Understand Industrial Hemp
The Industrial Hemp Opportunity
Industrial hemp is a fast-growing plant which has been used by humans for more than 10,000 years. Beyond its nutritional and medicinal value, hemp is a unique organic material with applications in many industrial sectors such as energy, building materials and construction, automobiles, paper, plastics and composite materials, textiles, and others. It is a natural, biodegradable product that can replace nonbiodegradable materials in a great many applications. Industrial hemp is also a multi-purpose crop. The same single stalk can be used to make fuel, animal bedding, and fiber for advanced industrial applications.
These applications have not been developed primarily because the material was illegal in the U.S. and many other countries for most of the twentieth century due to confusion between 0% THC industrial hemp and marijuana. Clarification of the legality of industrial hemp is now opening enormous opportunities to support farms and farmers, create jobs at all levels of the industrial hemp supply chain, and significantly reduce nonbiodegradable waste. The plant also reduces greenhouse gas emissions and can help reclaim abandoned industrial land.
The path to realizing this opportunity is not simple. There are myriad technical, business, and policy and challenges, but none that cannot be overcome with concerted effort. Other counties, including Canada, China, and France which currently supply most of the world's industrial hemp, see the growth opportunity of the new legal environment and are investing.
The industrial hemp sector in the United States is nascent, but there are growing numbers of small technology innovation companies and industrial end users, along with university and government researchers working to develop the industry. These organizations are scattered across the country with clusters in Colorado, Kentucky, and Pennsylvania.
With hundreds of applications ranging from clothing, carpeting, and building insulation to biodegradable food containers and paints, industrial hemp that is grown for grain and fiber (the focus of this Engine) adds economic value to hemp’s medicinal uses. Capturing this value requires regulatory frameworks that distinguish between medicinal and industrial hemp crops, which will enable farmers to grow industrial hemp like other commodity crops, such as corn, soybeans, and wheat. The American Hemp Association and other organizations have been working towards this end, and legislation is currently pending. Visit the PA Hemp Steering Committee website to learn more about the differences between industrial hemp grown for grain and fiber vs. floral hemp grown for cannabinoids and medicine. Penn State Extension provides additional educational information.