GROWER HAS HIGH HOPES FOR HEMP CROP

Elwyn Powell has the good oil on growing hemp. This week farming
editor Avalon Willing takes a look.

When it comes to growing crops Elwyn Powell will give just about anything a
go.

Over the last 20 years he has combined agricultural contracting in
the Waverley area with growing the likes of wasabi, radishes and
squash for the Japanese seed market, as well as the usual grain crops.

So the opportunity to grow cannabis legally was just too good to miss.

Mr Powell is one of handful of people throughout the country who has
granted a licence to grow hemp as part of a national trial.

The organiser of the trial is an Englishman, Bruce Hill, who has had
several years' experience in hemp production in the United Kingdom
where the focus was on fibre and oil.

These days he runs a company called Sustainable Seed Oils Ltd which
imports hemp seed oil into New Zealand.

Hemp, says Mr Hill, should not be confused with marijuana.

"Although they are from the same family they are not the same.
Cannabis sativa applies to both marijuana and hemp, a bit like roses
=F1 some are red, some are creamy coloured, but all are recognised as
roses. Of the hundreds of different varieties of cannabis only some
are high in delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) the active compound
that provides a high from cannabis."

There are many varieties low in the compound and those with a THC
content of less than 1% are often called hemp which is grown
commercially all over the world for fibre and hemp seed oil.

Mr Powell, Wanganui branch chairman of Federated Farmers, says he is
always looking at diffferent crops.

"I can see a future in this and I was more than happy to go through
the protocols to get the licence. I went through week after week of
filling in forms and Bruce Hill went in to bat for us as well."

Prospective licensees were throughly vetted to ensure they were
reputable citizens with no previous convictions for drugs or other
crimes.

Mr Powell planned to plant two 2ha blocks =F1 one to be used for
sustainable seed production and the other to be harvested for silage
which would then be tested as to its suitability as a stock food.
However, the early experience of some other growers participating in
the trial around the country showed that only 50-60% of seeds were
germinating.

So he reduced the area to 3ha =F1 a decision he has some regrets about
because his crop is thriving.

=46asamo hemp seed is the preferred option for seed oil production, but
there was some difficulty and delays in getting hold of suitable
supplies.

It finally arrived in the country in early November after being
impounded in the United States. It had come from Canada and was about
three years old. The older the seed the less ability it has to
germinate.

While some other growers, like one in the Horowhenua, direct drilled
the seed, Mr Powell had ploughed his paddocks about two months
earlier and they had been fallow ever since. But wet weather delayed
planting until November 30.

"The husbandry side of it is an important lesson," says Mr Powell.
"I'm chuffed with the cover we've got."

The seed was drilled at a rate of 100kg/ha. The seed cost 10/kg.

"All I've done is put it in the ground and left it. That's what you
do with GE crops isn't it =F1 plant them and walk away because they
don't require sprays. Compared to other crops hemp is a breeze.

"A lot of people use hemp as a two-year crop when they are moving
towards becoming organic. Really I shouldn't have put any fertiliser
on but I felt I had to because I planted so late. Because it smothers
the weeds there's no need for herbicides and there's no problem with
pests."

That is except for a few rabbits.

"They've come out of the hedges but the staff have been shooting
them. Perhaps they're attracted to the hemp because of the fibre and
the acid. Or perhaps it's because it's palatable and has a bit of a
kick.

"But they reckon if you smoke the stuff the chances are far greater
of getting lung cancer because it's so high in fibre."

Mr Powell said one of the worst pests was possums, so he had been
careful to select paddocks that were in a clear area.

"They were my biggest fear. There's some native bush around but most
of the area is fairly clear."

Waverley, he says, has provided the ideal climate for growing the crop.

"Ask the local dope growers. I've had a lot of advice on how to grow
this stuff. For domestic marijuana it's apparently a very good area =F1
probably because of the unique bush and gully set ups."

Mr Powell will harvest the bulk of the crop for seed oil but intends
cutting and baling some hemp (when the plants are at three different
heights) to trial as a stock food.

"I'll do tests with it to determine the ME (metabolisable energy) and
dry matter content. ME is the important one but I've no idea what the
levels are. I thought the Poms could have told me that but they have
focused solely on fibre and oil. But I've been told it makes pretty
good dairy feed. I'll give the cows a high while the farmers are on
holiday," he quips.

"But seriously there is little likelihood of anyone getting a buzz
from hemp because the crop must contain less than .3% THC =F1 a 30th
the THC level found in cannabis used as a drug.

"If it's over .3% we've got to kill it. Marijuana is 9% THC. And it's
no good guys putting a rogue plant in here. The crop contains both
male and female whereas with marijuana they want just the female
plants."

The result would be the two could cross fertilise and reduce the THC
levels to nothing.

Mr Powell says yields per hectare for seed production are an unknown
quantity at this stage, but the grower in the Horowhenua had said he
was hoping to harvest 1.5 tonnes/hectare and 300 litres of oil.

"So I would expect to get at least four tonnes of seed =F1 a barley
crop yields about 8 tonne/ha."

Seed oil has a distinctive nutty flavour and is ideal for use in
salads, dips and marinades.

The seed, which is about the size and shape of a peppercorn, is more
nutritious than even soyabean and contains more fatty acid than any
other source. It is second only to soyabeans in complete protein (but
more digestible by humans), is high in B vitamins and is 35% dietary
fibre. The seed contains no THC.

The oil is one of the least saturated and contains omega-6 and
omega-3 fatty acids in the ratio 3:1 that the body needs."

Mr Powell sees huge potential for the seed oil. "As a crop it's
environmentally sustainable. No pesticides or herbicides are required
and there are so many uses for it. But I think the biggest potential
is not in the food industry but in the fibre industry.

"In India they separate the fibre by hand. Germany is still working
on a mechanism to separate the fibres efficiently and has invested
$60 million in that."

Hemp fibre is longer, stronger, more absorbent and more insulative than cott
on.

"It really is a wonderful plant. If we can get it established it's
got so much potential. We've just got to find the right one for us
and what its strengths are under our environmental conditions."