GROWING INTEREST IN HEMP PROJECT

Pickup trucks were the vehicle of choice lining both sides of the road
near the Centreton Community Centre yesterday as about 80 farmers checked
out an industrial hemp-growing project under development.

"This connects agriculture (directly) to manufacturing," Stonehedge Bio
Resources Inc. president and chief researcher John Baker of Sterling told
those who came to see if hemp growing might be profitable for them.

On the one side is the need to get farmers committed to growing hemp, and
on the other, investors to construct the required processing facility.

Baker's enthusiasm was catching, and by the end of the meeting, 60 farmers
had signed up to get more information and to indicate how many acres they
might put into production this spring.

It will be about two weeks, however, until it's known whether key
financing will be in place to issue the contract commitments to farmers
for this growing season and to build the area processing facility, Baker
cautioned.

Previously, Baker told Northumberland Today he plans to build the
$20-million manufacturing facility between Port Hope and Belleville, but
more private funding must be secured first. He shared this vital
information with the audience. While the provincial and federal
governments have been "helpful" so far, he described the process of
actually getting monetary support as "constipated."

There were a few jokes about those other marijuana plans, but Baker said
people could smoke an entire field of the variety of hemp plants needed
for this sustainable bio-mass producing project and the "only thing they'd
get is a really bad headache," he said.

In fact, Baker suggested illegal marijuana growers may be driven away from
areas where hemp plants are in production because of the adverse impact on
the illegal crops caused by cross pollination.

On a more serious note, the crowd was told that even though the hemp plant
varieties grown for green products contain very small amounts of the
significant marijuana chemical TCH responsible for getting high, each
field must be tested by Health Canada before harvest at an average cost of
$250.

To date, no hemp crop which has been developed from the 200-year-old seed
salvaged from wild growing plants in this part of Ontario has been
confiscated by authorities, Baker said.

The licence to grow hemp is free, he added.

Growing hemp is not a new thing for this country, Baker stressed.

In 1812, Upper Canada farmers were paid to grow it for the British fleet
patrolling the Great Lakes. It's from this historical source that the
genetic material for several hemp varieties has been secured to grow this
"green" crop. In the still-to-be located and constructed "bio-refinery,"
the hemp plant would be processed into construction materials like
Hempcrete (an alternative to concrete) for insulation and for energy
briquettes, he said.

Other manufacturing facilities around the world are already using the
material for auto parts, Baker said, letting audience members feel a part
that looked liked pressboard but was harder and thinner. The
environmentally friendly process "locks in" global-warming CO2 gas for 100
to 200 years, Baker added.

Using a crop comparison summary, Baker projected a net margin profit of
$145 per tonne of harvested hemp, compared to $115 for non-genetically
modified soybeans and $60 for regular corn. He suggested an average yield
is 10 tonnes per hectare, or four tons per acre.

If the plant goes ahead and the necessary product marketing is achieved
alongside it, up to 200 growers will be needed within a few years to feed
the biorefinery, Baker said.

Ideal fields for growing industrial hemp are predominantly loam or sand,
and well-drained. Hemp roots reach four feet deep into the soil and are
best sown in fields following crops like soybeans or corn, he said.
Fertilizer is needed, but not pesticides. An old hayfield would not be a
good fit, nor would manure containing seeds that could introduce weeds.

At this point, Baker said he believes the "factory would be responsible"
for harvest and equipment.

Hemp must lie in the field for at least two weeks after being cut so the
fibre loosens from the core of the stem before being bailed. Farmers must
provide on-site storage for the hemp, Baker added.

Payment would be upon delivery, as laid out in a contract.

During questioning, it was apparent some farmers were interested while
others were cautious and even skeptical.

"I've hear enough to make me not interested," Hamilton Township farmer
Scott Jibb said -- at least until a market and processing facility is
actually firmed up.

Jibb's family lost money when the farm's peas and sweet corn could not be
processed due to the closure of the Eastern Ontario Vegetable Growers
processing facility in the late 1990s .

"There could be no harvest, so there was no payment," he said.

Morganston farmer Mario Meekes said the hemp proposal will be a great
project if it comes together.

"I have land that would be quite suitable," he said.

But he agreed with Jibb's recollection of the financial loss area farmers
suffered when the peas and sweet corn processing plant closed.

A Grafton farmer and his wife who asked not to be identified said they
were uncertain about the project, but also noted the wetness of their land
might preclude them from participating.

Baker took the contact information and possible acreage commitments from
the farmers at the end of the meeting, with the promise to get back to
them in about two weeks. He is hopeful planting could begin next month and
the processing plant up and in production next spring.

Baker predicts 200 farmers would be needed within three years to grow hemp
and keep the plant busy.