West Coast Hemp Webinar Series: Lessons from the Hemp Field

This video is the first episode in NCAT’s four-part hemp webinar series featuring the nation’s leading hemp experts and focusing on hemp production and cultivation on the West Coast.

Dr. Gordon Jones, an Oregon extensionist who works with hemp growers, provides an overview of hemp to start this video conference.
Loc Phan, a representative of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, discusses the permitting process for farmers to grow hemp and other rules and regulations surrounding hemp production in California. NCAT Agriculture and Resource Economist Jeff Schahczenski discusses crop insurance and revenue-insurance options

Three farmers taking part in the webinar note the great potential of hemp, as well as the great need for more information about appropriate cultivars and production parameters — such as how much nitrogen a crop requires, the spacing of seeds/transplants, and options for drying and processing crops.

The webinar participants also note the stringent regulations that may keep more farmers from planting hemp. These regulations include what many see as unrealistic harvest windows (two weeks in California, for example, and 28 days in Oregon), allowed THC levels, a lack of guidance from FDA and USDA about hemp as a forage crop for beef and dairy, and pest management options.

This video is produced by the National Center for Appropriate Technology through the ATTRA Sustainable Agriculture program, under a cooperative agreement with USDA Rural Development. ATTRA.NCAT.ORG.