A nationwide 45 year gap in hemp production has led to a loss of generational knowledge in hemp agriculture and a lack of necessary infrastructure that stalls immediate sustainable growth in the hemp market.
MO is a top 5 hemp producing state.
Several hemp products present viable, sustainable alternatives to current products.
Both hemp and marijuana are different varieties of the same plant, Cannabis sativa L., which contains cannabinoid chemicals, including tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). While marijuana is the form of the plant used as a psychoactive drug, hemp is cultivated to be used in a variety of industrial products. Industrial hemp is legally defined as containing a maximum of 0.3% of the psychoactive compound delta-9 THC, which ranges from 5-30% in marijuana (CRS, 2019).
In 2022, MO was among the top 5 states in total hemp acreage planted (Figure 1). While other states have seen sharp declines in hemp cultivation after 2019, MO and SD have continued growth in hemp production. Leading states typically were able to benefit from existing knowledge, infrastructure, and regulatory mechanisms from an established cannabis industry, notably OR, CO, MT, or historic institutional knowledge, especially in KY. Nationally, legalization of industrial hemp production led to a rapid expansion of hemp agriculture, especially in floral hemp grown for CBD. Rapid growth in production paired with insufficient processing capacity, uncertain demand, and an unclear regulatory landscape, contributed to a subsequent national decline in hemp production since 2019.
Figure 1. Acres of hemp planted within the 2022 top 6 hemp producing states (MT, SD, KY, OR, MO, and CO) in 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022 (USDA, 2019-2023). Figure adapted from Gonzalez, 2023.
MO hemp production peaked in 1860, totaling 19,267 tons of hemp, which was 26% of the total grown in the U.S.(MU Extension, 2019). The MO hemp industry decreased over time with higher profitability of other crops. Virtually no hemp was grown in MO after 1900. Today, the significant hiatus in MO hemp production has led to the loss of generational knowledge and infrastructure in farming practices, storage, and processing. To bridge this gap, MO researchers are working to establish best local farming practices and produce hemp varietals that are both conducive to MO regional environments and contain consistently low THC levels to comply with regulatory requirements (Personal communication, LU Hemp Institute).
Incorporation of industrial hemp in a crop rotation can be beneficial, as it has been shown to replace soil nutrients and provide soil aeration through its deep and extensive roots (Cherney, 2016; Portugal et al., 2020). However, the sustainability of hemp farming practices is debated; requirements for water and nutrients are variable based on location and variant, but are referenced as relatively high (Cherney, 2016).
The multiple useful parts of the hemp plant: seed, fiber, hull, and flower, have as many as 50,000 claimed applications, but only a few products have significant potential for market growth (Cherney, 2016). In many cases, the hemp-derived alternative product outperforms the traditional product, but supply of hemp and expensive processing techniques dissuades adoption (MU Extension, 2019).
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