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Harvesting hemp at Hartacre Farms for biofuel

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 23:20:33 -0700

In a white cloud of pollen, 43 acres of hemp was harvested from Hartacre Farms last Tuesday. Herb Hart grew the crop in partnership with Performance Plants Inc. of Kingston, as part of a biofuels project for Lafarge Bath Cement plant, which is working on methods of reducing their reliance on fossil fuels.

According to Kevin Gellatly, director of biofuels business development and media relations for Performance Plants, this particular test plot faced some challenges.

“There were some tough conditions on the lower ground, it got rained out.” There were delays in planting, and then rain and more rain which soaked out some of the seeds.

Gellatly said they were hoping for four to five tonnes per acre, but final yield won’t be determined for a while.

Because it’s a test plot, the seed was provided to Hart, but he said the input costs for the entire season were much lower compared to corn, but similar to other crops. Based on soil tests at the beginning of the season, he added 100 pounds of potash, 25 pounds of 11-52-0 and 20 gallons of UAN. The test plot Hart used is a randomly-tiled field and he said “you can see the patterns of the tiles in the height of the plants.”

“I added no chemicals after planting and that’s one of the biggest savings right there,” he added.

One other positive impact of hemp is that it breaks the disease cycle of other crops, as it is added into a crop rotation, according to Gellatly.

Industrial hemp has been used for centuries for fine fibres, sail cloth, and rope. Some of the hemp Hart was harvesting was up to eight feet tall. Because of the length and strength of the fibres harvesting hemp is a special challenge, and Larry Palmateer of Tweed was brought in by Hart.

This hemp is destined for a furnace, so the strands were not preserved. Instead a special double ‘conditioning’ system on a disc-bine, notches the stalks at one inch intervals to aid in the drying.

“It’s the best machine we’ve found for hay and it helps condition it,” said Palmateer.

The mower is specialized to hemp because a normal mower would get gummed up by the long tough fibres. This is another of the cost factors that Palmateer, growers, and end users have to deal with. The same equipment used for corn and other grains can’t be used with the hemp.

In all, 20 hemp fields are being tested as well as a sterile corn variety. After its baled into square bales, it will be ground up to be fired at the same time as coal in the kiln furnace at Lafarge. There is a special grinder/chopper being installed on site at the plant.

According to Gellatly, there will be a test burn at Lafarge in October with all kinds of things being measured in the emissions, in the temperature of the burn, even the quality of the cement product using the alternative fuel source.

“Just making sure it’s a viable alternative to coal.”

Gellatly says all indications are that using biofuels will improve air quality.

“There’ll be no negatives, it will be very seamless,” he said.

To improve the hemp variety, which is called Anka, PPI uses an accelerated breeding program.

“We’re looking for any ways we can to increase the tonnes per acre,” said Gellatly.

“If you can increase the tonnage that’s going to decrease the price for Lafarge and still provide the farmers a good return.”

As well as all the tests at Lafarge, PPI will be conducting a three-year, detailed assessment of the impact of hemp cultivation on soil quality – a seed-to-flame life cycle assessment.

While Ontario is experiencing a wet summer, hemp crops grown in Western Canada will be good candidates for drought tolerance testing.

“When you’re trying to produce biomass, you just want it to keep growing and growing,” Gellatly said, noting that if suddenly Lafarge decides hemp is the way to go, tens of thousands of acres will be needed to supply the demand.

Gellatly said, “there is lot of pressure to reduce carbon emissions so they’re experimenting with replacing a percentage of coal with biomass.”

PPI is trying to improve the genetics of the hemp with increased yield, increased stress tolerance, and decreased cost per tonne.

“The whole objective for the biomass industry is to get to the price of coal,” he said. Currently biomass is about the double the price. It also has other challenges such as storage. Coal can be heaped, can get wet, and can be stored in varied conditions. The hemp is sensitive to light and moisture.

