THE state’s first commercial crops of industrial hemp are just weeks away from being harvested with some more than two metres tall and showing plenty of promise.
In 2018, 10 cultivation licences were granted after SA changed its legislation, paving the way for farmers to grow the plant for food and fibre.
It also coincided with Food Standards Australia and New Zealand permitting hemp as a food.
About 100 hectares of hemp plants with low tetrahydrocannabinol content – less than 1 per cent in the leaves, flowers and stems – are in the ground.
PIRSA grains account manager Dave Lewis says the market is “still finding its feet”, but demand is consumer driven.
“We have a long way to go before hemp is a mainstream market, but most supermarkets and health food shops are stocking hemp seeds and powder,” he said.
“Only time will tell how big the market is, but the first aim would be to replace imported hemp with the local product.”
Mr Lewis said it remained to be seen how companies would promote the product, but its good balance of omega-3 content would be a strong selling point.
“Its omega-3s are at least equivalent to flaxseed as a vegetative source,” he said.
“The only other better sources of omega-3 are wild caught fish and genetically-modified canola which we can’t grow here.”
Primary Industries Minister Tim Whetstone has previously stated hemp could be a $3 million industry within five years.
PIRSA is in its second year of trials evaluating the optimal sowing time and assessing the yield and quality of the grain, focussing on grain production for the food market.
Last year the trials at Loxton and Kybybolite yielded up to 3 tonnes/ha to 4t/ha but commercially growers are hoping to reap from 1t/ha up to 1.5t/ha.
Maaoupe grower Steve Moulton sowed 25ha in November, comprising three French varieties Ferimon-12, Felina-32 and Futura-75.
He has been impressed with the crop’s growth.
He has contracted it to new Bordertown processing plant Good Country Hemp.
Mr Moulton, who is also hosting PIRSA’s South East trial, says it has been a relatively easy crop to grow, but acknowledges the harvesting and drying may present some challenges.
“It is always good to grow something people want,” he said.
Trials to identify suitable varieties
Achieving good plant density is the biggest challenge to growing industrial hemp, according to SARDI research scientist Mark Skewes.
“If you can get a really good establishment then you don’t need to worry about weeds,” he said.
“It comes down to having good seed with a good germination rate sown into well-prepared soil and keeping the water up to them to get them out of the ground.”
Mr Skewes says good irrigation water quality is also key with severe leaf burn on seedlings at last year’s SE trial at Kybybolite where the salinity was 2000 parts per million.
The plants also did not tolerate waterlogging well.
The second year of PIRSA’s trials at Loxton and Maaoupe, near Coonawarra, are evaluating four sowing times from late October to December 20 and assessing the yield and quality of six varieties.
The plots were sown at 30 kilograms a hectare to 60kg/ha, depending on seed weight, with 140kg/ha of DAP fertiliser. They were also fed 100kg/ha of urea about 40 days after sowing.