Brian McElroy found himself in a race against time this spring. He wanted to grow industrial hemp but needed a licence from Ottawa.
McElroy, a certified seed grower near Darlingford, Man., got his licence in late May. He seeded his hemp June 3.
“It would have been nice to have had the licence four weeks earlier,” said McElroy, who grew 20 acres of hemp this year. “With a crop like hemp, the earlier you get it in the ground the better.”
Other farmers in Manitoba tell similar stories. They were left in suspense while Health Canada reviewed their licence applications.
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The waiting was too much for some. They seeded other crops on plots where hemp was planned.
“Some people just gave up before the licensing ran its course,” said Jack Moes, owner of The Great Ag Venture, an alternative crop consulting firm in Souris, Man. “Some growers at some stage decided not to wait any longer.”
Only 1,400 acres of hemp were grown in Manitoba this year. That fell short of the 2,000-acre goal.
Red tape played a role in that reduction, said Moes, but some farmers opted out of hemp this year due to unknowns about the crop.
“It wouldn’t be fair to blame it all on the licensing process. There wasn’t the producer interest that was expected.”
Consolidated Growers and Processors hopes licences can be issued earlier next year. The company aims to have 25,000 acres seeded to hemp across the Prairies in 1999. That means hundreds of farmers will have to apply for licences.
“There’s been a lot of success and a lot of interest in the industry,” said Stuart McMillan, agricultural co-ordinator for CGP Canada. “I know it’s going to keep on building, so obviously Health Canada will have to find a clear and speedy way to process these applications.”
Licensing is needed because hemp is a member of the same cannabis family as marijuana, although it has almost all the intoxicating agent removed.
Anyone growing hemp must clear a police check.
Health Canada oversees the licensing with suggestions from other federal offices such as Agriculture Canada and the RCMP.
This year marked the first time in 60 years industrial hemp has appeared on the Prairies. Ottawa announced in March that it would license farmers to grow the crop.
This year has served as a test to learn more about the crop’s potential for the Prairies.
Although CGP had hoped to see more hemp grown this year, it remains optimistic about the industry’s outlook.
“Sometimes you have to shoot for the stars to only hit the moon,” said McMillan.
“Since we hit the moon we really should be fairly happy with ourselves and not be too critical that the stars weren’t reached in this initial year.”
