Envisioning A Hemp Based Future - 2020 and Beyond
In this era of incredible divisiveness, CHEA members are staying focused on a positive, unifying and constructive course of action that everyone can agree upon and work to achieve...building the industrial hemp industry. This low THC variety of Cannabis sativa may be the only thing with the power to actually unite us enough to make real, positive change in the world.
We like to say that hemp can't make you high, but it can make just about everything else. From food, clothing, medicines, to fuel, plastics and building materials, hemp is the world's most useful plant. It also sequesters carbon from the air and replenishes the soil and water. Hands down, The Most Sustainable Raw Material on the planet. So, let's get united (on this one important issue) and make it our mission to build a brighter future utilizing hemp!
We like to say that hemp can't make you high, but it can make just about everything else. From food, clothing, medicines, to fuel, plastics and building materials, hemp is the world's most useful plant. It also sequesters carbon from the air and replenishes the soil and water. Hands down, The Most Sustainable Raw Material on the planet. So, let's get united (on this one important issue) and make it our mission to build a brighter future utilizing hemp!
Whats Next in 2020
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Field Notes
In our six years of working with the industrial hemp plant, we've learned a lot. Bees, for instance, love the pollen from male plants (which mature early then die back) and birds also love the seeds. It will grow in poor to medium soil. Seeds require moist conditions to germinate, but once established water requirements are medium to low. Some varieties are thin and spindly while others are thick and bushy. Lot's of diversity in the Cannabis sativa family. We've also learned that numerous factors, such as elevation, latitude, marijuana grows, etc, can affect Cannabinoid concentrations. And for any new farmer, there's a lot to consider before investing the considerable amount of money it will take to be successful. For Updates, contact us to receive our Newsletter. 
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Making History - The Politics of Industrial Hemp
Pass the new "Hemp For Victory Act"
American farmers have just gone through their first historic year of learning to grow industrial hemp. It most certainly has been a mixed bag of success and failure, as droves of Americans around the country have cast their lots, (and some their small fortunes) on growing this prolific plant. The data is still being assessed, but on the Western Slope of Colorado the 2019 outdoor growing season certainly didn't produce the easy bounty growers had hoped for, due mainly to our cold, wet spring. CHEA's farm tour of over twenty grows in Garfield and Delta counties last Fall also revealed that the plant is not invulnerable to insect spread diseases like leafhopper diseases, spider mites and aphids. Mold wasn't seen, but could be a future problem if wetter weather patterns persist across our semi desert zones of Colorado. Hemp does prove to be very weed competitive and resilient, but, as with any plant, applying Integrated Plant Management, (IPM), practices and minimizing environmental stress is always key. Our hope is that 2020 will be the year that we begin to utilize hemp's inherent anti-fungal, antibacterial, and health promoting qualities to develop organic, non-toxic pest and fungicides.
Come on Bayer, Dow, Shell, and all the like, get with the times and begin to capitalize on this huge growth market. Think restoration instead of destruction. Sustainability, instead of reckless cannibalistic, unsustainable growth. We need all sectors of big business to see the light and become our future hero's...instead of continuing down this dark and evil path. There's tons of money to be made in the creation of this environmentally friendly, super sustainable, new green industry. It'll be incredible (and we'll all be so thankful) to have you on board, committed to investing...lets say... just 5% of your profits back into hemp R&D, and into converting your operations to begin utilizing hemp in your products. That can't be that hard of a transition...can it? Time's a wasting people, lets get going! And if big business won't do it on their own, local, state, and the federal government must get out the carrots and sticks and make them invest the 5%. The paper and building material industries, plastic composite companies, textile manufactures, auto makers, etc, should all be involved in a national campaign to use hemp as part of a comprehensive plan to become ecologically sustainable and carbon neutral, (Yes, Cannabis is a huge carbon sequestrator), in the next ten years. Think of the incredible publicity and good will that could be generated. But since we know status-quo inertia is a stubborn force, sustained pressure from both ordinary citizens, as well as all levels of government will be required to push these big guys into doing the right thing. It's not enough to just have legality...We absolutely need a new, 21st Century, "Hemp for Victory Act", like the campaign our government created during WWII. Click on the VoteHemp Logo above to send a message to Congress.