[[b]Submitted by infinitypoint[/b]]

Hemp as a Fuel / Energy Source

Mon, 25 May 2009 13:10:25 -0700

By Jeremy Briggs - Radio Free Exile Blog

Biodiesel fuel from Hemp Seed Oil

Hemp seed oil can be used as is in bio-diesel engines. Methyl esters, or bio-diesel, can be made from any oil or fat including hemp seed oil. The reaction requires the oil, an alcohol (usually methanol), and a catalyst, which produces bio-diesel and small amount of glycerol or glycerin. When co-fired with 15% methanol, bio-diesel fuel produces energy less than 1/3 as pollution as petroleum diesel.

Energy and Fuel from Hemp Stalks through Pyrolysis

Pyrolysis is the technique of applying high heat to biomass, or organic plants and tree matter, with little or no air. Reduced emissions from coal-fired power plants and automobiles can be accomplished by converting biomass to fuel utilizing pyrolysis technology. The process can produce, from lingo-cellulosic material (like the stalks of hemp), charcoal, gasoline, ethanol, non-condensable gasses, acetic acid, acetone, methane, and methanol. Process adjustments can be done to favor charcoal, pyrolytic oil, gas, or methanol, with 95.5% fuel-to-feed ratios. Around 68% of the energy of the raw biomass will be contained in the charcoal and fuel oils -- renewable energy generated here at home, instead of overpaying for foreign petroleum.

Pyrolysis facilities can run 3 shifts a day, and since pyrolysis facilities need to be within 50 miles of the energy crop to be cost effective, many new local and rural jobs will be created, not to mention the employment opportunities in trucking and transportation.

Hemp vs. Fossil Fuels

Pyrolysis facilities can use the same technology used now to process fossil fuel oil and coal. Petroleum coal and oil conversion is more efficient in terms of fuel-to-feed ratio, but there are many advantages to conversion by pyrolysis.

1) Biomass has a heating value of 5000-8000 BTU/lb, with virtually no ash or sulfur emissions.

2) Ethanol, methanol, methane gas, and gasoline can be derived from biomass at a fraction of the cost of the current cost of oil, coal, or nuclear energy, especially when environmental costs are factored in. Each acre of hemp could yield about 1000 gallons of methanol.

3) When an energy crop is growing, it takes carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air, and releases an equal amount when it is burned, creating a balanced system, unlike petroleum fuels, which only release CO2. When an energy crop like hemp is grown on a massive scale, it will initially lower the CO2 in the air, and then stabilize it at a level lower than before the planting of the energy crop.

4) Use of biomass would end acid rain, end sulfer-based smog, and reverse the greenhouse effect.

Coal

Unlike petroleum reserves, America has enough coal to last 100-300 years, but burning it for electricity puts sulfur (toxic to every membrane in which it comes in contact, especially the simplest life forms - into the air, which leads to acid rain, which lills 50,000 Americans, and 5,000 - 10,000 Canadians, annually, and destroys the forests, river, and animals.

Charcoal can be created from biomass through pyrolysis (charcoaling), which has nearly the same heating value in BTU as coal, virtually without sulfur. Biomass can also be co-fired with coal to reduce emissions.

Ethanol and Methanol

Ethanol is a water-free, high-octane alcohol which can be used as fuel to drive cars. Under current conditions, use of ethanol-blended fuels such as E85 (85% ethanol and 15% gasoline) can reduce net emissions of greenhouse gases by as much as 37.1%. Ethanol-powered vehicles do suffer in performance (barely), but ethanol is effective as a fuel additive because it helps engines burn cleaner.

Once pyrolysis facilities are up and running, converting biomass into charcoal for electrical power plants, it will be more feasible to build the complex gasifying systems to produce ethanol and/or methanol from the cubed biomass, or to make high-octane lead-free gasoline from the methanol using a catalytic process developed by Georgia Tech University in conjunction with Mobil Oil Corporation.

