Next steps are the Governor’s signature on May 28th and the rule-making process with a deadline of March 1, 2014. By next season we expect to see the beginnings of the demand side and farmers will grow according to market needs.

By Charles Ashby

Monday, January 21, 2013

DENVER — Hemp suffers from a bad image problem.

Though hemp does contain a trace amount of tetrahydrocannabinol, the active chemical in marijuana, it is not pot, not even close, supporters of industrializing it say.

It is a highly versatile, drought-tolerant plant with tremendous business potential, particularly for Western Slope farmers, they say.

“Hemp is the duct tape of the agricultural world, it fixes everything,” said Lynda Parker, citizen advocate for Agricultural Hemp Initiative, a private Denver-based group pushing to commercialize the plant. “Hemp is food, feed, fiber, fuel, shelter and filter. It not only filters soil, but it also filters air and water.”

Currently, the United States is the only industrialized nation in the world that bans growing hemp, Parker said.

At the same time, the nation makes up 90 percent of the market for hemp products, a $450 million-a-year retail market, she said.

Its fibrous stem is used to make such things as clothing, dog collars, nutrition bars, livestock feed, heating oil, cosmetics and a slew of other things.

Moreover, it’s inexpensive to cultivate and farmers can use it to detoxify their fields, getting rid of everything from heavy metals to excess nitrates.

So why isn’t it already in widespread use in this nation?

Parker blames other industries that didn’t want the competition, from big steel to chemical companies to the lumber industry.

They all conspired against it early in the 20th century, successfully billing it as being synonymous with marijuana. As a result, it was included in the first federal controlled substances act, and growing it became illegal.

All that changed when Colorado voters last fall approved Amendment 64, which legalized the recreational use of marijuana. In that ballot measure was a provision to allow the cultivation of hemp.

As a result, two Western Slope lawmakers, Sen. Gail Schwartz, D-Snowmass Village, and Rep. Don Coram, R-Montrose, are working to write the state laws that will advance the industry in Colorado.

Schwartz, whose district includes Delta County, said hemp not only has the potential to be a major economic boon for farmers and entrepreneurs, but also in helping to mitigate soil erosion and prevent flooding, particularly after wildfires.

“To the extent that it’s a fast-growing, drought-resistant crop, it could be utilized in these areas where it’s so inevitable fires are going to happen,” Schwartz said. “We have to redevelop the ecosystem in our forests, but introducing a species, it’s sort of like tamarisk, you just have to be careful how we bring other species into the forest.”

On Tuesday, the state panel created by Gov. John Hickenlooper to implement the provisions of the amendment is expected to vote to delay for a year discussing the hemp aspect of the ballot measure, primarily because it has its hands full dealing with recreational marijuana.

But Schwartz and others plan to let them know they aren’t waiting, and expect to develop a bill of their own to be introduced into this year’s session of the Legislature.

Before that happens, the lawmakers plan to have a series of town hall meetings next month to get public input on the uses and pitfalls of industrial hemp.

Testimonials were intelligent, articulate, and persuasive.  President of the Rocky Mountain Farmers Union, Kent Peppler, Deputy Director of the Colorado Department of Agriculture, Mitch Yergert and experts Erik Hunter, Director of Research and Development at Hemp Cleans, Chad Pfitzer, agrologist, Adam Dunn, owner of HoodLab, Josh Rabe and John Patterson, founders of a hemp building materials business, Ben Holmes, owner of Centennial Seeds, Robert Kane, President and CEO of Phytiva, Jennifer Cappa, PhD candidate at CSU, and Ryan Loflin, southeast Colorado farmer, educated the room on a wide variety of issues and possibilities for hemp in Colorado.

Kent Peppler has had people stop him on the road to ask him about when and how they can grow the crop.  He expressed support from RMFU and said he’d run into a spokesperson from Colorado Farm Bureau on the way to the committee meeting who stated that CFB is also in support and asked him to report that to the committee.  He encouraged the state legislators to put pressure on the federal government to change their policies regarding hemp.

Mitch Yergert discussed the 7-member Industrial Hemp Committee, which includes the three directors, Jason Lauve, Erik Hunter, and Lynda Parker of Hemp Cleans who will work in cooperation with the Department of Agriculture.  This committee has been tasked with developing industrial hemp rule-making per SB13-241.

Erik Hunter provided an update on the phytoremediation pilot program, including details of the initial four-plant study and upcoming larger scale studies.  Future studies include a larger scale mine waste evaluation and a study of fire-scorched soil, pursuant to a request made by Senator Mark Udall.  Erik offered information regarding the possible disposal methods for contaminated plant material.

Chad Pfitzer spoke about the use of GPS technology and its application to agriculture, specifically how it can be used in the development of varieties of hemp suitable to Colorado’s climate.  He said now is a perfect opportunity to combine the two important aspects of agriculture, those being seed development and data acquisition technology.

Adam Dunn displayed clothing and a handbag made of hemp fabric.  He expressed he would like to be manufacturing with Colorado-grown hemp.  Adam, originally from New York, moved to Amsterdam where he lived for many years retailing hemp clothing and other textiles.  He heard about pro-hemp activity in Colorado and chose to move here and begin his business again in Denver.  He demonstrated that he is just one of many people who would relocate here to help build a hemp industry.

Josh Rabe and John Patterson announced the founding of their hemp building materials business and talked about the importance of being able to use hempcrete and other hemp materials in fire-prone areas.  There is great interest in these fire-resistant materials and John and Josh are currently replacing homes in the High Park fire area.

Ben Holmes talked about the importance of Colorado-developed seed sources and emphasized the importance of Colorado State University involvement.  Senator Matt Jones, who chaired the meeting, reflected on a conversation he’d had with Ben Holmes several years prior about the importance of hemp agriculture and commented that Ben had clearly been “on a mission,” and expressed that it was remarkable that they were sitting at the table discussing the topic now.

Ryan Loflin, who has traveled the state to gain understanding of the topic, when asked how he learned about it, mentioned he’d been encouraged by Hemp Cleans. He is eager to plant and participate in the launch of a new crop and industry.

Jennifer Cappa discussed her phytoremediation program and touted hemp as the ideal phyoremediation plant.

Robert Kane, of Phytiva, delivered an impassioned testimony regarding the importance of hemp agriculture to Colorado and provided specific calculations relative to the demand for hemp products and the economic development opportunities for both agriculture, processing, and retail.  He translated these numbers into a forecast on the positive impact on job creation through the development of a hemp industry.

The bill will be heard in the Appropriations Committee and the House Agricultural Committee soon.  We expect strong support throughout the process.

The next few weeks will be exciting as we address various committees at the capitol and follow this bill through the process to passage.  Stay tuned!  ~ Lynda Parker