Hemp practitioner tips
Technical hemp is grown in the same technological operations as grain crops. However, it has certain features:
- the crop does not have herbicides registered for use on it for processing crops from dicotyledonous weeds. Therefore, very often crops suffer from clogging;
- hemp has high requirements for the nitrogen content in the soil. It grows best after soy, which is able to accumulate this element and increase the nitrogen background in the soil;
- if there is a plow sole in the fields, this very negatively affects the growth and yield of the crop;
- row spacing and seeding rate need to be adjusted, in particular, to pay attention to what goals hemp will be grown.
Hemp is a plant known in Ukraine since ancient times, which was used to make clothes, shoes, as food, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals several thousand years ago. And evidence of this is that its name is found in many ancient myths and poems, the names of settlements and entire regions. However, most of all, especially in our modern life, this plant is probably known as a drug under the names "marijuana" or "cannabis". This property of hemp is due to the presence in certain varieties of certain cannabinoids - psychoactive compounds, of which the most famous is tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).
In countries where industrial use of hemp and cannabis preparations is permitted, the minimum allowable dose of THC is determined. So, the minimum THC content is considered: in the EU - 0.2%, the USA - 0.3%, Switzerland - 1.0%, and in Ukraine - no more than 0.08%. A Canabis sativa plant with a lower than minimum THC content is technical hemp, and a large one is marijuana, or cannabis.
Technical cannabis raw materials (Canabis sativa - sowing hemp) are used in many sectors of the national economy: in particular, in the textile and pulp and paper industries, in construction, as well as for the production of food and animal feed - there are about 50,000 in the world product names. Traditional varieties of industrial cannabis are not used as raw materials for the production of medicines, but there is a trend in the world according to which breeders in Canada, the USA, France, Russia, and Ukraine are working on the creation of therapeutic hemp hybrids in which, with a socially safe amount of THC , a large content of other drug-free compounds having a significant therapeutic effect. This is primarily done in order to significantly reduce the cost of both hemp raw materials with therapeutic properties and end products (pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, biologically active / feed additives) having a significant therapeutic effect on the body of both humans and domestic animals.
To use the medicinal properties of hemp, it is currently prohibited to grow the most profitable agricultural crop in Ukraine. At the same time, about 30 Ukrainian agricultural enterprises are engaged in the cultivation of industrial hemp, as well as the production and export of seeds, fibers and even bonfires of this culture. Therefore, the editorial board of Propositsiya decided to talk with one of the most experienced hemp growers on the Ukrainian market - Vladimir Yakimchuk, co-owner of the agricultural enterprise Kravets OP, which has been growing technical hemp for seven years.
The following is a first-person account.
- Until 2008, I was not at all connected with agriculture. He began his career with McDonald's, namely, he participated in the opening of a network in Ukraine. Then he worked at Sportmaster, where from 2008 to 2014 he was CEO in Ukraine. However, working in this position, he dreamed of starting his own business.
The fate of my business was decided by a random birthday in 2012. The event was attended by the deputy director, at that time of the State Drug Control Service, who said that industrial hemp had twice as high profitability as traditional for Ukraine grain and oilseeds. It interested me.
Having carefully studied all the available information about technical hemp and found out that it has few competitors in the highly profitable market, I decided to join the cultivation of a very marginal agricultural crop. So, in 2012, together with his friend, he began to invest in the agricultural enterprise "Kravets OP" in the village of Gorodkovka, Kryzhopolsky district, Vinnitsa region.
And already in 2013, we sowed technical hemp. First, however, in a small area - 20 hectares. Because the Vinnitsa region is a competitive agricultural region - large agricultural holdings are located on its territory. Subsequently, we realized that we had chosen the very culture that would help our economy enter the intensive path of development. Today there are 600 hectares in use, about 100 hectares for hemp, but annually the area changes depending on crop rotation. We sow hemp on seed crops and have breeding sites.
To engage in hemp, the economy must have a certain integration. What I mean? The production of any culture presupposes social integration — the existence of orderly relations between individuals, groups, organizations, state structures, that is, the interaction of certain parts of the common infrastructure necessary to grow it. Even from technology to product refinement. At this stage in Ukraine, technical hemp is a niche culture. For example, the largest sown area - 3.5 thousand ha - was in 2016, and this year this area decreased to 1.5 thousand ha. Wider hemp production is hindered by some barriers. Which ones?
Firstly, administrative. The approach of the new “police”, which controls the production of low-narcotic plants, to work and business remained the same as it was before. They intentionally create problems for the manufacturer in order to get their own corruption component from this.
However, thanks to the Ukrainian Technical Hemp Association, chaired by Oleksandr Ignatyuk, we receive strong support in the cultivation of technical hemp. Thanks to this Association, in 2012, the system for cultivating this crop was simplified: in particular, most restrictions on hemp cultivation were lifted, in which the content of tetrahydrocannabinol does not exceed 0.08%. But still, law enforcement agencies are manipulating this. Why? Because the legislation in this area is quite confusing. It contains a lot of decisions of the Cabinet of Ministers and many orders of departmental structures that determine individual procedures. All this confusion prevents a legally unprepared person who does not understand the intricacies of these issues or does not have time to study them, to obtain a license. Therefore, at the very beginning of the cultivation of this culture, we joined the Ukrainian Technical Cannabis Association, which supported us, helped and represented our interests in relations with the authorities.
