Hemp acres more than double
04.21.2006
By Bonnie Baltessen
The hemp industry in Manitoba is growing like a weed.
Rhea Yates, communications co-ordinator for Agri-Food Research and Development Initiatives (ARDI), said 30,000 acres of industrial hemp are expected to be grown in Manitoba this year.
Last year there were 12,000 acres in Manitoba, with Canada reporting a total of 20,000 acres. Manitoba was dubbed the hemp capital of Canada.
Keith Watson, diversification specialist with Manitoba Agriculture, said the 30,000 acres to be seeded in Manitoba would be mostly contracted acres. With two Manitoba processors and a new one from Alberta buying hemp, there is plenty of business to spread around.
“The Canadian total will be up quite a bit,” Watson added, but declined to guess as to what the Canadian total would be. “The major expansion will be in Alberta and Saskatchewan,” he said.
He sees acres doubling every year for the next few years. “It’s kind of gone through that stage of getting established and in feeling its way and now it’s got some solid processors,” he said. “The markets are growing as much as they can handle.”
Hemp has a better profit outlook than any other crop in 2006.
According to information from the Parkland Industrial Hemp Growers Co-op, the breakeven point for hemp to cover total costs is 388 pounds per acre. Average or “budget” yields in Manitoba, meanwhile, are about 500 to 600 pounds per acre. The clean grain price for hemp this year ranges from 45 to 58 cents (average 55 cents) [Canadian, or $0.40 to $0.52 US].
[Editor’s note: This article discusses conventional seed prices, but it doesn’t mention that the price for organic seed ranges from $0.85 to $1.00 per pound Canadian ($0.76 to $0.89 US).]
That means the margin for error and risk is considerably less for hemp than for many other crops. A recent report based on figures from the provincial crop production guide showed the breakeven yields for 2006 for almost all crops were below 10-year provincial averages.
Production projections for Hemp Oil Canada are up about threefold compared to last year, according to Kevin Friesen, seed production manager for the company.
Not only is Hemp Oil Canada contracting more acres with producers they know, but has recruited more growers. Other growers were phoning the company, he said.
Friesen noted that he can remember when he had to work hard just to convince producers to grow hemp. By last October, contracts were just about filled.
“We try to have equal amounts of production in each (Prairie) province,” he said.
Hemp Oil Canada started an agronomic program last year, and Friesen felt that weighed in with producers’ decisions. “We do field inspections. We have a growers’ guide. We do a lot with the producers to make sure they are successful,” he said.
Reluctant to brag, Friesen did say markets are growing steadily.
Friesen knows the problems the industry had to deal with, including farmers being caught with hemp and no one to buy it. He encouraged producers to seek out contracts first if they want to grow hemp.
“The industry has matured a lot since 1999,” he said. “There’s more widespread acceptance of hemp, especially in the primary market, which is the United States.”
About two years ago, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency in the United States sought to impose a ban on the sale of hemp foods. That ban was overturned in a California court where judges almost made fun of DEA officers for their arguments that didn’t hold water, Friesen said. On the upside, the trial sparked a lot of press coverage, especially touting the crop’s nutritional benefits.
“That seemed to spur a lot more market development in the U.S.,” he said. But Friesen doesn’t see the U.S. getting into hemp production for at least another five to 10 years. By that time, he expects that Canada will be a major, established player, with an important role in the industry. “We’ll be there,” he said.
Bonnie Baltessen is a reporter with the Manitoba Co-operator in Winnipeg.
