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'Pioneers': Idaho's new hemp industry draws first applicants
By ERIN BANKS RUSBY erubsy@idahopress.com
About 1997, I was doing a lot of work for a guy who makes ropes here. I learned a lot about hemp from him, and it led me to think about how valuable hemp would be as a crop here.
There are basically 2 different kinds of hemp that's grown commercially around the world. One strain is grown for it's fiber and the other is grown for its value as animal feed and other uses. Some of those other uses were quite interesting, especially in their use in the plastics industry.
Each variety demands different processing, and each demands specialization. Both are equally valuable.
A farmer would have to commit to one or the other; they can't be mixed. As feed or fiber, each needs it's own equipment to make it into a finished product.
The most interesting thing to me was both varieties are extremely hardy. A farmer could grow hemp in all the waste ground that exists in our potato farms, the places where irrigation doesn't reach or the soil is too rocky or poor to grow spuds or grain well.
A farmer growing hemp could pasture a herd of cattle all winter on a field used for growing grain with no need for hay. Just the water needed for the cattle. Hemp provides cattle everything they need to prosper, once fed with the straw left from a grain crop.
As a second crop, hemp could actually be as valuable as grain, but it won't rebuild the soil like hay does. At the same time, hemp happily grows with hay and doesn't try to take over a hay field.
It led me to think that if enough farmers here would start growing hemp, it could lead naturally into some new industrial development here. Processing raw hemp into feed or fiber, and shipping out finished product to the rest of the world.
Maximizing our crops through home-grown industry has always been an Idaho specialty. We grow more potatoes here than anywhere because we developed specialized industries that made growing huge acreages of potatoes possible.
The equipment that was invented was invented here first. And Idaho-made spud equipment is still the best any farmer can buy.
Hemp could mother an entire bumper crop of brand-new industry here if there was enough supply of the raw materials available here. That supply only needs to happen first. It has to be large enough to warrant building a factory, so that's a lot of up-front risk for farmers.
The upside to the risk is the short time needed to build up the supply. The technology is there and it's reliable, so building the processing wouldn't take more than a few years of hanging on to a no-profit crop.
Even so, storing a no-profit crop is something a small farmer simply can't do, so there will have to be some strong commitment to hemp from the big boys in the ag industry here as a first step.
I became pretty fired up about all the possibilities hemp could provide for us, but back then, there was no way possible I could ever envision hemp becoming a legal crop because it's so close in folk's minds to marijuana.
I find it extremely ironic that pot smokers actually changed the thinking over hemp. As a product, I'm sure cannibanol will always be more valuable than hemp. But marijuana plants never were hemp plants even though they were almost identical genetically.
My old customer had most of the resources he needed to start a small hemp factory, but back then, the only hemp he could buy was foreign, and it came pre-processed.
It was the most expensive of all the threads he purchased to spin into rope, but it was sketchy in reliable supply. So his hemp ropes were a specialty that weren't always available to his customers.
Hemp will always be an extremely valuable fiber crop because the processed fibers don't stretch, and they don't shrink. The fiber is as strong wet as it is dry, and as strong at 120º above zero as it is at -50º below zero.
Every ship in the ocean still depends on hemp hausers (the big ropes) used to keep it tied to docks, or to pull a crippled ship to port. Even frayed and old, the fiber never loses it's strength, and it's stronger than any other natural fiber along its length.
And because it's essentially an extremely hardy weed, it will always be cheaper than any man-made fiber. It's a lot like bamboo in that, except hemp likes dry and cold as much as bamboo likes wet and warm.
The horse had to come before the cart, and 28 years ago, there was no horse to be found here, or anywhere, period.
So I never approached him with my grand vision of creating a home-grown hemp industry.
...and now, we are both retired, and too damned old to ever become the Rope King millionaires of Idaho.
Last edited by banjomike; 12-06-2021 at 04:42 PM..
[mod note] In case you've all forgotten, this is a NEWS THREAD where members post a news story/link that appears in a reputable publication and possibly VERY LIMITED discussion. Partisan politics go elsewhere. This thread will be permanently close if y'all continue to insist on having political arguments. Nobody will be swayed, one way or the other. KNOCK IT OFF! [/mod note]
I just learned some more interesting stuff about hemp today.
There are 4 species; one is the marijuana plant, and it's the only one that developed cannibanol (THC) as a chemical for defense against being eaten. The other 3 developed tough, untasty stalks for protection.
Each is a subspecies that are only cousins to each other, so distinct they don't cross-pollinate. The only thing the plants share in common with each other is their ability to produce cannabinol.
Those other 3 have been cultivated forever, one for it's fibrous stalks, another for its soft nutritious animal food core, called 'hemp hearts', and the third for it's highly nutritious seeds. The second variety is now also grown for extracting the popular medicinal CBD oil. Extraction of the oil doesn't lose any of its value as nutrition as animal feed.
The third, the seed producer makes seeds that have been eaten by humans in Asia forever. The seed has a very tough husk that must be milled, but the grain hearts have more protein than soy beans, and have been part of daily diet in E. Asia for thousands of years.
Here in Idaho, there are two guys who are responsible for the recent legalization of hemp as a crop. Idaho is the first state to allow it to be grown. There are 2 different permits that the state must issue to grow hemp legally; one is for growing it as a food crop, and the other is for a fiber crop. Each permit has its own set of rules and regulations.
There is nothing in the permits that forbid any company applying for both types, however.
The permit is most important because either allows a grower or processor legal permission to transport the crops. That permission differs however; a farmer who chooses to only grow the food varieties cannot drive their trucks across the state line to a processor. But the fiberous variety, called Structural Hemp, can be transported across state lines legally, but only with the proper permit.
