SOWING THE SEEDS FOR HEMP'S FUTURE

The age of hemp is here - or at least returning to its rightful place
as one of the most useful plants known to man.

But it's not the much-maligned, recreational variety of hemp or
cannabis which Nimbin is world famous for, but the high-fibre
industrial hemp (low in the psycho-active ingredient
tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC) which many farmers in NSW have been
waiting years to be allowed to grow.

That time has now come, with the state government last week
announcing it would introduce a new licensing scheme for the
commercial growing of hemp, bringing NSW into line with other
Australian states now developing an industrial hemp industry.

The fast-growing and durable hemp had, until the 1930s, been used for
thousands of years for rope-making, paper production including bank
notes, food, building materials, sail cloth and myriad other uses.

It is very environmentally friendly as hemp crops do not require
herbicides or pesticides.

The announcement has been welcomed by two pioneers of Australian hemp
production, Dr Keith Bolton, director of Ecotechnology Australia (EA)
and Klara Marosszeky, director of Morrowby Futures. This year, they
again operated a trial hemp plot for research, on a rural property in
the Lismore area.

EA, which designs and constructs on-site sewage treatment systems
using wetland technology, helped establish the successful 'mop-crop'
technology (irrigating crops with effluent), also using hemp, at the
West Byron Sewage Treatment Plant.

Dr Bolton, an environmental engineer, is passionate about industrial
hemp and re-establishing it as one of the most useful plants known to
man, especially with the ever-increasing threat of global warming and
the large-scale clearing of land and forests around the world
contributing to it.

In fact, hemp is seen by many as a natural replacement for timber as
a building material and paper made from wood pulp - both damaging to
the environment.

"This is the news we've been waiting for - the industrial hemp
industry is now set to go ballistic and the first farmers to get in
will make big bucks," Dr Bolton, a former Southern Cross University
researcher, told The Echo. "Around two to three farmers a day have
been contacting me wanting to know more about growing hemp, saying 'I
want to get into it, my granddad used to grow it for rope'."

"Our main aim this year is to multiply the very precious small amount
of seed available in Australia for industrial hemp to cater for the
rapidly growing hemp industry," he said. "Previously you could only
get a licence to grow it for scientific research purposes and not for
commercial use. This decision reverses that so now farmers can
consider not just research but will be able to grow and sell hemp they produce.

Dr Bolton said hemp-processing infrastructure now needed to be
established. For example, Klara is developing hemp masonry (see The
Echo, March 6) and hemp needs to be chopped or hammer-milled to a
specific grade to turn it into hemp product such as masonry, paper,
or chipboard.

"Hundreds of homes in Europe are built from hemp masonry, which is
much more environmentally friendly than cement products. It locks up
carbon retained in masonry, it's half the weight and it doesn't
require kiln baking," Dr Bolton said. "In fact the first big industry
likely to emerge here is hemp-masonry products, so you can literally
'grow your own house'."

Dr Bolton said Australia was "behind the eight ball" in regard to
hemp legislation and is one of the few countries where hemp food is
still prohibited.

"It is one of the best quality foods on the planet. I'm serious,
anything that can be made out of soya bean can be made from hemp such
as hemp tofu, hemp sprouts, hemp bread, ice cream, flour and even
pop-hemp. In China instead of pop-corn at the movie theatres you get
pop-hemp," Dr Bolton said. "The great thing about it is it contains
highly digestible proteins, an abundant source of omega 3, 6 and 9
fatty acids (the good oils) in perfect ratio and that's the key.

"Hemp seed has been eaten by humans for millenia and hemp has been
used by humans for at least 10,000 years with archaeological evidence
of its cultivation.

"But for the last 70 years humans have tried to eradicate the genus
cannabis from the face of the planet, and not just by prohibition -
but I believe this will be just a blip in history as we have good
leadership allowing us to establish a positive relationship with this
remarkable plant."

Dr Bolton encouraged farmers wanting to grow hemp to stay closely
tuned to NSW DPI (Department of Primary Industries), which should
soon be releasing all the necessary information for farmers such as
cultivation techniques and applying for licenses.

"We envisage the industry here on the north coast to be developed by
co-operatives of farmers who work together to produce seed products,
including seed for further production, and I see the north coast
producing fibre for the housing industry," he said.

In announcing impending changes to state laws to smooth the way for
commercial hemp growing, NSW Primary Industries Minister Ian
Macdonald said "environmentally-friendly hemp could soon be used in
everything from dog food to biofuel".

"Industrial hemp fibre produced here in NSW could pave the way for
the establishment of a new viable industry that creates and sells
textiles, cloth and building products made from locally-grown
industrial hemp," Mr Macdonald said.

"Hemp seed oil can also be used as a base for skin care products and
paints - there is growing support from the agricultural sector for
the development of such a new industry this is a direct result of the
environmentally-friendly nature of industrial hemp and a perceived
interest for hemp products in the market."

Industrial hemp was low in THC compared to other varieties and could
not be used as a drug, he said.

"Those seeking to run trials for industrial hemp will no longer have
to seek approval from the Department of Health once the new measures
were in place," he said. "Irrigation trial yields from Yamba and the
state's central west are now reporting 10 to 12 tonnes of dry stem
per hectare... which are competitive with those reported in northern
Europe and Tasmania.

Ms Marosszeky said that hopefully the minister would include
provision for a hemp-food industry in the Industrial Hemp Bill.

"Just as low-THC or industrial hemp fibre is an incredibly versatile
resource with many applications, low-THC hemp seed can be made into a
wide variety of food products. It is a highly nutritious food source
for which there is already an extensive global demand," she said.
"There is a precedent for this provision in the WA Industrial Hemp
Bill introduced in 2003. It does not give WA farmers the right yet to
sell hemp foods they produce in Australia but it pre-empts the moment
when the Australian Food Authority will authorise this.

Researchers in Australia have developed a wide variety of hemp food
products and there is no doubt with the emerging world food crisis
that hemp will move into the spotlight.

"Unfortunately information in Australia about hemp markets has
largely been kept behind closed doors. Food Standards Australia New
Zealand released a fact sheet in 2001 as a result of pressure from
potential Australian hemp food producers and consumers wanting access
to the nutritional benefits of hemp foods.

"Food authority ANZFA established maximum limits of THC for hemp seed
and hemp-seed oil, such that even a high consumer of hemp-based foods
cannot exceed the safe level of intake of THC.

"The American domestic market for hemp-based food products in 2004
was over $12 million. The retail health care market, including
lotions and oils, is estimated to sell over $30 million worth of hemp
products in the United States annually. To give you some idea of the
expansion of this industry, Canada's production of hemp increased
from 4,000 acres in 2002 to over 24,000 acres in 2005," Ms Marosszeky said.

For information packages, contact Sandra Maybury at the DPI office in
Wagga on 6938 1999.