Ohio's Embrace of Hemp

For the first time since World War II, hemp is legally planted in several small patches across Ohio: Outside of the Reynoldsburg office of the Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA), as well as in research plots at The Ohio State University and Central State University.

In fact, by this time next year, a multitude of Ohio growers – not just state employees and university researchers—are anticipated to be at work tending and harvesting hemp for the first time in decades. This is due to Gov. Mike DeWine’s July signing of Ohio Senate Bill 57, which overturned legislation banning the growing and processing of hemp within the state’s borders. Ohio’s embrace of hemp follows the federal legalization of the crop through the 2018 Farm Bill. Valued for its sturdy fiber, nutritious seed and healing cannabidiol (CBD) oil, hemp is experiencing an American renaissance. Banned for decades due to a case of mistaken identity with its botanical cousin marijuana, hemp contains negligible amounts of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the chemical that triggers marijuana’s famed high. Hemp is increasingly sought for a variety of uses in the food, wellness and manufacturing industries.

A TEST PLOT NEAR DAYTON
 

On a summer-like day in early September, Craig Schluttenhofer points to a smattering of hemp plants about a month old shooting up from the soil at the research farm of Central State University, where he is a research assistant professor of natural products. They were planted in early August shortly after the Wilberforce school received a research license from ODA, making Central State the first academic institution in Ohio to plant hemp in decades.

The quick effort to seed the ground was aided by Schluttenhofer’s connections in Kentucky, where hemp has been legal since 2014 and where he sourced the seed to start Central State’s crop. The researcher completed his doctoral studies and post-doctoral work at the University of Kentucky.

Due to Ohio’s longtime hemp ban, most agriculturalists in Ohio have never worked with the crop. Schluttenhofer, however, is somewhat of a veteran in America’s fledgling hemp industry with five growing seasons under his belt from his time in Kentucky. In anticipation of hemp legalization in Ohio, he was recruited to Central State in early 2019 to serve as the university’s hemp research specialist.

“I’ve been doing a lot of grant writing while waiting to actually grow something,” Schluttenhofer says with a chuckle in reference to the months spent preparing for the crop’s legalization in Ohio. Upon the signing of Senate Bill 57, academic organizations were permitted to file immediately for licenses to grow the crop for research purposes.

Meanwhile, as of press time, ODA was at work finalizing the rules for all remaining growers and processors who will also need licenses to plant, harvest and process hemp. These regulations are expected in the coming weeks after review and approval by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Under the midday sun, Schluttenhofer points out the varieties in trial on Central State’s farm. There are three European dual-purpose versions for use as grain or fiber. Also planted is a Chinese variety grown for fiber, which is outperforming the others.

Schluttenhofer reflects on a recent day of training he helped to organize for Extension educators from both Central State and Ohio State. He says that in a week he’s hosting a field day at Central State’s farm and that he’ll be at Farm Science Review, an annual farm show hosted by Ohio State, presenting information on the crop to growers in attendance.

“There is definitely opportunity,” Schluttenhofer says about the booming national industry and the flood of interest from Ohio’s agricultural community. VoteHemp, an advocacy group, reports that since the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, hemp acreage in the U.S. has quadrupled. One industry group, New Frontier Data, estimates that by 2022 the U.S. hemp market will reach a value of $1.3 billion, tripling since 2018’s $390 million valuation.

Ohio is one of the last states to legalize production of the crop—by the end of 2018, 41 states had enacted legislation to grow hemp— and some fear that Ohio’s growers will struggle to catch up in the fast and furious national hemp race.

However, Schluttenhofer isn’t concerned. “It’s still very lucrative,” he says about the industry overall. “There is a place for Ohio farmers in all three markets,” he notes, referring to grain, fiber and CBD varieties of the crop. The Ohio Farm Bureau Federation has expressed the same, publicly noting that hemp has the potential to be the state’s most-grown crop after corn and soybeans.

NEXT STEP FOR OHIO GROWERS
 

Julie Doran, a fifth-generation farmer and founder of the Ohio Hemp Farmers Cooperative, says that more than 200 people from various sectors have expressed interest in membership in her fledgling industry organization. Doran says that her early work on behalf of the cooperative, which was launched after the federal legalization of the crop, focused on educating legislators on the potential value of hemp in Ohio.

Kristin Boggs, a state representative for Ohio’s 18th District which includes parts of Columbus, co-sponsored Senate Bill 57. Boggs calls Ohio’s agricultural community “innovative” and “not risk adverse,” noting that she looks forward to their embrace of hemp in Ohio. “Because this is such a new industry, we’re really going to have to listen to the stakeholders that are on the ground, that are doing the cultivation, the processing, the manufacturing, and tailor our policies to what they are telling us they need to be competitive at a national level,” Boggs says.

Doran’s cooperative held its second hemp summit this fall to connect growers, processors and others interested in the crop. She says that once the ODA regulations are released, her group will mobilize in preparation for the 2020 growing season: procuring seed or clones in bulk, investing in shared equipment, and networking to discuss best management practices and industry opportunity.

“I advise all farmers, or anyone interested in getting into the industry, to go to events,” Doran says. “They are happening all over the U.S.,” she says in reference to gatherings like the hemp summit organized by her cooperative. “A lot of farmers think they can just jump into it. It’s a new crop unlike any other—it’s nothing like corn or soybeans. Farmers need education if they are interested in growing hemp.”

Schluttenhofer agrees, saying that “there are a number of nuances with the plant that are different than other crops.” In his outreach work, he cautions growers to start small, to plant only as much as one can handle as hemp is intensive to harvest and prepare for processing, particularly the variety grown for CBD which most growers have expressed interest in due to the plant’s high returns.

Schluttenhofer says growers must do their research to understand cannabis varieties, preferred growing conditions and best management practices, especially since there are no approved pesticides for hemp to control weeds, insects or disease. “The crop essentially follows an organic program, whether growers want to or not,” he says.

With federal and state government support now secured and grower interest booming, Schluttenhofer says that industry investment will soon follow. “The area where we’ll need the most development is getting processors in the state, but I think they’ll come,” he said, noting Ohio’s relatively large population compared to surrounding states should help to attract them. “The CBD processors are going to come first just because the money is there but building up the infrastructure for grain and fiber processing is going to be important for success in those areas.”