Industrial Hemp

A hemp fibre processing mill is being proposed for the Hunter Valley after a strong response from farmers interested in growing the product.

By ABC Newcastle

Queensland company Ecofibre undertook a series of crop trials across the Lower and Upper Hunter during last summer which achieved better than expected results.

The fibre would replace imported hemp used by an Australian company in the manufacture of flotation products.

Ecofibre managing director Phil Warner says interest in growing the crop this year would allow a local processing facility to be established.

"What we needed to achieve was in the initial stages with a sort of pilot commercial mill to have around 250 hectares of production and I think we've already well over achieved that in the sense of number of growers that have shown interest," he said.

"Once we have secured [the] amount of area that is going to be grown for next season then we can start planning on getting the mill into position."

http://www.ecofibre.com.au/


Source: http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/03/19/2850337.htm?site=newcastle...

By Liina Flynn, Echo

Every time you flush the toilet, do you think about what happens to your bodily waste once it leaves the bowl? Ecological engineer Dr Keith Bolton does. With his driving philosophy ‘there’s no such thing as waste’, he has devoted his career to developing natural ways of treating sewage and using effluent for the benefit of communities.

Rather than creating environmental problems by pumping effluent into rivers and oceans, Dr Bolton believes wastewater should be utilised as a resource. The projects he has been involved with have taken him from growing the first fields of industrial hemp on the North Coast through to creating sustainable solutions to sewage problems in remote Aboriginal communities.

Through his company Ecotechnology Australia, Dr Bolton and his Lismore-based Ecoteam have pioneered the design of constructed wetland ecosystems to treat sewage. If we think of wetlands as being the kidneys of the land, then the process of constructing a wetland is like performing a kidney transplant.

“In nature, wetlands are the mechanisms that purify the water as it travels from land into water courses,” Dr Bolton said. “They essentially serve the same function that our kidneys do in our bodies by purifying the water cycle.”

Hemp Technology, has announced the launch of Breathe™, an innovative new natural fibre insulation. The sustainably sourced product, which will play a key role in the nation's drive to zero carbon construction, was officially launched at Ecobuild, the world's largest sustainable construction event, at Earls Court, London on the the 2nd March 2010.

By David Ing, Construction News

Hemp Technology, has announced the launch of Breathe™, an innovative new natural fibre insulation. The sustainably sourced product, which will play a key role in the nation's drive to zero carbon construction, was officially launched at Ecobuild, the world's largest sustainable construction event, at Earls Court, London, on the 2nd March 2010.

Produced from UK grown hemp and flax, Breathe™ offers a renewable and low-carbon means of insulating lofts, walls and floors. An eco-friendly challenge to the dominance of mineral wools, it holds superb performance qualities.

With a thermal conductivity of 0.039 W/mK, Breathe™ performs better than many fibre products. This boosts thermal comfort by reducing overheating in summer and damping internal temperature fluctuations. A high resistance to settlement ensures its good qualities last as long as the building to which it is applied.

By Gil Halsted, Wisconsin Public Radio

MADISON (WPR) It could soon be legal to grow hemp for industrial purposes in Wisconsin, depending on what comes of two hemp bills pending in the state legislature.

One bill would allocate money for a study on what the marketing future of hemp might be if farmers were allowed to grow it. The other would set up a licensing procedure for farmers who want to grow the plant and sell it for its seed oil or as a fiber for making paper and other products.

Because hemp contains a small amount of THC -- the active intoxicating ingredient in marijuana -- the federal Drug Enforcement Agency has refused to allow it to be grown as a commercial crop.

Hemp bill sponsor Rep. Louis Molepske of Stevens Point says if his bill passes, farmers would be ready to start sowing hemp seeds when and if the federal government lifts the ban. He says nine states have already passed similar bills. Molepske says hemp is not marijuana, and Wisconsin could return to being a leading producer of hemp, as it was through the 1960’s.

State law enforcement officials have cautioned against legalizing hemp. At a hearing last week, an analyst from the state crime lab testified against the bill, saying it would create a problem for him in his work because he would likely be called upon to test hemp plants to make sure they fall below the legal limit for percentage THC.

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At a time when Wisconsin farm families are constantly looking for new sources of revenue, hemp would be a good one.

By Capital Times Editorial

The states of North Dakota, Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Montana, West Virginia, Vermont and Oregon already have legalized the cultivation of industrial hemp, recognizing that these crops can be used to produce fibers that are useful in the making of rope and other products.

