Last Week’s Hemp Commentary 

Disease Resistant Hemp Requires Research and Time

Cannabis selection has occured over thousands of years, for the intoxicating resin or fibrous characteristics.  Selection was retarded in much of the world due to prohibition, but pockets of breeding have continued, or reemerged in recent decades.  The rebirth of a national hemp industry in the US has given rise to a very crowded seed breeding segment, and we speculate that as much as 1/3 of our estimated hempseed acreage in 2020 – 21,138 acres – could be devoted to hemp seed production for sowing.  Hemp seed prices have in aggregate come down over the last 2 years, but not commensurate with overall hemp prices.  The most desirable varieties can still cost upwards of $1/ seed, though the Jacobsen does not report pricing for crop inputs.   

The robust pricing persistence in this segment is in part due to quickly…