Eager commenter Jason asked us to seek the opinion of farmers on industrial hemp. How about farmer and Representative Drew Dennert (R-3/Aberdeen), who gave Adam St. Paul a six-minute interview in which he says he is a strong supporter of industrial hemp and calls House Bill 1191 a “well-thought-out” bill. Here’s the Dakota Broadcasting audio, followed by a couple of key comments from Rep. Dennert:
…It is going to increase profitability, and it’s actually a really good rotational crop and it’s good for the ground….
What we’re legalizing here is industrial hemp, has basically no THC level in it, it’s completely different [from] a regular cannabis product or marijuana product that you think of traditionally. Other states have been doing it… really without any problems, so I think that it’s time that we take this step. Our farmers are requesting it. I think it’s going to help our farmers out. There are a lot of really good uses for it, and I think it’s time to proceed with it [Rep. Drew Dennert, interview with Adam St. Paul, Dakota Broadcasting, 2019.02.13].
(And don’t forget, soybean farmers: there are no tariffs on hemp.)
Far be it from me to argue with a Republican legislator from District 3. Pass that hemp!
I’m a farmer and I really get sick of know-it-all anonymous commenters like Jason telling me how to run my farm. Let farmers make the economic decisions about what to plant.
The market for hemp products is expected to grow by 14% a year, to about $10.6 billion in 2025. Noem is putting the brakes on what might well be “the next big thing” she’s been looking for. https://www.marketwatch.com/press-release/bright-future-for-cbd-and-hemp-industry-as-demand-continues-to-grow-2018-08-21
Nick,
Are you on drugs?
I want hemp to be grown in SD.
I think you and Cory owe me an apology but I doubt I will get it.
Hire Byron to run the Division of Insurance and give the boy a $250,000.00 a year job. Then you will see NOem say “you betcha” to the Hemp Bill. NOem needs to offset the loss that Byron is gonna take and grifting works. She is pretty knowledgeable on how to hire their kids so it only makes sense to bring Byron to Pierre to make it a family project.
Will two active farmers like Mr. Nemec and Mr. Dennert be enough to satisfy the troll?
No Jason I am not on drugs, but have had to endure you know-it-all farming advice on this venue on more than one occasion. It gets old.
I’m glad to see you are willing to let farmers make the economic decisions pertaining to growing hemp. Now convince the Governor.
Here’s some interesting info on the state of Hemp farming in the top 10 hemp-growing states. (this report is about a year old)
https://mjbizdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Hemp-Report_Top-10-US-States.pdf
It lists North Dakota #4 and Minnesota #5, despite only having only 35 and 38 growers respectively in each state.
“…North Dakota could one day be the leader in hemp – just as it is for other agricultural commodities…”
It appears that the only things holding back hemp from being a major cash crop in this region is the current small number of growers, and the lack of processors (yet) of the three major products, baled fiber, seed/oil, and the flowers (CBD oil). North Dakota doesn’t yet allow the sale of the flowers, which happen to be the most profitable part of the plant. In other states the flowers sell for $25 to $200 per pound.
Beyond hemp … have some courage. Do something in SD that isn’t “Other states have been doing it… really without any problems, so I think that it’s time that we take this step.” Do something with real risk and get way ahead of the curve, once in a while. South Dakota is nearly last in innovation among it’s students and business people. C’mon, man. The level of intelligence doesn’t deserve a rating like that. (Especially with all the German blood.).
I think the problems lie with the state not wanting to allow success for enterprise… unless it can be corrupted. Under a million bucks is what it would cost for a CBD processing plant that could generate millions of dollars and provide dozens of jobs in the state to start with, all legitimate. That is the problem for NOem and her mob. If you cannot skim dollars from the piggy bank till, then what good is it.
Jerry, during the House Ag committee hearing representives from an existing factory in eastern SD that has the machinery in place to extract CBD oil from hemp testified in favor of hemp growing in SD.
Houston, we have a problem.
Plastic does not deteriorate. It releases toxic chemicals into our food, it lodges in our bodies attracting other pollutants into us. It changes our genetics. Every shellfish has it concentrated in its tissues. One of the ocean gyres off shore of Washington state collects floating plastic garbage (you know, that Bic lighter you drunkenly threw into the river on your Grand Canyon trip). It is as large as TWO of the states of Texas. It is plastic saturated, surface to sea floor. Women are analyzing the chemical makeup of this North Pacific garbage patch — er, gyre. Eve Andrews, Guardian 2.20.19
Hemp can replace plastic resin. It deteriorates:)
Houston we have another problem. Vaginas. Vulvas actually. Lucy Managan, Guardian (again) 2.19.19. We South Dakotans, Republicans anyway, are too squeamish to acknowledge them, other than as penis pockets. Instead we legislate against them or set them as legal gender standards. Women are photographing them and openly discussing their purpose. Cracking jokes about FEMALE masturbation.
Leslie, we’ve been doing that, maybe not the photos, for a long time.
Photos?🤔😒😮
If not for the photos, we wouldn’t believe you, Debbo.
It seems like you can get crop insurance for hemp, as indicated here:
“Clarenda Stanley-Anderson and her husband, Malcolm Anderson Sr., lost two acres of hemp they grew under a North Carolina pilot program when Hurricane Florence barreled through in September. They had no crop insurance because they couldn’t get it when hemp was listed as a federally controlled substance.
The Andersons plan to plant 15 acres this spring and put up greenhouses. They will buy crop insurance and have just signed a contract to provide their dried flower to a Denver company that will extract CBD from it.
The growth potential in the industry has Clarenda Stanley-Anderson excited and optimistic.
“It’s all about the power of green, so when you look at it from that standpoint, it’s going to be an industry that’s here to stay,” she said in a phone interview from her home in Liberty, North Carolina. “The possibilities are endless.”” https://www.ksfy.com/content/news/With-OK-from-Congress-US-hemp-market-set-to-boom-502715501.html
“The possibilities are endless” indeed they are. If there is already a site for the production of CBD, as Mr. Nemec has discussed, impeach NOem and let’s get this going.
Research on the benefits of CBD oil is picking up. The NIH is not ready to be definitive yet, but they’re saying that in addition to pain, CBD oil appears to offer some benefits for a range of chronic conditions including depression and anxiety.
https://goo.gl/3rX9Jt