Funny what a difference a little geography can make.
Last week, Scott Day, a diversification specialist with Manitoba Agriculture, led visitors on a tour of the Melita, Man., research farm’s test plots.
In one field, hemp plants stood lush and as thick as thieves, perched on a knoll overlooking the southwestern Manitoba plain.
It seemed almost close enough to the United States border, just 34 kilometres away, for a southerly breeze to carry a whiff of the crop to that country’s ever-watchful Drug Enforcement Administration agents.
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“Manitoba has become a hotspot for hemp research in North America,” said Day.
“The industry in the United States has been battling to legalize the growing of hemp there. It looked like they were on the verge of a breakthrough in North Dakota this spring, but apparently that fell through.”
Cultivation of industrial hemp remains banned in the U.S., largely due to its physical resemblance to its cousin, marijuana. Markets have been growing for hemp for seed, oil and fibre.
Legal in Canada since 1998, hemp growers must obtain annual licensing from Health Canada, provide GPS co-ordinates for the field’s location and pass a criminal record check.
“But it’s not really that much different from the other things you have to do to grow identity preserved crops,” said Day.
Licensing can be obtained in a few months, but he urged would-be growers to sign a contract agreement with a processor before planting hemp because the seed, like canola, doesn’t store well.
The crop, which requires a good clean seedbed, can be threshed with an ordinary combine. It has some tolerance to frost.
Highly competitive with weeds once it gets a good start, hemp is particularly suited for organic production, Day said. He added that five years ago, only five percent of the hemp seed being processed was certified organic, but now that figure has soared to 70 percent.
“Hemp has good potential for Manitoba. We can grow it as good as anywhere. We have good seed and fibre yields, and there are many different uses for the crop,” said Day.
“I think the agronomics are in place. It’s the markets that are going to be the next thing.”
Hemp production and research have become a global phenomenon, he added. Just as the researchers were firing up their seeder to plant a trial plot this spring, they received an anxious call from co-ordinators of the project in Dauphin.
“The entire crop in Vietnam had been wiped out the day before, and we had the only seed left for the one variety,” he said. “We were within five minutes of seeding it.”
Lori-Ann Kaminski, program officer for Manitoba Agriculture’s Agri-Food Research & Development Initiative, which has been a major backer of hemp research in Manitoba, said there is money to be made growing hemp.
“Oilseed uses really have grown. The grain side has been growing quite well and we are trying to work on the fibre side.”
Meanwhile in other plots at the research farm, camelina showed promise as an alternative oilseed for the Prairies.
An ancient crop first domesticated during the Bronze Age, it thrives in dry conditions and is weed competitive. Frost tolerant, it can be fall or spring seeded.
Input costs were shown to be much lower than for canola. In comparison plots seeded next to canola, it showed the best growth at roughly 50 to 60 pounds of nitrogen per acre.
The tiny seed is one-fifth the size of flax and forms in round pods on the plant. Augers and combines are sealed with duct tape to prevent leaks.
Health food markets are opening up for camelina, which is high in omega 3 and 6 oils. Recently touted as a biodiesel feedstock, some reports suggest that its high iodine content might cause destructive buildup on injectors.