At a time when Wisconsin farm families are constantly looking for new sources of revenue, this is a good one. And it has a history in the state; until 1957, notes Bill Tracy, who chairs the Agronomy Department at the University of Wisconsin, industrial hemp was a significant crop for Wisconsin farmers.

With that combination of current need and relatively recent history in mind, legislators should not hesitate to back a bill, introduced by state Rep. Louis Molepske Jr., D-Stevens Point, which would address the state prohibition on the production of hemp.

The controversy regarding this bill, to the extent that there is any, will have to do with the fact that hemp is cultivated from the same plant that is used to grow marijuana.

By Cara Spoto, Central Wisconsin

A bill introduced by a Stevens Point lawmaker would allow Wisconsin farmers to grow industrial hemp with a state license.

Currently, farmers in the state are prohibited under state and federal law from producing hemp, which is cultivated from Cannabis sativa, the same plant used to grow marijuana.

The strains of the plant used in hemp production differ from those grown for marijuana because they contain less than .03 percent THC, which produces mind-altering effects. Marijuana can contain anywhere from 6 percent to 7 percent THC.

Industrial hemp is produced from the stalk of the plant, and is used to produce a variety of fibers, including rope.

Introduced by State Rep. Louis Molepske Jr., a Democrat, the measure would require the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection to permit farmers to grow and process Cannabis sativa, as long as it contains no more than .03 percent THC. Farmers would be required to provide a legal description of the land where the hemp would be grown or processed and to report all sales. Any person convicted of violating controlled substance laws would not be eligible.

Naturally Advanced Technologies Agrees with the National Research Council of Canada to Collaborate on Research for the Production of Cellulosic Ethanol from Sustainable Feedstock

This Research is Intended to Develop New Enzyme Technology for Cellulosic Ethanol Manufacturing

By Michael Bachara, Hemp News Staff

Naturally Advanced Technologies Inc. (NAT) amended its agreement with the National Research Council (NRC) of Canada to include collaboration on cellulose technology research for the production of cellulosic ethanol from sustainable feedstock, such as corn stalks and straws, the unexploited byproduct in agri-food production. In my opinion, this is a huge step toward sustainability and mankind's ultimate survival.

Research Timeline

* The NAT - NRC collaboration began in 2004 and was extended in 2007 for the design and construction of advanced enzyme technology for the extraction and cleaning of industrial hemp fiber for the textile sector, as spearheaded by Dr. Wing Sung. (See Video Below)

* As this research is in the final stages, the two parties have agreed to divert existing funding commitments to pursue additional opportunities for the advanced enzyme technology, namely in cellulosic ethanol.

By MICHAEL POLLITT, AGRICULTURAL EDITOR

East Anglia's vining pea growers could switch to a profitable alternative crop and plant hemp this spring, members of Norfolk's oldest farming club have been told.

And Europe's biggest hemp proces-sing plant at Halesworth is planning a £5m investment to boost production of insulation materials, said managing director Mike Duckett.

He told members of Stalham Farmers' Club that a housing development of 114 houses at Diss will use the environmentally-friendly material, made from hemp and lime, he said.

While the automotive industry was turning hemp fibre into a light-weight and strong car panels, Mr Duckett said that the crop's green credentials was starting to win major markets. The factory, which had the capacity to process seven tonnes an hour, was opened in July 2008.

"When we're running at full pelt, we will be processing about 50,000 tonnes each year. Now, today, we are not only processing hemp but also linseed straw. We're also turning 1,0000 tonnes of rape straw this year into animal bedding so spreading the risks,"said Mr Duckett. It was acquired by Lime Technology from administration in June last year and renamed Hemp Technology.

Since the modern hemp processing industry had started in 1993 by Harlow Agricultural Merchants, better growing techniques and processing had increased the potential opportunities, he added.

The Ford Focus is spearheading a comprehensive European Recycling Campaign, the car manufacturer has said.

The campaign has created over 300 separate car parts formed with recycling materials and diverts around 20,000 tonnes away from landfill each year.

Ford recycled materials include recycled plastics that make up 25% of heater and air conditioned housing, 50% of battery trays and recycled materials that make up 100% of fabric seat options.

Sources for this recycled material are everyday items as diverse as plastic bottles, CDs, computers and even denim jeans.

The noise insulation in all Ford vehicles is made from jeans and reclaimed car seat upholstery.

Ford is undergoing developments to create more alternative bio-based materials in order to decrease dependence on oil based products.

