Cannabis green mass compound feed
There may be a reorientation of a certain number of farmers who have received permits for the cultivation of the most highly profitable agricultural crop specifically for obtaining raw materials, which are subsequently used for the manufacture of feed for livestock and poultry.
On the pages of the specialized electronic edition of Ukrainian cannabis growers, the question has already been raised about “ When will a national producer“ launch ”the market for hemp nutraceuticals of animal origin ”. Taking into account the research funded by the US government agencies conducted by specialists from the University of Kansas, as well as the initiatives of the country's agricultural producers trying to realize the crop of leaves and inflorescences of a plant that has significant therapeutic properties grown, but not in demand by the market, it is worth paying attention to the experience of our American colleagues in a rather unusual the way of realizing the "green mass" of a hemp plant.
Given the crisis of overproduction of cannabis flowers used as raw materials for the extraction of various kinds of therapeutically active substances, the United States is actively trying to find alternatives to how to use the leaves and inflorescences of plants of the 2018-2019 harvests as efficiently as possible, which are no longer interesting for pharmacological, cosmetic, food, as well as a number of other markets. One of the ways out of the situation is the production of feed based on the "green mass" of the hemp plant.
It is no longer a secret to anyone that due to the overproduction of hemp raw materials, prices for leaves and inflorescences with significant therapeutic properties collapsed in 2020 due to too large supply and insufficient demand. If there is a stagnation in demand from patients and buyers purchasing various kinds of products, which are based on the therapeutic properties of hemp, the question is raised about the feasibility of considering another huge segment of modern cannabis farming associated with the production of animal feed based on various plant components, primarily leaves and inflorescences of hemp.
One of the American consulting companies, in the course of a study carried out by its employees, concludes that a reorientation of a certain number of farmers who have received permits for the cultivation of the most highly profitable agricultural crop may occur precisely for obtaining raw materials, which are subsequently used for the manufacture of feed for livestock and poultry.
A significant number of analysts in the hemp market believe that the volume of sales of technical hemp has no less powerful potential than what until recently demonstrated the use of the therapeutic properties of the "green mass" of the plant. The first (fast) money in the United States came from medicinal cannabis, but this market quickly became saturated. In turn, the horizons of saturation and, moreover, overproduction are not yet observed on the market for other plant components - roots, stems, grain. That is why American investors are actively investing in grain and stem processing capacities in order to become one of the first in the aforementioned extremely liquid markets.
Commentary of specialists of the Association "Ukrainian technical hemp"
Hemp raw materials during 2019-2020 in the USA were grown by 82% in order to obtain leaves and inflorescences, which were later used to extract various therapeutically active elements of the plant from it. About 13% of the industrial area was for crops intended for grain and only 5% for the fibrous part of the plant. The crisis of overproduction of the “green mass” of a plant predetermines a shift in emphasis already in 2021 on growing grain and the fibrous part of the plant. This trend is all the more relevant due to the fact that more than 6 production sites have already been created in the USA, where primary and deep processing of hemp straw / trusts will be carried out, and the market (automotive, textile, biocomposite, building materials, pulp and paper, etc.) etc.) is in dire need of national raw materials. In turn, the possibilities of using the properties of hemp protein are appreciated by US consumers, therefore, interest in the widespread use of various products or cosmetic preparations from hemp grain is growing rapidly.
The significant drop in the price of cannabis leaves and buds forced a significant number of US agricultural producers to plow their crops in 2020, as the cost of harvesting was higher than the price that could be obtained for this raw material in the market. The lack of clear rules governing crop insurance has left many farmers unable to purchase insurance coverage. Including for the above reasons, a significant number of investors either leave the medical cannabis market, or significantly reduce the volume of investments in this sector of the US economy. Trying to somehow realize the previously grown harvest of "green mass" of the plant, as well as leaves and inflorescences for various reasons, do not enter the market, American business is looking for various ways to sell the grown raw materials. One of the methods of this kind of realization of the “green mass” of plants is the mechanism of making feed for animals and poultry from this raw material.
During the round table " Experience in the use of therapeutic elements of industrial hemp as a raw material for the food, cosmetics, dietary or feed additives " conducted in 2020 for students of " hemp University " raised the issue that in connection with the legal unsettled opportunities the use of leaves and inflorescences of technical hemp for therapeutic purposes in our country, one of the most effective and legal use of the "green mass" of the hemp plant is to feed domestic animals or poultry with it. Unfortunately, the use of leaves and inflorescences of the most highly profitable agricultural crop for the creation of feed on an industrial basis in Ukraine requires regulation at the level of by-laws.