Hemp has been estimated to produce 33.2 million pounds of fiber, with 27.6 million pounds used in total. The area harvested for hemp fiber was estimated at 12,690 acres, with an average yield of 2,620 pounds per acre. Hemp is derived from the same plant as marijuana, but its chemical compound, CBD, does not produce the psychotropic side effects or the “high” that comes from THC, although both occur naturally in cannabis. In North Carolina, for example, there is no data on state-licensed hemp producers and statistics for the entire industry are hard to come by.
Unfortunately, many farmers have lost money due to failed harvests and an increase in hemp supply that has caused prices to drop. To make matters worse, they have to pay again to store their hemp until they can find a buyer. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell saw the potential of hemp while touring several facilities involved in a pilot program in his home state of Kentucky. For years, cannabis advocates have argued that industrial hemp could be a boon for the national economy. American hemp producers have tried to form relationships with foreign producers, but this opens up another set of obstacles and expenses.
These plants are of no value to the farmers who grow them until they can get money from CBD sales. Hemp growers also run the risk of their plants “heating up” when THC content exceeds the federal compliance level, which could lead to them losing a large portion or all of their crop. Even if farmers diversify their crops, they cannot remove excess hemp from the market. This leaves them stuck with an abundance of the wrong vegetables. Farmers who dedicated themselves to hemp production worry that a significant loss from the start could cripple them before they even get started.
The potential for hemp as a sustainable alternative to materials such as plastic, cotton, and fossil fuels is dependent on the nation's willingness to adopt it. California lawmakers are considering a bill that would require hemp extracts from store shelves to have a THC concentration of no greater than 0.3%. In some states, hemp is excluded from craft industry laws that allow entrepreneurs and small farmers to sell value-added products and foods from their homes or local agricultural markets if their annual income falls below a certain threshold. What extractors are looking for is also known as “hemp biomass” and includes the portions of flowers or flower buds of the hemp plant.