Ford researchers are currently developing new materials that include more natural ingredients such as soy flour, hemp and cellulose.


Source: http://www.insideireland.ie/index.cfm/section/news/ext/fordrecycle001/ca...

WINNIPEG, Manitoba–Exports of products from Manitoba Harvest Hemp Foods & Oils™ have grown more than 500 percent during the past year, according to the company as it plans to exhibit its full line of hemp foods at the organic trade show BioFach from February 17 to 20, 2010.

This is the third consecutive year that Manitoba Harvest has exhibited at BioFach, which is held annually in Nuremberg, Germany. The show will feature more than 2,500 exhibitors, and is expected to attract more than 45,000 retailers and industry experts from more than 100 countries. At the show, Manitoba Harvest will announce a new distribution partnership that will help the company expand into previously untapped regions of Germany and eastern European countries such as Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia. In 2009, Manitoba Harvest exported products to eight nations (in addition to the United States) including Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany, Italy, United Kingdom, Ireland and Japan.

Ancient plant has many uses, from medicinal to industrial

By Jesse Rowland

Ever since I first learned what it was, I've been fascinated by marijuana. It's a miraculous plant that can and has been used for a multitude of purposes since at least 8,000 B.C.E.

I feel that marijuana is a vital part of the continuation of our country and the planet, and it should be fully legalized for the use of whatever people see fit, including recreational.

Cannabis can be adapted with any industry, be it agricultural, medical, construction, textile or cosmetic. In Jamestown, Va., in 1619, a law "ordered" all farmers to grow marijuana for the colony. Similar laws were also passed in Massachusetts and Connecticut in 1631 and 1632. In Virginia, during times of shortage between 1763 and 1767, you could actually be jailed for not growing it.

Henry Ford, who designed a vehicle made out of hemp fibers and powered by hemp seed oil, once said, "Why use up the forests which were centuries in the making and the mines which required ages to lay down if we can get the equivalent of forest and mineral products in the annual growth of the hemp fields?"

And it makes sense. Why, as the most powerful country on the planet, would we not utilize the most versatile plant known to man?

The United Nations General Assembly declared 2009 to be the International Year of Natural Fibers. Events were organized around the world to enhance awareness of the benefits to workers, consumers and the environment of using natural fibers and to bring natural fiber organizations together to promote common interests. Accordingly, natural fiber organizations will continue working together beyond 2009 under the auspices of the 'Discover Natural Fiber Initiative.'

Natural fibers are being used increasingly in industrial applications, especially as reinforcement for plastics. A new book, 'Industrial Application of Natural Fibers,' will be available in April 2010. This essential resource brings detailed information about natural fibers, including information about agricultural production, fiber separation, fiber processing and manufacturing of final products. The book focuses on important materials such as emerging applications in polymer composites, non-woven or felted products and textiles.

The book has 20 chapters spread over 576 pages and covers structure, properties and technical applications of most natural fibers, including coir, cotton, flax, hemp, jute, silk, sisal and wool.

International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC)


Source: http://www.fibre2fashion.com/news/textile-news/newsdetails.aspx?news_id=...

By Jay, Willie Nelson PRI

The backroom deals, disinformation and political slight-of-hand that ushered in the era of cannabis hemp marijuana criminalization has been fully revealed as a fraud perpetrated upon the United States population. The falsehoods stand bare and truly show that The Emperor Wears No Clothes.

The Emperor Wears No Clothes, backed by H.E.M.P. (America), Hanf Haus (Germany), Sensi Seeds/Hash Marijuana Museum (Netherlands), and T.H.C., the Texas Hemp Campaign (America), offers $100,000 to anyone who can disprove the claims made within. To quote the back cover:

If all fossil fuels and their derivatives, as well as trees for paper and construction were banned in order to save the planet, reverse the Greenhouse Effect and stop deforestation; then there is only one known annually renewable natural resource that is capable of providing the overall majority of the world’s paper and textiles; meet all of the world’s transportation, industrial and home energy needs, while simultaneously reducing pollution, rebuilding the soil, and cleaning the atmosphere all at the same time… and that substance is — the same one that did it all before — Cannabis Hemp… Marijuana!

For Immediate Release:

The Office of the Secretary of State received a certified ballot title from the Attorney General on February 2, 2010, for initiative #73, proposing a statutory amendment, for the General Election of November 2, 2010.

In addition, Secretary of State Kate Brown determined that the proposed initiative petition was in compliance with the procedural requirements established in the Oregon Constitution for initiative petitions.

