News (Media Awareness Project) - US KY: Farmer: Hemp Makes Animals Healthy |
| Title: | US KY: Farmer: Hemp Makes Animals Healthy |
| Published On: | 1998-05-28 |
| Source: | New York Times (NY) |
| Fetched On: | 2008-09-07 09:27:04 |
FARMER: HEMP MAKES ANIMALS HEALTHY
WILLISBURG, Ky. (AP) -- One Washington County farmer is convinced his feed
makes happier, shinier animals. He says his horses and cattle have more
energy and seem less stressed.
His secret is hemp meal.
Donnie Colter has been testing hemp meal as a feed supplement on his
1,000-acre farm near Willisburg with the help of Kentucky Industrial Hemp
Association.
``We've fed it to everything from guppies on up. I've never fed it to
nothing that won't eat it,'' Colter said.
His wife, Cheryl, uses the hemp as well to make breakfast muffins.
``Even folks that eat my wife's muffins -- they'll just stand right over the
box,'' Colter said.
Colter's farm grew hemp in the 1940s, but today it's illegal to grow the
product in the United States because it is closely related to marijuana. He
says he'd like to grow certified seed for the world market.
Colter uses hemp meal from seed grown in China. The seeds are imported by an
Ohio company, which crushes them to extract the oil. Colter buys what is
left and grinds it into meal for mixing into animal feed.
Colter markets the feed supplement -- either as meal or lumps -- under the
name Nutrahemp from Circle C Farm Enterprises. He has customers in Alabama,
Florida, Tennessee and Indiana.
The business started as an experiment. Colter bought a shipment at bargain
prices and fed it to 22 of his calves. He sold the heifers last week and
received $13 more for each one that had been fed the hemp mix.
Next month, University of Kentucky researchers plan to study results of
Colter's feed trial to determine whether the hemp made any difference.
``I'm amazed that there's a supply of the stuff,'' said Scott Smith,
chairman of the university's agronomy department. ``People will feed cattle
almost anything, and they'll eat it. I don't know if there's enough of the
stuff out there to use as a supplement.''
There is a growing movement to persuade the federal government to allow
cultivation of hemp, including a federal lawsuit filed in Kentucky and
petitions seeking to overturn a Drug Enforcement Administration ban on the crop.
Copyright 1998 The New York Times Company
Checked-by: Melodi Cornett
WILLISBURG, Ky. (AP) -- One Washington County farmer is convinced his feed
makes happier, shinier animals. He says his horses and cattle have more
energy and seem less stressed.
His secret is hemp meal.
Donnie Colter has been testing hemp meal as a feed supplement on his
1,000-acre farm near Willisburg with the help of Kentucky Industrial Hemp
Association.
``We've fed it to everything from guppies on up. I've never fed it to
nothing that won't eat it,'' Colter said.
His wife, Cheryl, uses the hemp as well to make breakfast muffins.
``Even folks that eat my wife's muffins -- they'll just stand right over the
box,'' Colter said.
Colter's farm grew hemp in the 1940s, but today it's illegal to grow the
product in the United States because it is closely related to marijuana. He
says he'd like to grow certified seed for the world market.
Colter uses hemp meal from seed grown in China. The seeds are imported by an
Ohio company, which crushes them to extract the oil. Colter buys what is
left and grinds it into meal for mixing into animal feed.
Colter markets the feed supplement -- either as meal or lumps -- under the
name Nutrahemp from Circle C Farm Enterprises. He has customers in Alabama,
Florida, Tennessee and Indiana.
The business started as an experiment. Colter bought a shipment at bargain
prices and fed it to 22 of his calves. He sold the heifers last week and
received $13 more for each one that had been fed the hemp mix.
Next month, University of Kentucky researchers plan to study results of
Colter's feed trial to determine whether the hemp made any difference.
``I'm amazed that there's a supply of the stuff,'' said Scott Smith,
chairman of the university's agronomy department. ``People will feed cattle
almost anything, and they'll eat it. I don't know if there's enough of the
stuff out there to use as a supplement.''
There is a growing movement to persuade the federal government to allow
cultivation of hemp, including a federal lawsuit filed in Kentucky and
petitions seeking to overturn a Drug Enforcement Administration ban on the crop.
Copyright 1998 The New York Times Company
Checked-by: Melodi Cornett
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