March 20, 2003

 

NDSU Lands Funding for Security at Industrial Hemp Sites

Fences and security systems for field research on industrial hemp will be installed by North Dakota State University with funds from the North Dakota Agricultural Products Utilization Commission.

The security systems are required by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration before it will allow NDSU to conduct research on hemp. Specifications call for a 10-foot fence topped with barbed wire. Additional electronic monitoring equipment must be installed so that no one can gain entry to the enclosure without being detected.

NDSU alternative crops researcher Burton Johnson says he is uncertain whether research plots of industrial hemp will be grown in North Dakota in 2003. Once weather permits, the fence and electronic monitoring systems will need to be installed and then inspected and approved by the DEA. "We're not sure how long that will take," he says. The Agricultural Products Utilization Commission approved $55,000 for the project in February.

"We're on new ground here," Johnson says, noting that the only recent research plot of industrial hemp grown in the United States was in Hawaii.

"If the plots and security measures are approved by early to mid May, we would have a chance to get a crop planted," Johnson says. "But we don't have any funds to pay for the research right now and we'll need to file forms to obtain seed. A lot has to happen before we take that next step."

Johnson's research will focus on defining basic production practices such as planting dates, nutrient requirements, weed control, disease and insect concerns. He expects the research to be on one or two sites in North Dakota for a total of about 2 1/2 acres.

Hemp was grown in North Dakota some 60 years ago during World War II and information from that time period will provide some background for Johnson's studies. "That history may also be a significant source of germplasm for us if granted access by the DEA. Here's a plant with 60 years of survival in the wild. That's pretty significant."

Other background will come from Canada, China and Europe where hemp is grown commercially and used in industrial applications. "But we still need this research in North Dakota. Best management practices in China may not be the best in Manitoba and the best management practices in Manitoba may not be best in North Dakota."

In 1997, the North Dakota Legislature charged the North Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station with the task of studying the potential of hemp production in the state. Based on the study recommendations, the North Dakota Legislature in 1999 took hemp off the state's noxious weeds list and made other allowances so that field research could begin. In 1998, Johnson and NDSU applied for "permission to handle a controlled substance" from the DEA. It's taken until now to work out the details of approval, security and funding.

The 1998 NDSU study indicated there were more than 25,000 different hemp-related products made around the world. Hemp fiber is strong and rot resistant. Industrial hemp is often mistakenly associated with it's close relative, marijuana. However the psychoactive element Tetrahydracannibol (THC) is present in considerably lower levels in industrial hemp. It is 0.3 percent or less in industrial hemp compared to 4 to 20 percent in marijuana. Except for a period during World War II, production of hemp has been prohibited by federal law since 1937.

Johnson says the resurgence of interest in hemp in North Dakota is driven by the current farm economic situation and the need for new crops that may provide producers with more profitable returns. "That's why we continue to look at a number of alternative crops," Johnson says. "The greater the diversity of crops in producers' portfolios, the better their chances of success."

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Source: Burton Johnson, (701) 231-8895, burtonjohnson@ndsu.nodak.edu
Editor: Tom Jirik, (701) 231-9629, tjirik@ndsuext.nodak.edu