The Rural Voice, 1998-08, Page 20Hemp is
this
year's
new crop
Despite the rough
start— it's in the
ground. Now
farmers like Jeff
Dudgeon of Paisley
have to wait until
fall for the results.
Story by
Allison Lawlor &
photos by
Merle Gunby
Jeff Dudgeon of Paisley is a trail-
blazer—but he doesn't see
himself that way.
This spring Jeff and his business
partner Bruce Leach, also of Paisley,
pooled their resources to plant one of
Ontario's first commercial hemp
crops since the crop was banned by
the Canadian government in 1938.
Jeff and Bruce formed their
partnership after meeting at Bruce A
Nuclear Plant where they both work.
Bruce asked Jeff if he wanted to go
half on a crop of hemp. Jeff, who has
100 acres and 50 charolais cattle,
agreed.
"I thought why not, it's only 10
acres and it's not inconvenient for
me," he said.
This spring before they could
plant their 10 acres of Secuieni hemp
variety they each had to pay $25 to
the local police department to get a
background narcotics check. Anyone
with a past drug conviction is not
permitted to grow hemp.
"The police check only took 10
minutes with proper ID," said Jeff,
"but it was something I had to do in
person."
Although there is relatively little
THC in industrial hemp Health
16 THE RURAL VOICE
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Canada is keeping a close eye on the
crops. THC is the substance that
gives marijuana smokers their high.
There is only 0.3 per cent in
industrial hemp compared to up to 20
per cent in the illegal drug.
In order to grow hemp you also
need a license issued by Canada's
department of health. One licence
may not be enough depending on
what you want to do with your crop.
Separate licences are required for
hemp grain and fibre.
Jeff Dudgeon said they got
licences for both grain and fibre
because they're not sure what they'll
be able to use. Their plan is to
harvest the seed, which is used for
oils, and the stalks, which are used
to make fibre for clothing, rope,
paper and cardboard. •
In addition to a licence and
background police check, growers
are required to submit specific
mapping information to the federal
health agency. A global positioning
system (GPS) for the entire field is
needed, along with lot, concession,
township and county identification.
The other regulation is that the crop
not be planted within a mile of a
school.
The Secuieni hemp in Jeff Dudgeon
,and Bruce Leach's field stood close
to two feet tall in mid-July.
By the time Jeff and Bruce
received their licenses it was already
June 8.
"We had to make a decision in
early June," said Jeff. "We weren't
sure if we would plant because it was
so late."
Normally you would plant the
seed in with barley acting as a ground
cover, around May 10, said Jeff. By
the time the weeds invaded the hemp
would have a nice, thick canopy and
would choke them out, making
herbicide unnecessary.
On June 9, 10 acres of hemp
went into the ground behind Bruce
Leach's house. The seed came from
Kenex, a hemp processing plant near
Chatham. Kenex supplied the
majority of growers with seed this
year. The hemp seed cost $3.30 per
pound and they planted 40 pounds to
the acre, which according to Jeff is
on the low side for planting.
While they were given no
guarantee on seed germination from
Kenex, Jeff said germination was