THE Upper Hunter Shire could be one of the first places to successfully farm hemp in Australia if local farmers take on the challenge of growing the summer crop.
There has been controversy surrounding hemp because it is a form of cannabis, but the plant can be legally farmed to produce high tech products such as carbon fibre or can also be used as horse bedding, hydro mulch, oil and clothing.
A property located just outside of Scone was one of a number of Hunter Valley farms to take place in the first official hemp trial in the region.
There were six trial sites throughout the Upper and Lower Hunter, at Scone, East Maitland, Vacy, Dungog and Singleton and two hemp field days were held this week.
About 30 people including local farmers and representatives from Crops Upper Hunter, gathered at the Scone property for a field day on Monday and another hemp field day was held at Vacy and East Maitland on Tuesday.
Neil Nelson owns Singleton based consultancy company Agvice and coordinated the Hunter Valley hemp trials.
The trials were initiated last year at an invite only event for growers who were interested in being able to diversify and who had summer crops they were already irrigating.
“A different crop helps to diversify their income and it could be a good rotational crop,” Mr Nelson said.
Mr Nelson said there is seed regulation and crops are grown under licence and tested by the NSW Department of Industry and Investment to make sure they contain a low THC level.
Hemp is a strain of cannabis and its low THC level means it does not have the physical or psychological effects of marijuana.
“The aim at this stage is to see if we can get commitment to get crops in next summer,” Mr Nelson said.
“We need to get some more farmers interested,” he said.
Ecofibre Industry Operations is a Queensland company that trades in industrial hemp seed and fibre and its managing director Phil Warner is working to develop a market for locally grown hemp.
Mr Warner said the Hunter Valley was an ideal place to grow hemp because there is good agricultural land and it is also close to its markets.
Mr Warner said hemp has not really been grown at a commercial scale in Australia yet, he said attempts and trials have been made in some states such as Queensland where climatic conditions meant the crops were not successful.
“The Hunter Valley is by far the best place to start the industry,” he said.
The hemp would be used locally and Ecofibre Industry Operations hopes to establish a mill in the area most likely in a central position around Singleton, but a site has yet to be selected. Mr Warner said they were looking for a location with a couple of hectares and sheds and are open to suggestions.
Mr Warner said among other things he was looking to develop hempcrete for wine storage.
The Scone crop was planted in November which was not ideal due to the hot weather conditions then.
“It was pretty disastrous,” Mr Warner said.
However, despite the early hurdle Mr Warner was happy with the display crop.
“It was a pretty good crop,” he said.
“It does look promising.”
In normal conditions the crop would be planted in October and would be harvested in early March.
Mr Warner said there was significant interest from local growers at the field day which included presentations, information sessions and crop inspections.
“The response has been terrific and the reception has been very good,” he said.
“At last we have some people willing to be engaged in the industry rather than the knee jerk reaction and narrow minded perception.
“Hemp is grown in all civilized countries except the USA.”
There are plans to grow about 300ha of hemp in the Hunter Valley next season with 50 per cent of the crop to be grown in the Upper Hunter, if successful this could increase.
The main selling points for the crop are that there is a potential to produce a recurrent income, it works well as a summer rotational crop, is good for the soil and future rotation, uses similar amounts of water to other summer crops and can be planted in areas where there are a lot of weeds Mr Warner said hemp was used throughout Europe and has been endorsed by the British Royal family.
Although not farmed commercially in Australia it is imported in car parts from Belgium and is also found in other imported products.
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