Credit: Oregon State
Hemp lotion, hemp seeds, hemp jewelry and even hemp flip flops. These are just a handful of products that saw an initial boon once the plant was decriminalized in 2018. The surge was short-lived though—by 2020, hemp production had dropped off as quickly as it rose up.
But, the properties of hemp-derived materials have the potential to replace those manufactured from oil, natural gas and coal, including textiles, nanofibers, electronics, polymer bio-composites and construction materials. In today’s world, a green alternative is valuable.
“There is still significant interest and potential in industrial uses of hemp,” said Jeffrey Steiner, director of the Global Hemp Innovation Center. “But it’s critical that investment decisions be based on sound science and business planning to build out and scale up economic development opportunities with hemp, particularly to benefit Tribal nations and other American rural communities.”
To that end, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) worked with Oregon State University to create a hemp research roadmap. The government agency also awarded Oregon State University’s Global Hemp Innovation Center a $10 million grant to work with 13 Native American Tribes to spur economic development in the western United States by developing manufacturing capabilities for materials and products made from hemp.
Roadmap
The roadmap identifies the four areas of greatest need in the hemp manufacturing industry: 1) breeding and genetics; 2) best practices for production; 3) biobased products manufacturing for end-users; and 4) transparency and consistency.
In terms of breeding and genetics, scientists and policy makers wish to establish stable hemp varieties through foundational research. This includes producing varietal strains optimized for regional adaptation. Understanding pest and disease management and identifying sustainable production systems are part of establishing best practices for the production of hemp.
Education is a big portion of the transparency goal, as some consumers find it difficult to delineate between hemp and other (legal and illegal) cannabis products. Another major challenge will be developing science-based definitions and ensuring standardization of new and existing products, especially for industries with already approved standards, like food, feed, chemical and others.
Collaboration
The newly awarded grant also has four objectives:
- Support development of a Native American-led intertribal biomanufacturing consortium and establish regional business trading networks;
- Provide education and engagement opportunities for tribal communities by creating K-12 curriculum and student internships and mentorship opportunities, and presenting hemp economic development opportunities to tribal decision-makers;
- Determine optimal materials characteristics, configurations of manufacturing equipment and facilities, and needed technology providers to establish sustainable manufacturing pipelines for hemp-based materials and products that meet end-product market specifications;
- Optimize the quality of materials and biomanufacturing efficiencies through hemp breeding, field production, harvest and handling, and processing systems.
The grant builds on a 2022 White House executive order focused on biobased manufacturing, meaning using renewable biological resources from land and sea—such as crops from farms, trees from forests, and fish and animals—to sustainably produce food, building materials, industrial products and energy.
“Leveraging collaborations between the public and private sectors can culminate in the establishment of interdisciplinary approaches to define hemp’s role in U.S. agriculture, optimize production and manufacturing capacities, and create opportunities to improve economic development across rural areas,” conclude the authors of the Roadmap.