Although the hemp and marijuana plants are part of the same Cannabis species, hemp has no psychoactive effects and thus called industrial hemp in the U.S. The industrial hemp seed and fiber itself has over 30,000 uses in biofuels, personal care, industrial insulation, food, consumer products, textiles, and supplements while cannabinoids such as CBD have numerous health benefits and medical applications. The domestic hemp seed and fiber market is currently over $1.0 billion and the hemp CBD market, currently at $2.0 billion is estimated to grow to over $20.0 billion by 2022. The global industrial hemp market is projected to grow from $4.6 billion in 2019 to $26.6 billion by 2025, recording a CAGR of 34 percent. 

Increasing legalization in the cultivation of industrial hemp and functional properties of hemp seed and hemp seed oil and their increased use in different food product applications and an increasing number of chronic diseases are projected to drive the growth of the industrial hemp market. Hemp fiber is used majorly in the textile and pulp and paper industry, due to its long and strong fibers as compared to cotton. Furthermore, being a renewable source material, its application has been increasing in many diverse industries such as construction, animal bedding, agriculture, furniture, and automobile. Additionally, its usage to obtain biofuels and bioplastics has been expected to increase its demand in the coming years. The Asia Pacific region accounted for the largest market share in 2018. This dominance is attributed to the extensive production and consumption of hemp fiber in the textile and paper industry. Furthermore, the booming market for cosmetics and personal care products in the Asia Pacific region and legalization of industrial hemp in food supplements is estimated to drive the market growth.

Industrial hemp has been cultivated worldwide for decades and since the early 1990s, numerous countries have established hemp-based R and D and developed commercial production, processing, and distribution facilities. Major players such as Hempco (Canada), Ecofibre (Australia), Colorado Hemp Works (US), HempFlax BV (Netherlands), and others are leading the way. 

Although hemp seeds have been permitted for research in the US since the 2014 Farm Bill, US scientists are still importing hemp seed from Canada, Italy, Ukraine, etc. due to a lack of certified domestic seed supply. Universities in many states such as CO, KY, WI, OR, NC, NY, CA, etc. have rapidly moved forward since 2014 to cultivate state-specific varieties, production technologies and developed rigorous procedures to build out the value chain for a hemp-based economy. In New York, the Governor’s office supported this effort by providing over $5.0 million for academic research and an additional $2.0 million for breeding. Interdisciplinary research teams planted over 1700 acres to study hemp varieties suitability and long-term development with data and insight to become a leader by reducing risk through science and education and developed a Certificate Program in Cannabis Biology. Today in New York, over 20,000 outdoor acres will be harvested. Elsewhere, in Christian County, Ky., farmers in the hemp program have been growing certified hemp seed obtained from Canada for over four years. 

Where does our state stand? Unfortunately, in Nebraska hemp-related research on both medicinal and dual crop (seed + fiber) breeding/genetics program is limited due to lack of a hemp-promoting policy, research funding, legislation, wait-and-see attitude, etc. Colorado has given out over 2000 licenses with 85,000 permitted outdoor acres (and 13 million square feet for greenhouses) while Kentucky has over 1000 licenses with over 60,000 permitted outdoor acres. Nebraska Department of Agriculture approved industrial hemp earlier this year with a short license window that allowed for only 10 licenses and approximately 0.5 acres for production research. For 2020 there is no clear policy and interested farmers are wondering what 2020 will bring. This lack of action will put Nebraska into an even greater competitive disadvantage as other states have already jumped ahead and built their licensing and regulatory procedures, markets and added-value processing infrastructure, limited cooperative associations (Title III crowdfunding), supply-chain, customer awareness programs, etc. 

Western Nebraska has the ideal growth conditions for this profitable crop. Farm-level economics show returns of about $625/acre for grain, $225/acre for fibers, $867/acre for dual purpose and over $36,000/ acre for CBD dry flower. Feeding trials with chickens and livestock have confirmed that hemp seed is an excellent source of nutrition, where the omega fatty acid profile was favorably influenced after feeding hemp seed meal. This is in agreement with empirical observations over thousands of years in China and other Asiatic nations. Another study on hemp seed found it to be an excellent source of rumen undegraded protein in cows and sheep and trials in Finland have demonstrated hemp seed meal to be at least as good as soy meal in farmed fish feed. Accordingly, a considerable level of development will need to be done in Nebraska’s hemp value chain to support any sizeable production of industrial hemp. 

Even though the University of Nebraska has world-class scientists mostly based in Eastern Nebraska, NU’s endowment, alumni, state, local business, tax assessment, corporate partners, foundations and private donor-advised funds, among others, can help fund a state-of-the-art Ag Research Center and Food Science and Technology incubator hub of the future here in the Panhandle to advance critical research, license technology, pilot processing, production and commercialization best practices, to support long-term farm-to-consumer economic expansion, in Western Nebraska. 

 We must act now to maintain… a good life.