Ethanol is currently being used as a fuel additive, replacing toxic methyl tertiary ether (MTBE). Ethanol producers are currently providing only 1% of America's liquid fuel. Soon though, as new development processes are researched, and with the use of hemp, the plant worlds number one producer of biomass, the cost of this alternative fuel will give petroleum vigorous competition.

Hydrolysis: A process whereby cellulose is converted to fermentable glucose, which holds the greatest promise for production and feedstock, because it could produce 100 gallons/ton. Tim Castleman and the Fuel and Fiber Company are researching this technology. Their method extracts the high-value bast fiber as first step. Then the remaining core material (mostly hurd) is converted to alcohol (methanol, ethanol), and then to glucose. Hydrolysis could produce 300,000 to 600,000 tons of biomass per year per facility, if each facility could process input from 60,000 to 170,000 acres.

Gasification: A form of pyrolysis which converts biomass into synthetic gas, such as ethanol, and low grade fuel oil with an energy content of about 40% that of petroleum diesel. This process is good for community power-corporation and people seeking self-sufficient energy needs. A small modular bio-powered system is in place in the village of Alaminos in the Philippines, using gasification techniques for energy.

Anaerobic Digestion: A process of capturing methane from green waste material (biomass). This process is toxic, but well suited for distributed power generation when co-located with electrical generation equipment.

Boiler: Biomass can also be burned in a boiler, but this energy has a value of $30-50 ton, which makes it impractical due to the higher value of hemp fiber, unless used on a local small scale, and in remote rural applications.

Hemp Produces the Most Biomass of Any Plant on Earth.

Hemp is at least four times richer in biomass/cellulose potential than its nearest rivals: cornstalks, sugarcane, kenaf, trees, etc.

Hemp produces the most biomass of any crop, which is why it is the natural choice for an energy crop. Hemp converts the sun's energy into cellulose faster than any other plant, through photosynthesis. Hemp can produce 10 tons of biomass per acre every four months. Enough energy could be produced on 6% of the land in the U.S. to provide enough energy for our entire country (cars, heat homes, electricity, industry) -- and we use 25% of the world's energy.

To put which in perspective, right now we pay farmers not to grow on 6% (around 90 million acres) of the farming land, while another 500 million acres of marginal farmland lies fallow. This land could be used to grow hemp as an energy crop.

Conclusion

The most important aspect of industrial hemp farming, the most compelling thing hemp offers us, is fuel. Right now we are depleting our reserves of petroleum and buying it up from our Arab enemies. It would be nice if we could have a fuel source which was reusable and which we could grow right here, making us completely energy independent.

Petroleum fuel increases carbon monoxide in the atmosphere and contributes heavily to global warming and the greenhouse effect, which, the EPA has warned, will lead to global catastrophe in the next 50 years if these trends continue. Do you want to find out if they are right, or do you want to grow the most cost effective and environmentally safe fuel source on the planet?

Using hemp as an energy and rotation crop would be a great step in the right direction.

Hemp Seed Oil

Hemp seed oil has historically been used as lamp oil. It is said to shine the brightest of all lamp oils. Hemp seed oil lit the lamps of Abraham Lincoln, Abraham the prophet, and was used in the legendary lamps of Aladdin.

Anything which can be made from fossil fuels can be made from an organic substance like hemp. Toxic petrochemicals can be replaced with hemp oil.

Hemp oil can be made into anything with an oil base, including paint, varnish, detergent, solvent, and lubricating oil. The advantage of these product is that they are earth friendly and biodegradable, and do not destroy ecosystems around them like petrochemicals do.

Until the 1930s most paint and varnishes were made with non-toxic hemp oil. Hemp paint provides superior coating because hemp oil soaks into and preserves wood, due to its high resistance to water.

Hemp oil is a good base for non-toxic printing inks. Soy is currently made into inks, but soy ink requires more processing and takes longer to dry than hemp oil based inks.

