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Saskatchewan may be seeing more hemp crops in the future.
Andrea Eriksson, business development officer at Norquest College in Edmonton, spoke at the Farm Progress Show in Regina this past week to educate farmers about hemp crops and the recent growth of the industry.
Saskatchewan is second in the country in the crop’s production, behind only Alberta.
Eriksson said the industry has “untapped potential” but added there is a lot of confusion as to what exactly hemp is. Although it is considered a cannabis plant, it is not marijuana.
“It has under 0.3 per cent THC levels,” said Eriksson, which means it does not contain enough of the chemical to cause a high. “It has a lot of industrial applications because it has biomass, it’s high in cannabid oils and (is) a really good building product.”
Although hemp has been legal in Canada since 1998, Eriksson said because most people confuse the plant with marijuana, it has only been gaining interest over the past couple of years.
“Since Oct. 17, 2018, people are really taking note of this plant and finding out what they can do with it now,” she said.
Hemp has a variety of uses, including cosmetics and creating food products, building products and textiles such as plastics.
Eriksson added that farmers can choose what industry their hemp goes to, which is required on the cultivation licence from the federal government that is needed to grow the crop.
Hemp is best grown in nutrient-rich soil, which Eriksson said is why Alberta and Saskatchewan are leading the way in crop production.
Prices for hemp vary for the purpose for which it is used, but Eriksson added that the crop is commonly used as a rotation. Harvesting for hemp fibre, for example, is best done in late July or early August.
Eriksson said there is an opportunity for the hemp industry to grow, especially since the Cannabis Act has increased awareness of it. Alberta, for example, has increased its hemp processing facilities from one to five.
The industry is expected to be worth $10.6 billion by 2025.