It was a good year for hemp producers in Alberta but difficult for those on the eastern Prairies.
“Some of the crop that went in the ground this year got wiped out with the rains, especially the heavy rains they had in Saskatchewan,” said Barry Tomiski, Hemp Oil Canada’s chief operating officer.
Prairie growers planted 90,000 acres of hempseed this year but will harvest 70,000 to 75,000 acres because June rain drowned out part of the crop.
Tomiski said yields in Manitoba and eastern Saskatchewan will probably be average at 800 to 1,000 pound per acre, but Alberta yields will likely be higher.
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“The Alberta crop is extremely good,” he said.
“We’ve had reports off one acreage, that was irrigated, that hit 3,000 lb. to the acre. That is an exceptional level of production. Normal on irrigation would be 1,800 to 2,200.”
Despite the lost acreage, hemp processors shouldn’t run out of hempseed in 2014-15.
“There will be a decent supply this year,” Tomiski said.
“That we’re not worried about, at least on the conventional side. The organic side, that’s always a challenge.”
Organic hempseed typically represents 16 to 17 percent of western Canadian acreage. Contract prices for organic hemp are significantly higher than conventional hemp.
Tomiski said most contracts for conventional hempseed were 70 to 75 cents per lb. this year.
Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance president Russ Crawford said earlier this year that organic hempseed contracts were as high as $1.50 per lb.