We must have full government support, to not just incentivize the growth of this new industry, but to help Americans begin the process of creating a whole new "Hemp Based Economy". An economic system based on hemp as the raw material, the natural resource that things are made from instead of fossil fuels, trees, etc. And because of this plant's ability to restore the environment, any serious talk about climate change must include working toward replacing environmentally harmful things with super sustainable hemp. Such a simple, equitable and elegant solution for restoring balance to our ecosystem is on our horizon, but the new terrain is still treacherous. The hurdles of federal legalization may have been overcome, but the corporate dinosaur war against this plant isn't over yet, and now it's Wild West. The public needs it's government to fund research, ensure safety, and incentivize all kinds of hemp related businesses. Time's a wasting. Keep the pressure coming and before you know it, we will change the world...via hemp.
For more info on the "Hemp for Victory Act" please click above on the Vote Hemp logo.
Pass the new "Hemp For Victory Act"
American farmers have just gone through their first historic year of learning to grow industrial hemp. It most certainly has been a mixed bag of success and failure, as droves of Americans around the country have cast their lots, (and some their small fortunes) on growing this prolific plant. The data is still being assessed, but on the Western Slope of Colorado the 2019 outdoor growing season certainly didn't produce the easy bounty growers had hoped for, due mainly to our cold, wet spring. CHEA's farm tour of over twenty grows in Garfield and Delta counties last Fall also revealed that the plant is not invulnerable to insect spread diseases like leafhopper diseases, spider mites and aphids. Mold wasn't seen, but could be a future problem if wetter weather patterns persist across our semi desert zones of Colorado. Hemp does prove to be very weed competitive and resilient, but, as with any plant, applying Integrated Plant Management, (IPM), practices and minimizing environmental stress is always key. Our hope is that 2020 will be the year that we begin to utilize hemp's inherent anti-fungal, antibacterial, and health promoting qualities to develop organic, non-toxic pest and fungicides.
Come on Bayer, Dow, Shell, and all the like, get with the times and begin to capitalize on this huge growth market. Think restoration instead of destruction. Sustainability, instead of reckless cannibalistic, unsustainable growth. We need all sectors of big business to see the light and become our future hero's...instead of continuing down this dark and evil path. There's tons of money to be made in the creation of this environmentally friendly, super sustainable, new green industry. It'll be incredible (and we'll all be so thankful) to have you on board, committed to investing...lets say... just 5% of your profits back into hemp R&D, and into converting your operations to begin utilizing hemp in your products. That can't be that hard of a transition...can it? Time's a wasting people, lets get going! And if big business won't do it on their own, local, state, and the federal government must get out the carrots and sticks and make them invest the 5%. The paper and building material industries, plastic composite companies, textile manufactures, auto makers, etc, should all be involved in a national campaign to use hemp as part of a comprehensive plan to become ecologically sustainable and carbon neutral, (Yes, Cannabis is a huge carbon sequestrator), in the next ten years. Think of the incredible publicity and good will that could be generated. But since we know status-quo inertia is a stubborn force, sustained pressure from both ordinary citizens, as well as all levels of government will be required to push these big guys into doing the right thing. It's not enough to just have legality...We absolutely need a new, 21st Century, "Hemp for Victory Act", like the campaign our government created during WWII. Click on the VoteHemp Logo above to send a message to Congress.
We must have full government support, to not just incentivize the growth of this new industry, but to help Americans begin the process of creating a whole new "Hemp Based Economy". An economic system based on hemp as the raw material, the natural resource that things are made from instead of fossil fuels, trees, etc. And because of this plant's ability to restore the environment, any serious talk about climate change must include working toward replacing environmentally harmful things with super sustainable hemp. Such a simple, equitable and elegant solution for restoring balance to our ecosystem is on our horizon, but the new terrain is still treacherous. The hurdles of federal legalization may have been overcome, but the corporate dinosaur war against this plant isn't over yet, and now it's Wild West. The public needs it's government to fund research, ensure safety, and incentivize all kinds of hemp related businesses. Time's a wasting. Keep the pressure coming and before you know it, we will change the world...via hemp.
For more info on the "Hemp for Victory Act" please click above on the Vote Hemp logo.
In addition to Vote Hemp, The National Hemp Association, NHA, with roots in Boulder, is another great resource for up-to-date hemp information.