The certified ballot title is as follows:

Permits personal marijuana, hemp cultivation/use without license; commission to regulate commercial marijuana cultivation/sale

Result of "Yes" Vote: "Yes" vote permits state-licensed marijuana (cannabis) cultivation/sale to adults through state stores; permits unlicensed adult personal cultivation/use; prohibits restrictions on hemp (defined).

Result of a "No" Vote: "No" vote retains existing civil and criminal laws prohibiting cultivation, possession and delivery of marijuana; retains current statues that permit regulated use of medical marijuana.

BY Darren Snyder, Staff Writer
Photograph By Steven Siewert

Rylstone couple Richard and Wendy Friar are creating an Australian first by videoing an education program to explain the benefits of growing hemp.

The Sydney Morning Herald revealed on Tuesday morning that the pair have become the first Australians to own and grow a licensed industrial hemp crop but they will also be the first to record the experience in order to teach others about the versatile plant.

But do not be alarmed. The pair are not potheads and nor are they growing anything illegal.

In a campaign to champion the idea that hemp is a plant with great utility, the couple have been given permission by the Department of Primary Industries to grow a pilot education project on a property in the northern beaches.

Mr Friar said he is trying to remove the stigma surrounding growing hemp.

“In the 1990s it was estimated hemp was used in about 25,000 products and I now believe it has reached 35,000 today,” he said.

The uses for hemp vary greatly, from oils to building fibres and medicinal uses, and Mr Friar said the potential of the plant must be made clear.

“The fibres taken from hemp are used in the building industry and are as strong as steel,” Mr Friar said.

“It is more efficient to grow than cotton.

“It is also challenging Petra-chemicals.”

The 66-year-old also said the couple had applied to Food Standards to sell the hemp seeds for human consumption.

By WRN Contributor / John Colbert-WIBA

A legislative panel is moving toward allowing farmers to grow industrial hemp, a crop that used to be big in Wisconsin before the War on Drugs. Louie Molepske Jr. (D-Stevens Point) is behind the effort which was approved by the Assembly Agriculture Committee Thursday.

Hemp is a resilient plant that can be used for fiber, oil, and in food. Molepske adds Wisconsin was once the number one hemp growing state, this bill “sets in motion” a path back to that level of productivity.

The Stevens Point Democrat says there’s no worry about getting “high” by smoking the crop, as Marijuana contains around 15 percent THC, industrial hemp has only a fraction of one percent.


Source: http://www.wrn.com/2010/01/hemp-bill-clears-panel/

By WFP Staff Writer

WINNIPEG — Ottawa and the province teamed up Tuesday to help build a new hemp oil processing plant in southwest Manitoba.

The Manitoba government is contributing $75,000 and Ottawa, through its Community Adjustment Fund, is providing $4,895. The announcement was made Tuesday in Brandon.

The money is to go towards the building of the processing plant in Waskada by Farm Genesis Group Marketing Inc. The oil from hemp seeds is used in natural food and cosmetic products.

Farm Genesis Group Marketing is made up of 32 local farmers. The project's goal is to keep family farms in the area viable with different crops.

Canadian hemp seed exports have increased by 300 per cent and hemp oil exports by 85 per cent over the past few years as Ottawa and the province work with producers to build the hemp industry in Canada. Hemp growing has been legal in Canada only since 1998. Other products from hemp fibre include clothing and things like automotive components and construction materials.

Related Stories: Group Welcomes Provincial Money
http://www.portageonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1...

Source: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/Hemp-oil-plant-gets-fundin...

By David Ing for Hemp News

An ambitious sustainable social housing scheme, designed to meet Level 4 of the Code for Sustainable Homes through the use of renewable materials, has achieved planning approval. The development is being delivered by Crossover C-Zero LLP in partnership with Flagship Housing, one of the largest providers of social housing in East Anglia and will be built using Tradical® Hemcrete® thermal walling system from Lime Technology.

Based at Denmark Lane, Diss, the scheme will see the construction of 114 housing units and will be the first major affordable homes project proposed to seek Level 4 rating of the Code for Sustainable Homes. To aid its completion, the development has managed to obtain £3 million in funding from the Housing and Communities Agency (HCA) and the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), who earlier this year offered financial aid for the delivery of social housing schemes that used renewable materials.

False facts offered to Americans in the first half of the 20th Century were accepted by an otherwise ignorant public, and guided by an industrial desire to rid the United States of the strongest natural fiber known to man.