[link=http://exileguy-exileguy.blogspot.com/2009/05/hemp-as-fuel-energy-source.html]Original Article on Radio Free Exile[/link]
[[b]Submitted by dlenef[/b]]

Hemp Fiber/Fuel Stanford University

Thu, 19 Mar 2009 15:06:00 -0700

Pub date: 3/19/2009

http://www.rdmag.com/ShowPR~PUBCODE~014~ACCT~1400000101~ISSUE~0903~RELTYPE~MS~PRODCODE~00000000~PRODLETT~KE.html

Biodegradable composites may obsolete wood and plastic

March 19, 2009

Stanford University researchers have developed a synthetic wood substitute that may one day save trees, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and shrink landfills.

The faux lumber is made from a new biodegradable plastic that could be used in a variety of building materials and perhaps replace the petrochemical plastics now used in billions of disposable water bottles.

"This is a great opportunity to make products that serve a societal need and respect and protect the natural environment," said lead researcher Sarah Billington, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering.

In 2004, Billington and her colleagues received a two-year Environmental Venture Projects (EVP) grant from Stanford's Woods Institute for the Environment to develop artificial wood that is both durable and recyclable. The research team focused on a new class of construction material called biodegradable composites, or "biocomposites"-glue-like resins reinforced with natural fibers that are made from plants and recyclable polymers.

Billington's group began by testing a number of promising materials. The best turned out to be natural hemp fibers fused with a biodegradable plastic resin called polyhydroxy-butyrate (PHB). "It's quite attractive looking and very strong," said EVP collaborator Craig Criddle, a professor of civil and environmental engineering. "You can mold it, nail it, hammer it, drill it, a lot like wood. But bioplastic PHB can be produced faster than wood, and hemp can be grown faster than trees."

The hemp-PHB biocomposites are stable enough to use in furniture, floors and a variety of other building materials, he added. To degrade, it must be kept away from air-e.g., buried in a landfill-because its decomposition depends on microorganisms that live in anaerobic environments.

"The ideal is to have nice, stable material when it's being used," Criddle explained. "But when it's out of use, it goes to a landfill, degrades quickly, and is reprocessed into new material that stays in a nice, stable form."

Recycling methane

Unlike wood scraps that can sit in landfills for months or years, hemp-PHB biocomposites decompose a few weeks after burial. As they degrade, they release methane gas that can be captured and burned for energy recovery or re-used to make more biocomposites.

"It dawned on us that there are microbes that can make PHB from methane," Criddle said. "So now we're combining two natural processes: We're using microbes that break down PHB plastics and release methane gas, and different organisms that consume methane and produce PHB as a byproduct."

It's the ultimate in recycling, he said: "In our lab, we create conditions where only those organisms that accumulate the most plastic can reproduce. We call the process 'survival of the fattest,' and we have a patent application for it."

Capturing methane has the added benefit of combating climate change, Criddle said, noting that methane gas from landfills and other sources is a powerful global warming agent, 22 times more potent than carbon dioxide gas.

One reason that biodegradable plastics aren't widely used is cost. "We're competing with polypropylene and polyethylene, two really cheap petrochemical products," Criddle said. "Most bioplastics are made using sugar from corn and other relatively expensive materials. But our process uses methane in the biogas from landfills and wastewater treatment plants, which is essentially free."

The potential of producing low-cost, recyclable biocomposites has caught the attention of the private sector. In the next few months, the researchers expect to form a new startup company with venture capital funding.

Biodegradable bottles

Interest in the hemp-PHB biocomposites has moved beyond artificial wood products. In 2008, the research team was awarded a three-year, $1.5 million grant from the California Environmental Protection Agency to develop biodegradable plastics to replace the petrochemical plastics that are used to make disposable water and soda bottles. According to Cal/EPA, plastic bottles accumulate in landfills, the open ocean and coastal areas, causing major problems for birds, mammals and other marine life. "The goal of the state is to protect the environment and promote the development of a new industry that can produce low-cost bioplastics," Criddle said. "We have quite a team of students working on it. We're also collaborating with Curtis Frank, a professor of chemical engineering and a polymer plastics expert."

