A new and surprising crop is sprouting up around Alberta.
The province leads the country in the number of hectares of industrial hemp – and the numbers are growing. Last year, hemp farmers in the province planted a record 6,434 hectares of the plant, accounting for nearly 41 per cent of the country’s total. According to a CBC Calgary news report, the preliminary estimate for this year is 8,000 hectares in Alberta.
Because of its association with its botanical cousin, cannabis, many farmers eschewed planting hemp for years.
But the times, they are a-changin’. Industrial hemp (which, in case you’re curious, has less than 10 parts per million of the psychoactive drug present in marijuana) is increasingly in demand. Hemp seed is used in food products such as oil and flour, and the hemp fibres make extremely durable cloth.
Sorry Troy Media: Need to point out the botanical cousin to Cannabis is Hops. Hemp is Cannabis. There is no botanical genus hemp. Lets just stick to the truth.
But the times, they are a-changin’. Industrial hemp (which, in case you’re curious, has less than 10 parts per million of the psychoactive drug present in marijuana) is increasingly in demand. Hemp seed is used in food products such as oil and flour, and the hemp fibres make extremely durable cloth.
As well, research is being done in Alberta to use hemp fibre for construction materials. Students at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology are working on developing building panels made out of hemp for a Calgary-based company called Bio-Struct. “We can use it to create a very high-performance structure, which means a very energy-efficient structure as well as high performance in terms of how it deals with moisture and retains heat or cool in the summer,” Bio-Struct President Andrew Mackie told the CBC.
No comments:
Post a Comment