The United States government making industrial hemp a legal business again has swept in a new wave of science and agricultural practices that are effecting change across numerous markets. With colleges and state-run departments of agriculture investing millions in hemp and what it can do, new discoveries and strategies are coming to light with increasing frequency. Let’s explore some of the latest and most exciting science fueling the agriculture of hemp.

Hemp farmers renew interest in regenerative agriculture – As the industrialization of nearly everything in our world becomes increasingly prevalent, farmers involved with industrial hemp have been taking a step backwards. While traditional agriculture seeks to increase output of particularly persnickety crops, industrial hemp is notoriously hardy and grows with speed only matched by that of bamboo, meaning that hemp farmers have had not only an opportunity but an obligation to invest in more holistic farming practices. Regenerative farming is a strategy which seeks to restore soils to their previous, unindustrialized health. Simply put, hemp farming is helping to restore topsoil to rich, drought-resistant earth without needing to fly in outside chemicals or fertilizers. Read more about this exciting return to pre-industrial agriculture here.

A replacement to plastic row covers – Thanks to collegiate programs studying and encouraging their students to study hemp, new hemp-derived agricultural products are hitting markets across the country. Most recently, two Penn. State graduates were awarded a $7,500 grant from the school’s College of Agricultural Sciences by winning the Ag Springboard competition with their hemp fiber-derived crop covers. Designed to replace typical plastic covers, the hemp covers are intended to cut down on the 11 billion square feet of discarded plastic covers generated by vegetable farmers each year. Thanks to the carbon-negative hemp growing process, these row covers will reduce both ground and air pollution throughout their lifetimes. For more information about these biodegradable hemp row covers and their implication to agriculture beyond industrial hemp, click here.

Cornell receives a federal grant for hemp seed bank – With many classically left-leaning states finding resources to rapidly increase research opportunities for farmers and colleges within their boundaries, New York recently took another step in aiding agriculture researchers. Cornell University was the recipient of a federally-issued $500,000 grant, with lots of help from state representative Chuck Schumer. The grant will be funnelled directly into a project to build a farmer-accessible hemp repository. Despite being privately owned and operated by Cornell, the school will seek to make their findings available to state farmers as they discover new advantages of specific species of the hemp plant. With a tentative project timeline of five years, the agricultural school at Cornell will be cross breeding hemp plants in order to develop even hardier, higher-yielding hemp varieties in order to further boost the efforts of farmers to utilize hemp to its highest potential. For more information on the project, grant, and potentials of hemp farming, read the Lancaster Farming article here.

The prospective potentials of hemp are innumerable, making investing in the market now an incredible opportunity. With a product like hemp which helps reduce waste and grows with minimal environmental impact, we can expect to see an ever-growing potential of new sciences growing around industrial hemp. Be sure to stay in-the-know with your friends here at the Hemp Farm Collective.