A few weeks ago, the Senate Environment and Wildlife Committee took testimony on the hemp bill.
But this wasn't your average Senate hearing.
The Environment Committee was treated to a legislative session of show and tell.
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:15 I am going to start passing some stuff out, so you can look and touch and feel, I will start on this side, just go that way with it all. My name is Mark Lathrop I am a farmer from west Chesterfield, I have about 60 acres...(fade this out)
Lathrop is also the chairman of the New Hampshire Hemp Council.
1:50 we have lots of goodies in this bag, if I can get them out...
Lathrop brought the goodies to stress hemp's economic possibilities.
...these are roofing shingles...here we have Nature's path hemp granola...this is Hemp Plus waffles...these are main stream products, I buy them at my local grocery Hanaford's...this is Dr. Bronner's soaps...this is wood finish...this is medium density fiber board...
Hemp is used to make an enormous variety of products from shampoo to mulch to granola to insulation and concrete.
And advocates like Joseph Carringer who imports hemp textiles, wanted to impress upon the committee that with industrial hemp comes cash.
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3:40 there is already a domestic market, there is already companies doing this and importing raw materials. This is an immediate agriculture our farmers could step into with little overhead and giving it to an end user.
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Economics is what tempted me.
That's Saskatchewan organic farmer James McGowan.
Canada legalized hemp production in the 90's.
And McGowan has seen his neighbors enjoy some success growing the crop.
So when McGowan was approached with a contract that guaranteed him 85 cents a pound this year he jumped.
1:52 ...that works out to $37.40 cents a bushel pal. So you multiply that times 15 bushel to the acre crop, well you are up around $500 an acre, that's pretty impressive payback considering today's agricultural markets...I think I have it penciled in for hemp to be $140,000 which is an immense payout when you compare it to wheat or barley.
McGowan is so bullish about the crop he's devoting 250 acres, or one-third of his land to hemp.
That sense of optimism doesn't surprise James MaCay.
MaCay works for the British firm the Springdale Group.
They make their money by helping farmers move into new crop lines.
He says more and more farmers are beginning to plant hemp.
14:29 b/c of the marketplaces, b/c of the amount of people knocking on our door saying can you supply us hemp fiber, the marketplace we believe is 1.5 million acres worth of crop to be grown year in year out over the next ten years, certainly.
In some quarters enthusiasm for hemp is seemingly boundless.
But in the scheme of things, it's still very much a niche market.
Dwayne Phillipe helps market organic farmers crops in Canada's western provinces.
And he says he sees hemps limits.
4:36 we deal with 60 farmers. Our sales will be about four million dollars this year...hemp made out...four hundred thousand was hemp...so it is still a small speciality crop when you look at the acreage grown and the dollars attached to it.
Phillipe says he could paint an equally nice picture of how glamorous the market is for flax, chick peas or lentils.
But he says two factors contribute to the plant's particular profitability in North America.
US farmers can't grow it.
And demand is outstripping supply.
CEO and co-founder of California-based food company Nutiva John Roulac has experienced shortages first hand.
Last year Roulac whose nutrition bars, protein powders and oils were sold on the shelves of about 3000 natural food stores, couldn't get enough hemp.
5:30 we were looking for hemp seeds, and our supplier said they couldn't supply any more. It was frustrating we couldn't we were out of stock for over a month. And then we found some other seeds, some trader had it, and the quality wasn't very good...you work hard to get placed on a store shelf. When you can't supply it, it's a bit frustrating. We are going to grow more in Canada this year, and hope it helps us.
Roulac says he believes his company lost several hundred thousand dollars as a result.
Greg Colando, president of Interface Flor, a carpet company out of suburban Chicago also has experienced supply problems.
Unlike food companies which use hemp seed and oil, carpet makers use hemp fibers.
Colando's InterfaceFlor is a division of a nearly 900 million dollar carpet company focuses on the office and institutional markets.
Two years ago InterfaceFlor was created to sell carpets for the home.
One of their lines uses a wool/hemp blend.
Colando says, while the carpet is still in the experimental stage, sales are strong, and retailers like the Pottery Barn have expressed interest.
7:51 we have proven to ourselves that from a manufacturing point of view this product will work. And it provides a look. The source of supply is always a challenge. We need to secure a soruce of supply so that we don't disappoint the customer. And we need to make the economics work...if there is no mass processing of the product it becomes more expensive to bring it to market.
There's a shortage of facilities to process hemp fiber, but some believe that's where the real economic payoff lies.
An Indiana firm uses hemp as a part of a natural fiber composite.
Company officials say their products can be found in approximately 1.5 vehicles in the US.
When you sit in a Ford Freestyle or a Jeep Cherokee, you are sitting near molding made with hemp.
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2:00 ... it doesn't matter if it's a billion dollar market.
Manchester State Senator Ted Gatsas is unimpressed with the economic argument.
... obviously the federal government hasn't been getting enough pressure it's a big enough market,..so why should we in the state of NH look to vault into something that isn't going to happen?
But despite data that suggests a growing consumption of hemp, resistance is stiff.
To date, Federal law doesn't distinguish between hemp and marijuana.
That policy doesn't bother British agricultural analyst James MaCay one bit.
8:48 clearly you could produce your own product if the US government had a different view on it. we are very pleased for obvious reasons that the government has the line that it is.
But even if Washington did have a change of heart, New Hampshire farmers would do well to stay on their toes.
A more accepting federal policy might not serve them very long.
Canadian agricultural marketer Dwayne Phillipe.
32:20 all of a sudden if Wal-Mart gets into hemp and they are the biggest hemp buyer, we are all screwed. The cost will just go down, and all of a sudden they will be off sourcing out of China. And it won't be glamorous to the US or Canada.
Which points to the most peculiar twist in the economics of hemp.
Its monetary allure seems strong because of the federal ban.
But if that ban is lifted the market could go up in smoke.
For NHPR News, I'm DG.
