As farmers head into the third season of legal industrial hemp production in Wisconsin, many have chosen to grow hemp alongside produce and grain crops, while others with little farming experience decided to try their hand at industrial hemp with the hopes of getting a piece of that lucrative U.S. hemp-derived CBD market that’s expected to reach $23.7 billion by 2023.
Despite positive projections from industry publications, some farmers found themselves with leftover hemp biomass grown for cannabidiol (CBD) production that they couldn’t sell after the 2019 harvest. Hemp growers, processors and industry experts interviewed for past “Cannabis Connection” columns have expressed mixed thoughts on whether the hemp industry is becoming oversaturated and leveling off, or if it’s still a promising venture that will provide an additional cash crop for farmers and growers.
According to statistics provided by Leeann Duwe, Public Information Officer of the Office of the Secretary of Communications for Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP), the state organization that operates the industrial hemp program, interest in hemp farming overall is remaining strong. As of May 29, 2020, the agency received 1,488 applications for hemp grower licenses; 754 of those hemp growers applications were received by a new applicant, and 734 were from returning applicants. That’s down just slightly from the 1,491 total hemp grower licenses applications received by the agency in 2019.
As far as the actual number of hemp growers licenses issued, May 29, 2020 totals showed 1,231 licenses were issued; down only 94 from the1,325 hemp grower licenses issued in 2019.
Duwe notes that at this time, the “license” is a lifetime license. “You only need to apply for it once. If you want to grow or process, you also need an ‘annual registration.’ The annual registration you must reapply for each year. This is how the current hemp pilot research program is set up,” she stated. The licensing process will likely change as DATCP transitions to a new state plan for the hemp program that meets federal requirements of the 2018 Farm Bill.
Farmers Focusing on Quality Over Quantity
Phillip Scott, founder and president of the Wisconsin Hemp Farmers & Manufacturers Association, says that from last year to this year, there are farmers sitting on last year’s hemp and still have full warehouses because there was an abundance of overgrowth and excitement for the hemp industry, and a lot of people thought they could make a quick dollar.
“Realistically, what you’re seeing with those numbers is hope for the industry,” Scott says of the hemp licenses granted for the 2020 growing season. “As we all become more educated and keep learning that growth will happen, you’ve got farmers that have grown hemp and are still sitting on their product, but they are determining exactly how they want to move it to market, and what type of products they want to put it into, as well as the future of this industry. It has a lot of growth potential.”
Even though hemp may not have been as lucrative of a crop as some farmers had thought they’re retooling and considering quality over quantity by reducing crop acreage and focusing on hemp strains that will produce superior product.
“Farmers will grow hemp again, but they’ll make adjustment like smaller crop sizes, or growing different strains. A lot of people are trying different CBD strains for different health effects,” Scott says. As farmers continue to dial in the process, Scott says they’re learning to switch gears very quickly.
While many farmers were told there’s money in CBD hemp, they’re becoming educated in grain and fiber hemp production. “Some farmers are saying they gave it [hemp] a shot with CBD and didn’t make as much money as they had hoped, but they decided to try some grain or fiber varieties,” Scott says. He adds that improved infrastructure for grain and fiber production is growing. “That has a market, too. One plant is giving us three different types of products. I think we’re going down a really good path in the state of Wisconsin.”