Commentary by Tim King, Salem-News.com

(SALEM, Ore.) - We left messages with John Kitzhaber's campaign for Governor, to ask what his position on medical marijuana is, especially now that the state has passed laws in support of it. The answer? No answer, no reply. It seems the Kitz might see this issue as a hot potato, though it seems a bit late for that.

Former Gov. Kitzhaber will face longtime Secretary of State Bill Bradbury in the next Oregon Democratic Gubernatorial primary, and this equally familiar face in Oregon politics didn't flinch when asked about his position on both Oregon industrial hemp, and medical marijuana.

Changing Laws

Naturally Advanced Technologies Secures Hanesbrands Inc. Initial Purchase Order for 10,000LBs of Crailar

By Portland Business Journal staff

Naturally Advanced Technologies Inc. on Tuesday said apparel maker Hanesbrands Inc. has purchased its first batch of Crailar fiber in a significant step toward commercializing the technology.

Portland-based Naturally Advanced (OTCBB: NADVF) developed Crailar technology, which is designed to turn burlap-like hemp into a fabric as soft as cotton.

In August the company announced a joint development agreement with Winson-Salem, N.C.-based Hanesbrands to study how Crailar fiber can be worked into mainstream production.

Hanes ordered about 10,000 pounds of Crailar in the first quarter of 2010. Naturally Advanced didn’t release the price of the sale.

"There is reason to believe there is hope for the 21st Century, and that's the way it will be." Walter Cronkite

Compiled by Hemp News Staff

1. California: DEA To Yield Marijuana Jurisdiction To States - 3/2/2009

Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is sending strong signals that President Obama - who as a candidate said states should be allowed to make their own rules on medical marijuana - will end raids on pot dispensaries in California.

"What the president said during the campaign, you'll be surprised to know, will be consistent with what we'll be doing here in law enforcement," he said. "What he said during the campaign is now American policy."

Source: http://hemp.org/news/us-to-yield-marijuana-jurisdiction-to-states



2. Washington State: Kitsap Medical Marijuana Defendant Acquitted - 3/24/2009

By CHARLIE BERMANT, Port Orchard Independent Staff Writer

A medical marijuana patient being prosecuted in Kitsap County Superior Court for drug trafficking was found not guilty on Tuesday morning, after a jury ruled that his use of the drug was within the law.

The jury deliberated for approximately two hours prior to its ruling.

From Drug War Chronicle, Issue #614, 12/29/09

The 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis last Tuesday upheld a lower court's decision to dismiss a lawsuit by a pair of North Dakota hemp farmers who argued they should be able to grow hemp crops without fear of federal prosecution.

Farmers Wayne Hauge and David Monson, who is also a Republican state representative, were awarded licenses from the state department of agriculture to grow hemp three years ago. They sought approval from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and after the DEA failed to respond, they filed suit in US District Court in Bismarck. There, US District Judge Daniel Hovland dismissed their suit.

The DEA considers hemp to be marijuana. It took a successful federal court challenge to force the DEA to continue to allow for hemp food products to be imported, but American farmers are still forced to stand on the sidelines and watch as their Canadian, Chinese, and European counterparts fill their wallets with profit from hemp sales.

"I guess the next step is we'll have to take it to Congress," Hauge told the Associated Press. "The fastest and easiest way to handle this would be for the president to order the Department of Justice to stand down on all actions against industrial hemp," he added, alluding wistfully to the department's announced policy shift on medical marijuana.

By Fiber for Fashion, Staff

From paper, cordage, furniture, and handicraft industries, uses of abaca (Musa textilis Nee) have extended to natural fiber-reinforced plastic composite material to replace some parts of cars.

Dr. Leslie Joy Lanticse-Diaz, chair, Department of Mining, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, University of the Philippines Diliman, shared this information with natural fiber stakeholders at the recently concluded National Conference on Natural Fibers held at Dusit Thani Hotel, Makati City. The study conducted by a team of researchers led by Dr. Diaz aimed, among other things, to incorporate the natural fiber into plastic matrices for various applications.

Research results show that the fiber of abaca or Manila hemp displayed a tensile strength of up to 970 MPa, which means that 140,686 pounds per square inch of force is needed to break this fiber. Abaca fiber was also reported to reach a maximum of 3 meters that gives it the advantage of length. She explained that these were among the factors that made abaca fiber viable for automotive composites.

The researchers also concluded that weave construction and weave patterns are significant parameters to be optimized to ensure better control and consistency in the properties of the composite to be constructed with abaca as the natural fiber reinforcement.