Tim Murphy
Independent staff
The business of hemp farming is heating up.
An Ontario company recently received a $2 million private investment to become the first North American bio-processing plant for industrial hemp.
Stonehedge Bio-Resources Inc., based in Stirling, Ontario, will open its plant this year.
The plant will be creating Hemcrete, a limestone building material similar to concrete that is said to be more environmentally friendly.
The company expects to produce more than $17 million per year in renewable hemp fibre, wood-like chips, pellets, matting and seed products.
The company said it will start with five employees this year, and employ up to 27 people by 2011.
Gordon Schefele, a hemp researcher from the Tavistock area, said the investment is very significant.
He also pointed to another plant, called Stemergy, which is due to open soon.
"Both of these initiatives are significant alone, and highly significant together," he said.
Schefele has been following the development of both plants closely.
"They're both moving ahead steadily and strongly," he said.
Both plants are in distinct regions with distinct markets.
He expects each will require several thousand acres of hemp once they start full production.
"It's a new industry, a new opportunity," he said.
Hemp is a plant with many uses. Its uses vary from health food to the manufacture of car interiors using fibres from the stalk.
Scheifele said he is currently working with a research team from Holland on creating another variety. Scheifele used to be a researcher with the University of Guelph, where he started working with hemp around 1995.
Much of his research involved seed propagation and environmental performance
Unlike corn, hemp does not damage the soil it is grown in. It can be grown each year without crop rotation.
The health effects of hemp are widely recognized as being positive Scheifele said.
"The hemp grain is incredibly nutritious."
There are eighteen research sites located in Ontario, with one of the major plots located right outside of Tavistock, just south of Shakespeare.
Marijuana, unlike hemp, is rich in tetrahydrocannabinol, most commonly known as THC. It is the active ingredient in cannabis that leaves recreational users feeling a high.
Industrial hemp contains less than 0.3 per cent THC, whereas marijuana will often contain about 10 per cent THC, and as much as 30 per cent THC.
"That means it is almost non-detectable," said Scheifele of hemp's THC content.
The hemp industry was born in Canada in 1998 after federal regulations were changed to allow for the commercial growth of the cannabis plant.
Hemp remains illegal in the United States due to its THC content.
But lobbyists south of the border are pushing to legalize hemp. If allowed, Canadian hemp producers and processors would have access to a huge market with infrastructure already in place.
"We see this as a very strategic market opportunity," Scheifele said.
Schefele expects that any plant working with hemp fibres will likely not be able to find a large enough supply of raw hemp to produce the amount of finished products they are capable of.
Although hemp is still considered a controlled substance, Schefele said the regulations are not hindering those who would supply the plants with hemp.
In the early days of hemp in Canada, the focus was on the fibres.
A Chatham company, Stemergy, is focusing on building a factory to process hemp. Government funding, both on the federal and provincial side has been secured, as well as private funding.
About 45,000 acres of hemp was grown last year.
Scheifele said last fall he expected that number to be down about 15,000 acres in 2008, due to a larger than normal crop in 2007.
Only about 150 to 200 acres of hemp was grown in Ontario. The majority of hemp is grown in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
Scheifele said he expects to see about five to six thousand acres of hemp grown in Ontario in 2009 and 2010.
There are a number of research sites in Wilmot and East-Zorra Tavistock.
At least five kilometers separates each site to prevent cross-pollination of the plants.
Each plot of hemp is 1.5 metres by six metres. There are several species of hemp growing on the test site, as the research team notes which species is most suited for Ontario and Quebec climates. The testing site has funding from the Canadian Adaptation Council.
The exact same test-site is copied 18 times across Canada in an effort to see which breeds excel in what conditions. One variety, Finok, excels in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, growing to about five feet tall. In Ontario, its growth is stunted.
The varieties CFX-1 and CRS-1 perform well. Both are new varieties of hemp developed in Canada.
Crag, Alyssa and Heidrun are also Canadian breeds.
Scheifele was involved in the development of Heidrun, which has a high yield of grain.
Yvonne and Jutta also have been developed in Canada and are rich in grain and fibre.
The first breed to be created and registered in Canada is Anka, which was created in Ridgetown.
"This is a benchmark for the Canadian industry," he said of the grain variety of hemp, which is owned by the Ontario Hemp Alliance.
Ten acres of Anka is grown north of Embro.
The oil produced by a hemp seed is already being processed, just as a soybean or canola. "We're skilled in knowhow to process grain and oil for food," Scheifele said.
In the past eight years, the hemp food industry has been booming.
The hemp seed, properly known as a nut with the botanical name Akene, is crunchy with a white, nutty meat inside. The meat is 35 per cent oil, with the rest being mostly protein meal.
Hemp oil is rich in fatty acids such as Omega 3 and 6, and is very well balanced to the human metabolism.
"This is what gives it the strength in the health food market," Scheifele said.
The hemp flour is nongluten. Gluten is a protein found commonly in wheat and other grains, which many people are allergic to.
Hemp milk, yogurt and cheese are popular uses of the plant. Besides health benefits, there are industrial uses for hemp. The fibre of the hemp stalk has a number of commercial applications.
Currently, the most common is horse and small animal bedding. There is a large market for hemp bedding in Canada and Europe. Scheifele said the stables kept by Queen Elizabeth use hemp bedding exclusively. The fibre also can be used for industrial purposes. About 30 per cent of the stalk is a fibre called Bast fibre.
The natural fibre can be used in building materials, or replace petroleum based components in fibreglass. Wood in particleboard can be substituted with pieces of hemp stalk.
Hemp is a growing industry in England, where some companies blend the hemp fibre with cement.
When blended, it strengthens cement, reduces the amount of cement needed, and provides insulation.
A more exciting use of hemp fibre is in automotive applications.
The fibre is stronger, more durable, lighter and natural, unlike its petroleum-based counterparts.
"That is the huge, huge industry demand that is right at the door step."
Some Detroit based automotive companies have already begun using the material.
"But we have to be able to produce it."
In order to meet the supply demand of the auto industry, more processing plants would be needed and thousands of acres of hemp would need to be grown.
In the meantime, Scheifele will continue researching which breeds of hemp best suit Ontario's climate. As manufacturing plants come online, hemp may become as common as soybeans.