Industrial hemp is hemp, a variety of the Cannabis sativa plant, that is grown specifically for industrial use. Industrial uses can range from fibers to plastic and paper to animal bedding to food products and so much more. 

Even though hemp is part of the cannabis family, it has a very low tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) concentration. While hemp has been categorized as a drug for years due to its connection with marijuana, the passing of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) 2018 Farm Bill legalized the cultivation and production of the hemp plant for industrial use, officially removing it from the Controlled Substances Act and its status as a schedule I drug. 

The most recent Legislation Update, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) was in 2019, further allowing more states to expand their hemp production and hemp research, stating: Forty-eight states and Puerto Rico considered over 200 bills related to hemp production and regulation in 2019. At least six states—Connecticut, Georgia, Louisiana, Iowa, Ohio and Texas—enacted legislation to establish state programs. South Dakota passed House Bill 1191, which the governor vetoed. Other states, such as Florida, Kansas, Oklahoma and Maryland, enacted legislation to expand or rename existing programs. New Hampshire created a study committee (House Bill 459). Mississippi also created a task force to study the cultivation of hemp (House Bill 1547).

Industrial Hemp

While hemp has a variety of uses, including the CBD component being smoked or ingested or hemp seeds also consumed, the industrial capabilities of hemp are vast and valuable. The following parts of the hemp plant have seen utilitarian uses as an agricultural product:

  • Fibers

Hemp fibers can be used for a variety of products including clothing textiles and industrial textiles like rope, carpet, and nets. Hemp’s long fibers can also be used to make paper, building materials like hempcrete, and even plastics. With the world turning to more environmentally-friendly processes, the market for hemp textiles has increased exponentially. 

According to Oregon State University, which has long been examining hemp cultivation as an agricultural commodity, 

“Fiber hemp is also used in horticultural planting materials; biodegradable mulch; pressed and molded fiber products, including those used in the automobile industry; paper and pulp products (such as hygiene products, banknotes, filters, art papers, tea bags); building-construction products (such as fiberboards and fiber-reinforced cement boards); insulation materials; animal bedding (made from the woody core of the plant called hurds); plastic biocomposites; and compressed cellulose plastics. Due to its high biomass production, hemp shows promise as a bioenergy crop.”

  • Seeds and Oil

Hemp seeds and hemp seed oil are considered superfoods with high levels of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids and eight of the ten essential amino acids recommended for a human diet. Canada is a top importer of hemp grain used to make edible hemp seeds and to press into an oil as hemp as it’s been legal there since 1998.

There are three kinds of hemp oil made from industrial hemp: cannabidiol (CBD) oil, essential oil, and seed (fatty) oil used for cooking. Cannabidiol oil is used in a variety of products from relief balms to tinctures to lotions and CBD massage oil. 

  • Leaves

Hemp leaves are also edible but most often used for animal bedding, mulch, or compost, another valuable industrial use of hemp. All parts of the hemp plant can be used for a commercial purpose!

 Western States Hemp | Nevada’s Leading Growers of Industrial Hemp

At Western States Hemp, we are farmers at heart. Specializing in growing many different quality hemp varieties, we have become experts in the hemp industry and hemp farming. While we offer our customers hemp products, we also work with companies that require hemp biomass to manufacture things like textiles, paper, or plastic. That way, no part of our hemp crop goes to waste!

Further interested in the production of industrial hemp? Reach out to see how we can work together!