Nov 24, 2020

Old is new again as hemp provides a promising new cash crop

Posted Nov 24, 2020 8:00 PM

By BRENT MARTIN

St. Joseph Post

Hemp might just be making a comeback in northwest Missouri.

United Cooperatives has staked its claim to an emerging new crop by investing in Tiger Fiber, which processes agricultural hemp into fiber for textiles and composites.

United Cooperatives President Richard Selby says when discussing hemp, there are many myths that need to be debunked.

“Well, first of all, it’s not marijuana. I think a lot of the listeners have heard about CBD oil. It has nothing to do with CBD. It’s all about fiber, which is used in the textile industry,” Selby tells host Barry Birr on a recent KFEQ Hotline. “In the 1870’s, Platte County, Missouri and St. Charles County, Missouri; they were the leaders in the nation in industrial hemp production for textiles.”

Hemp grew throughout northwest Missouri, in fact throughout the state, prior to and after the Civil War. Production ceased during the war on drugs with the plant’s association with marijuana.

United Cooperatives is based in Plattsburg and Osborn. Tiger Fiber is breaking ground on a hemp processing plant in St. Louis and is looking for a location in northwest Missouri for another plant.

Selby says, at present, the company hopes to gradually introduce the crop to area farmers.

“I tell my farmers in my coop network and in the eastern part of the state as well, don’t come to us and say you want to grow 300 acres,” Selby says. “Start out with anywhere from five to 30 acres and work with us and we’ll help you along the way.”

Selby says hemp offers a lot of possibilities and can even benefit the environment.

“What it does is it cleans up the soil,” according to Selby. “It doesn’t use near as much nitrogen as corn. We plant it in narrow rows and it really helps the soil revitalize and get some micro-nutrients.”

Selby says hemp can be used in a wide variety of products, including clothing, building materials, and even construction supplies.

Selby says he has been busy talking to farmers about the possibility of growing hemp.

“We’ve had some tough questions. Farmers are always smarter than anybody else. I swear by that. They’re smarter than government officials, for sure,” Selby says with a laugh. “The feedback has been great and we’ve been working with individual farmers. They hold the licenses in Missouri to grow the hemp, but we help them along the way. We’ve provided the seed to them. They’ve come back with problems, but they’ve always had solutions.”

Selby says hemp poses some problems for farmers, primarily because it is such a thick, dense crop.