Until the 2018 Farm Bill, hemp breeding research in the United States was limited by hemp’s legal status. As a result, hemp growers have been largely limited to varieties of hemp cultivated in Canada or Europe, but these crops do not thrive in all growing regions of the U.S. To improve domestic hemp crops, the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research’s (FFAR) Hemp Research Consortium provided two grants totaling $1,170,000 to Cornell University to support a long-term breeding program aimed at cultivating hemp for grain, fiber and CBD production in U.S. growing regions. Consortium partners contributed matching funds for a total investment of $2,340,000.
Successful, productive U.S.-grown hemp crops will yield additional plant protein, health and personal care products, consumer textiles and industrial applications. Hemp may also be a viable alternative crop for tobacco-dependent and economically distressed farmers. However, because Canada and Europe have longer days than the U.S. during the summer growing season, hemp varieties from these areas tend to result in smaller yields, and thus limited profit, when grown in the U.S. This is particularly true in sub-tropical regions such as Florida, because of the shorter days.
Cornell researchers aim to understand the genetic basis of photoperiod threshold, which is the amount of light a plant needs to achieve flowering and other types of development. The researchers are also developing varieties of hemp that will deliver higher yields, especially at lower latitudes in the U.S.