This legislation only pertains to hemp. Any marijuana that's grown or transported inside Idaho is still as illegal as it ever was, and can land someone in jail. There is no way to disguise marijuana as hemp. So the long-haul drivers with permits don't have to worry about being jailed, but the drug mules must still take their chances with the law if they move pot here from a pot-legal state.
The 2 pioneers who spearheaded the legislation's passage are an architect and the owner of a small mill that has processed a variety of organic human food grains and beans for a long time.
The architect has also specialized in the use of Structural Hemp for a long time, as Canada has allowed that hemp to be grown for some time, along with it's present legal transport across the United States.
The architect sees the hemp fiber's greatest value is in home insulation as hemp wool. Construction on a new factory to produce the insulation has already begun in Jerome. The plant is expected to become operational in June.
The mill, called 1,000 Springs Mill, is located in nearby Buhl. Both Jerome and Buhl are centrally located in Idaho's agricultural heart region in south-central Magic Valley.
Both are now well on the way to getting production started cautiously. There have been some unexpected challenges that have been encountered. One is keeping all the harvesting equipment extremely clean. Apparently, all the stray
One is the owner of a small milling company particulate dust that comes from harvesting is sticky enough to make it cling to the equipment and collect to the point overheating happens and then the dust ignites.
That's the same problem growing wheat has always had, but wheat dust doesn't burn until it is very, very dry. And when it's that dry, wheat doesn't burn; it explodes, and often from spontaneous combustion. The grain is still far too moist to burn easily during harvest, so the dust has never been any problem, and it's only when stored inside a grain elevator for a very long time that wheat becomes explosive.
But hemp seed has a different problem. The seeds contain all the moisture the plant has, so it's moisture content must be kept very high to retain it's nutritional value. This means the harvest must be processed very quickly after harvesting and it cannot go very far in transport.
That's a mighty tough technological challenge. Every piece of our present harvesting equipment, no matter what crop is grown, has never had to take high seed moisture as a necessity to harvest before. There is no equipment that exists that has even been designed for that purpose as a large crop machine.
But Idaho was the only state that was able to make large-crop potatoes possible. Potatoes are as finicky to grow as hemp.
We designed and built the spud equipment, all of it, ourselves, long before any other state. Way back when our barns were our labs and our engineers were blacksmiths.
I think our guys are still able to face a new challenge.
It will be very interesting to me to see how our recent growth in both the computer industry and the agriculture industry's technologies will converge here on a product that is brand-new to both of them at the same time.
I don't think the need for synchronicity has ever existed before in either industry. Idaho is the only state I can think of that could make such a need possible to achieve.
Water usage will be the greatest challenge, for sure, as hemp hates 'wet feet' as much as potatoes love wet feet. There's a big difference between a plant that demands a wet top and a dry bottom from everything else we grow.
Apparently, hemp will be an easy crop to grow, but hell to harvest. I suspect any farmer who wants to grow it will have to really specialize in hemp alone in very small crops for quite a while. A lot of education must happen before any attempt begins.
Last edited by banjomike; 12-07-2021 at 09:48 PM..
Idaho farm moves to Oregon to escape high-growth Boise area
An Idaho seed farm has almost completed its move from one of the fastest-growing regions of the state near Boise to one that’s less prone to development.
The father-and-son owners of Flick Farms say they will soon finish the move from Sand Hollow, Idaho, to Malheur County, just across the Oregon border.
Boise church replaces stained-glass windowpane depicting Robert E. Lee with first Black female Methodist Bishop
Quote:
On Wednesday, the Cathedral of the Rockies near downtown Boise finished replacing a stained-glass windowpane that the church felt was racist and non-inclusive.
“To any African American in our community, when they see Robert E. Lee, they’re not feeling warm and welcomed,” said the church’s lead pastor Duane Anders.
The gallery took over from the old Marketplace years ago, and became a great little community center for Hope, with weekly social events and really high quality local art. Then it had to close in 2017 or '18, and another little market took over, but that, too, had to close last year, I believe. But now the gallery is coming alive again, as an artists' co-op for special events. That's great news for the region! Thank you, Kally!
Quote:
The Hope Marketplace Art Co-Op is happening every Thursday through Sunday from 11 a.m.-5 p.m., with 28 local artists taking part in this year’s co-op.
“We have an ocean of creativity to purvey,” said Kally Thurman, one of the co-op coordinators. “Having the walls filled with art again is a rewarding experience.”
The co-op spotlights works made by local artists and craftsmen who use a wide variety of materials. Wood, glass, metal, and fiber works can be found along with traditional mediums including paintings and photography. Jewelry, clothing, hand-crafted tables, and other goods can be found at the market.
...Located at 620 Wellington Place in East Hope, the co-op will be open every day from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. the week before Christmas.
...Then it had to close in 2017 or '18, and another little market took over, but that, too, had to close last year, I believe.
That was a pretty good little market, and they had a little cafe on the side. They even had live music in the cafe on occasion. Last I heard, the owner raised the rent, and the market/cafe couldn't afford the increase so had to shut down. Other than the pizza joint, that was the only place to get anything in Hope. Well, I guess there's the convenience store down at Holiday Shores Marina, but the loss of that market was a real blow.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Clark Fork Fantast
But now the gallery is coming alive again, as an artists' co-op for special events.
Not very co-opy though. I actually asked if I could put up some of my paintings. "We're already full" was the answer. I'd rather have the market.
https://idahocapitalsun.com/2021/12/...against-covid/
‘Who do you believe?’ The answer, for many, is why Idaho lost a battle against COVID.
Legislators spreading false claims. Parents revolting against public health. Crushed hospitals.
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