New Product Potential
Hemp offers opportunities for new food, health and personal care products; consumer textiles; and industrial applications.
Healthy Food
Hemp seeds and oil contain all the essential fatty acids (Omega 3, 6 and 9), essential amino acids and dietary fibers, making them widely considered a superfood.
Economic Opportunity
Hemp may also be a viable alternative crop for tobacco-dependent and economically distressed farmers.
Crop Resilience
Hemp plants thrive in virtually any climate, grow quickly and require little maintenance. The plants also possess a natural resistance to pests and diseases and makes an ideal rotation crop in many cropping systems.
Environmental Sustainability
Hemp uses very little water per pound of fiber (particularly compared with cotton), enriches the soil and stores more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere than any other agricultural crop.
Pictures provided by Cornell University.
Growing Opportunities for an Emerging Crop
Hemp has the potential to become a widely used crop in a variety of industries. This versatile crop’s range of possibilities include food, health and personal care products; consumer textiles; and industrial applications. Hemp can provide economic opportunities for growers, including as an alternative crop for tobacco-dependent and economically distressed farmers. As an environmentally beneficial crop, hemp uses very little water per pound of fiber, stores carbon dioxide during growth, enriches the soil and can serve as an ideal rotation crop in many cropping systems.
There are two significant barriers to growing hemp. Firstly, growing hemp is financially risky, and much of the risk falls on growers. Secondly, federal laws restricted hemp growth and research until recently, causing a critical need for research focusing on resiliency, economic viability and sustainability. It is vital that public research overcomes these barriers to provide growers with the resources and markets to ensure profitable harvests.
The Hemp Research Consortium is addressing the immediate needs of a rapidly expanding hemp enterprise. The Consortium is a safe harbor for growers and industry to invest in targeted commodities, while contributing to the overall growth of hemp commerce.
The Consortium aims to provide growers crops with higher yield, consistent quality and THC levels that meet regulations. The Consortium also helps to identify industrial needs to ensure that growers have demand for their crops.
Hemp Research Consortium Vision
The Hemp Research Consortium brings together research-intensive and land grant universities with industry participants to advance science supporting a sustainable hemp industry.
Research Focus
- Hemp breeding and genetics
- Hemp production systems, including pest and disease management
- Controlled environment production systems
- Novel product development and engineering
- Training of a diverse workforce
Participants
Agilent Technologies, Bast Fibre Tech, BioWorks, Cornell University, Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research, IND HEMP, International Hemp, National Hemp Growers Cooperative, NC State University, Oregon CBD, The Scotts Company, University of Kentucky
