Home Grown: “High”-er education on industrial hemp

Industrial hemp has been a controversial crop for years now, often affecting the farmers that grow it.

In today’s Home Grown, we learn about how the University of Arizona and the Yuma Agricultural Center is educating farmers and the community about the heat on hemp.

Last week, several experts gathered at Booth Machinery in Yuma to discuss the positives and negatives of growing hemp in Arizona.

Community members and farmers were able to learn about the basics of hemp as well as how certain climates affect the growing process.

One expert, Dr. Angela R. Post, Small Grains Extension Specialist North Carolina State University, discussed how growers can produce industrial hemp within the state of Arizona.

Because of industrial hemp’s past taboo nature, it is important to debunk myths about the crop.

“Industrial hemp is very different from marijuana. It is the same species but the chemical profile of the plants are very different. Just because of its relatedness to marijuana there’s some stigma surrounding it. But with that very low THC level, we don’t have the regulatory issues that go along with marijuana and recreational and medical marijuana. We also have the opportunity to move into so many market classes not only medical-grade oils coming from the outside of the plant but also fibers and seeds and food products,” said Dr. Post.

For Dr. Post, there are several differences between hemp that is grown in North Carolina and Arizona.

In fact, she said most growers have experienced smaller plants in Arizona due to our hot climate and planting season.

“It’s a lot hotter here and the plant kind of shuts down a little more often in the hot part of the day, so you’re going to get smaller stature,” said Dr. Post.

I also spoke to two hemp farmers who attended the workshop.

Hemp grower Salvador Ruiz and Shop Manager Russell Appleton are with Terra Farms in Casa Grande.

They began Terra Farms because they saw Hemp as a catalyst for many industries.

“Right now we are working with so many varieties and trying to see which strains work really well in Arizona, which is tough,” said Appleton.

For Ruiz, the controversial side of hemp has not seemed to affect their company, but they do have some concerns.

“There are a lot of valid concerns and setting out onto what we are doing we both kinds of having this mutual agreement that there might be some challenges. We are always trying to overcome those challenges and make ham industry in Arizona a success,” said Ruiz.

“Once the population gets an idea of what this plant can actually do it will open up minds a little. For forever, this was a taboo that this is not a plant you want to be messing with, but look at what it can do,” said Appleton.

Because there is so much left to learn about hemp, workshops teach growers like Ruiz and Appleton how to help it thrive in Arizona.

“No one has this figured out yet for Arizona, and we are in that race to be one of those groups that can figure this out,” said Ruiz.

For farmers thinking about adding industrial hemp as a crop to their farm, Dr. Post said the trajectory is going up.

She also suggests not risk more than you can afford to lose.

Start small and learn how to grow it.

For more information on Terra Farm’s products, you can reach out to Ruiz and Appleton at appleton@terrafarms-hemp.com or salvador@terrafarms-hemp.com.