Last Week’s Hemp Commentary

More Research Needed to Develop Hemp Genetics

The second year of national hemp production is another year of learning for much of the country.  Producers that have grown one or more season are solving problems that arise, and refining their systems, like any farmer must do with a new crop.  Producers are still in a capitalization mode, but with far more spending discipline than the 2019 season, in light of falling hemp prices and other market realities. 

For much of the 2020 hemp crop, plant genetics are poorly matched to environment.  For areas with a Mediterranean climate like the Emerald Triangle of California and Oregon, dense, stout, plants can yield well over a ton/acre of fungus-free material, and a ton and a half is not unusual.  But even parts of Oregon saw fungus in the 2019 crop after atypical rains in September.  The key to this, says…