason #1: Oversupply
The initial excitement of the industry caused farmers to grow a large number of acres of hemp thinking the payoff would be worth the hard work of growing and harvesting a very labor intensive crop. This led to an oversupply of hemp in a consumer market that was not quite ready for this new industry and its many products. For the farmers, however, the lack of hemp consumers in the market led to plummeting prices as the initial oversupply had nowhere to go. Many farmers are still sitting on stored hemp biomass from 2019. If hemp farmers want to move their stored biomass they have two options 1) sell it at bottom of the barrel prices if they can find a processor who is willing to buy it or 2) invest in turning their hemp biomass into retail products and then hope to sell them in an already flooded market full of several other hemp-derived products.
Reason #2: Lack of Knowledge of hemp and cannabinoids
Ask yourself how much you know about hemp and CBD? Chances are you don’t know a lot and therefore wouldn’t think much about buying these types of products. Hemp processors figured out quickly how to process hemp biomass into CBD and other cannabinoid distillates into tinctures, vapes, topicals, candies, gummies, pills, salves, etc. The South Central Wisconsin Hemp Cooperative learned there is an education gap when it comes to the value of hemp-derived products. This lack of knowledge has kept the industry from expanding further. Consumers want value for their money and not knowing what CBD can do for their aches and pains, stress, anxiety, and overall health and wellbeing leads to consumer hesitation. Educating consumers requires individual conversations. Without that education the growth of hemp consumers will continue to be slow.
Reason #3: FDA regulations or lack thereof
Farmers and processors across the state and the nation hope the FDA will rule that hemp-derived CBD can be added to human and animal products. Currently, products derived from cultivated hemp are legal, but not considered dietary supplements. Therefore they cannot be advertised as products that can reduce pain, anxiety, or sleep issues nor added to food or beverages as they must be sold as stand alone products. An FDA rule allowing it to become a dietary supplement would open several avenues of uses in both human and pet foods. Unfortunately for the hemp industry, FDA is waiting for Congress to pass legislation authorizing the FDA to regulate hemp-derived CBD as a dietary supplement. There is currently bi-partisan legislation introduced but it has yet to pass.
The innumerable advantages of hemp in creating jobs, maintaining family farm profits, and providing health benefits means this crop should not be ignored. It’s time for Congress and the FDA to work together to move this promising crop and industry forward.
James Cassidy owns 10 acres in central Green County with his wife Erin and two children and is working to replace invasive species with native plants and expand environmentally friendly agricultural production of hemp, vegetables, and livestock on a small scale. Their farm is Good Earth Enterprises. He joined South Central Wisconsin Farmers Union to engage and continue to learn from the many knowledgeable and environmentally sustaining-focused members who understand that working together and sharing with one another makes for a better community and environment.
South Central Wisconsin Farmers Union is a member-driven committed to enhancing the quality of life for family farmers, rural communities, and all people through educational opportunities, cooperative endeavors, and civic engagement in Rock, Green, and Lafayette Counties. We will be featuring newspaper articles in our tri-county membership region regularly throughout the year.