Exploring Hemp Fiber Agronomy and Genetics

Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast

On this week’s hemp podcast, we listen to a panel discussion from the NoCo Hemp Expo that took place in Colorado earlier this month.

The panelists were Rachel Berry, a farmer and founder of the Illinois Hemp Growers Association; Terry Moran, a sales rep from Kanda Hemp, an importer of Asian hemp varieties; Corbett Miteff from KonopiUS, an importer of European hemp genetics; and Larry Smart, a geneticist and plant breeder from Cornell University.

The panel discussion was moderated by Eric Singular who described the topic of discussion as “the intersection of agronomy and genetics in hemp fiber production.”

Smart talked about starting the breeding program at Cornell and how trying to meet the needs of the industry has been a roller coaster ride.

“But certainly right now the demand is for fiber,” Smart said. “So we have been focused on breeding fiber hemp. And the main trait that we see as valuable in fiber hemp is very late flowering.”

Because hemp is a photoperiodic crop, it will stop growing taller once it starts to flower.

“If we can identify varieties that continue to grow and do not transition to flowering, those are going to create the greatest amount of biomass,” he said.

Typically, later-flowering varieties are adapted to tropical or subtropical latitudes, he said.

Moran spoke about the need for seed in the U.S. as the industry grows.

“The main thing to think about is if you’re going to get to 250,000 acres,” he said, “is where’s that seed going to come from?”

Asia and Europe are the likely sources based on current trends.

“And I don’t see that changing in the near term. And even if there’s some great variety out there, it’s going to take several years to scale that,” Moran said.

Berry, a first-generation farmer in Illinois, spoke about the importance of genetic research and how she worked with the Midwestern Hemp Research Collaborative.

The group provided genetics that were tailored to Berry’s region, one of which she said provided amazing results.

“Having folks like you who are doing the research on these genetics and providing them to farmers like me to eliminate all that trial and error, I’m so grateful for that,” Berry said.

Miteff described his work with processing methods, various fiber lengths, and the defibrillation of cellulose.

“At end of the day, we’re trying to find things where we can get some really good fiber that we can break apart that cellulose and start using it,” Miteff said.

“But at the same time, how do we get the grain off of it?” he asked, a question that took the panelists into a conversation about dual cropping varieties that produce both fiber and grain.

Learn more: Eric Singular https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-singular Pennsylvania Flax Project https://paflaxproject.com/ Illinois Hemp Growers Association https://www.illinoishga.com/ Cornell University Hemp Program https://hemp.cals.cornell.edu/ KonopiUS https://www.konopius.com/ Kanda Hemp https://kandahemp.com/ Noco Hemp Expo https://www.nocohempexpo.com/ News Nuggets HempWood https://hempwood.com/ Coolest Thing Made in Kentucky https://coolestthingky.com/ USDA's 2023 National Hemp Report https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/Pennsylvania/Publications/Survey_Results/2024/hempan24.pdf Thanks to Our Sponsors! IND HEMP https://indhemp.com/ Mpactful Ventures https://www.mpactfulventures.org/ Forever Green https://www.hempcutter.com/ HUGE THANK YOU TO SUNRAY HEMP in ALASKA Music courtesy of Tin Bird Shadow https://tinbirdshadow.bandcamp.com/album/dot-dot-dot