Another barrier is the market. Today, the country's domestic market is limited when compared with the European or North American market. Although this may change, because in the Kiev region at the end of 2019 it is planned to launch a powerful processing complex of hemp seed (with a capacity of up to almost 3 thousand tons). In my opinion, this can help increase the area of this lucrative culture in the country.
Today in Ukraine the domestic market for technical hemp is limited. This is due to the fact that in our country there is not enough proven equipment and mechanisms for harvesting, and in the future, its refinement.
For example, when it comes to collecting hemp seeds, it should be borne in mind that you need to collect only the tops of plants. However, industrial hemp is a tall crop, grows up to 2-3 m high, which causes difficulties during its collection. Moreover, this is still a bast culture, and in the process of its harvesting, winding of its fibers in the drum of the combine occurs, which can lead to its breakdown. Therefore, you need to carefully select the suitable hemp harvesting technique and prepare it for combining with high quality. It is also worth considering that, since it is an oilseed, its grain requires immediate cleaning and appropriate storage. The difficulties are also that since the volumes of our hemp are small, the elevators do not want to take seeds for storage. Because of this, crop and means are lost.
Another important production point that we underestimate, but which can be profitable, is the use of hemp fiber . Once again, hemp is a bast culture. Today, the world is returning to the manufacture of natural fibers. Therefore, hemp fiber is growing quite strongly in price. Distinguish between short and long fibers. The price of short fibers is from 500 to 700 dollars / ton, long 1.5-2.0 thousand euros / ton, depending on the quality and storage conditions. Accordingly, from one hectare for the target mixed sowing of hemp, you can get not only seeds, fiber, but also a fire.
By the way, there is a lot of investment abroad in this industry, and there they return to the cultivation of hemp, but not technical, but medical. Because this plant has certain healing properties that help people. However, these plant varieties also have a narcotic effect, if we talk about the high content of THC in plants.
Is it allowed in our country to grow medical hemp? I find it difficult to answer this question. Still, medical hemp is not technical. These plants are very different from each other - these are different subspecies: the technical one is Cannabis sativa, and the medical one is Cannabis indica. The second subspecies is a stunted plant that grows up to 1.5 m tall, shrubs, has large inflorescences and is distinguished by its smell.
Of course, the cultivation of medical hemp is not an easy task. I will give a brief information: it is grown by the square-nested method in pots. One seed costs from 1 euro or more. The seeds are germinated and further propagated by the in vitro method. Collected by hand. The cost of 1 g of dried medical hemp in the United States is from $ 4 and above.
Sales of products. We grow only technical hemp for seed purposes. They are mainly interested in marketing the grown seed material, but taking into account the fact that we have accumulated practical experience and knowledge of the technology, we also sell commodity. We mainly sell seed material in our country, and marketable grain in Eastern Europe. Hemp seeds in Ukraine are used only for the production of oil. It is worth noting that until 1988, this industry in Ukraine was much more developed, the area under hemp was 100 thousand hectares, 25 hemp plants worked, which provided the primary processing of plants: they divided straw into fiber and fire.
Unfortunately, their own varieties have not yet been bred. On the basis of our farm, we have experimental plots where we carry out all the necessary technological operations to create new varieties. We don’t have our own breeders, but in 2013 we signed an employment contract with Irina Laiko, who is a breeder and heads the department of selection and seed production at the Bast Institute. She helps us a lot.
We invest a lot in the development of this direction. In particular, they created their own laboratory for monitoring the content of cannabinoid compounds in the green mass of industrial hemp. To do this, we purchased a special gas-liquid chromatograph, which costs about $ 50 thousand. If you grow technical hemp, you need to be 100% sure that it has a THC content lower than defined by the CMU decree - 0.08%. By the way, today we also have a therapeutic hemp cultivar, which in 2020 will be included in the State Register of Varieties of Ukraine. The content of THC in it does not exceed 0.08% and at the same time contains a significant amount of CBD (CBD-cannabidiol). What is CBD? This is a substance that produces a corresponding therapeutic effect on the human body, without a narcotic effect. Why did they create a therapeutic technical grade? This happened by accident. Our farm had a project with a European company to create hemp varieties. However, this company subsequently abandoned the project. But we did not leave this business, because significant funds had already been invested in it. I hope this is not our only variety, in the near future we will also register technical varieties that will bring great benefits to farmers.
What are the features of the technology for growing technical hemp?
Technical hemp is grown in the same technological operations as grain crops. However, it has certain features:
- the crop does not have herbicides registered for use on it for processing crops from dicotyledonous weeds. Therefore, very often crops suffer from clogging;
- hemp has high requirements for the nitrogen content in the soil. It grows best after soy, which is able to accumulate this element and increase the nitrogen background in the soil;
- if there is a plow sole in the fields, this very negatively affects the growth and yield of the crop;
- row spacing and seeding rate need to be adjusted, in particular, to pay attention to what goals hemp will be grown.
Finally, Vladimir Yakimchuk gave sensible advice to agricultural producers who want to engage in the production of this interesting culture. He assured that it takes a lot of patience to grow technical hemp. This culture will not immediately bring big profits. The farmer must understand that in order to get good results, he must first provide a lot of factors. However, one should not be afraid of this. To reach the goal, you must first go!