In 2008, Billington and Frank were awarded a grant from Stanford's Precourt Energy Efficiency Center to develop biodegradable foam for structural insulated panels. They also received new funding from the Woods Institute to explore the feasibility of using Criddle's polymers to manufacture "green glues" that make air quality in buildings less toxic. Lynn Hildemann, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, is collaborating on that project.

"We started with biocomposites, and now we're doing bioplastics and thinking about things that affect global warming," Criddle said.

"It's really exciting to watch how the research has branched out into so many areas, from biocomposites to new bioplastics, green glues and foam," Billington added. "The opportunity to collaborate with people of different expertise has been wonderful and very invigorating."

SOURCE: Stanford University

R&D Daily
Advantage Business Media

Rockaway, NJ, 07866

[[b]Submitted by Whitefeather[/b]]

Renewed Interest in Industrial Hemp is Smoking Hot!

Thu, 19 Mar 2009 01:12:53 -0700

From [link=http://biobasednews.com/node/20722]BioBased News[/link], March 19 2009, By Barney DuBois

The bookies aren’t quoting “high” odds in Vegas – yet – but thousands of America’s farmers and processors are upbeat and restlessly hopeful this month after a recent ruling by the Obama White House to suspend raids on medical marijuana facilities by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). No, our farmers aren’t chomping to grow weed! But they won’t wait long to ramp up cultivation of industrial hemp – stymied in the U.S. since the federal war against “reefer madness” a half-century ago – when the DEA ever gives a similar go-ahead.

Photo courtesy Purdue University

Although it technically is not “illegal” to grow industrial hemp, a DEA permit is required to do so, and none has ever been granted. The result is that over 30 industrial nations (among them Canada, France, England, Germany and China) now grow and process hemp for export to the U.S., which remains the largest market – consumer and industrial – for raw hemp on earth.

And for good reason! The growth and use of hemp is as important to American history as, well, the Declaration of Independence – which was written on hemp paper. Or Levi’s jeans, originally made with hemp fiber. Or from the very beginning, say the Jamestown or Plymouth Rock colonies, where it was illegal NOT to grow hemp!

Pressure to re-legalize the growth of industrial hemp in America has been swelling for at least a decade. Eight states – Hawaii, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Montana, North Dakota, Vermont and West Virginia – already have removed the barriers to production and research on hemp. Many of these, plus several others – including Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Mexico, California, South Carolina, and Wisconsin – have new legislation pending this spring that would push further the drive to full production. At least 28 states have had or plan to have some legislative action. You can track most of these efforts at http://www.votehemp.com.

Some of the newest legislation – in North Dakota for example – goes so far as to provide state licenses to hemp growers and to petition the DEA to back off and to allow the regulation of hemp under state law – as opposed to federal police action! This provincial revolt is echoed by farmers in other states – notably Vermont, Minnesota and Kentucky – who in recent weeks have swarmed local and state meeting halls with a sense that change at last is in the air.

If enough farm states join the already healthy industrial hemp lobby in Washington, change might be possible for the first time in 50 years. The result so far, however, is that nobody can yet grow hemp for commercial use, and the country remains culturally blinded to the difference between it and marijuana.

Both plants are classified as cannabis sativa, a species with hundreds of varieties. The two look somewhat alike to the untrained eye, and it is actually possible for them to cross-pollinate, but they have evolved on totally separate paths for the last 12,000 years and can be differentiated easily by the trained eye – or on-the-spot testing.

Hemp – one of the first crops domesticated by man – is many times larger and is bred for fiber, seed and oil. Marijuana is smaller and bred solely to maximize the enzyme THC, which is present in hemp only in microscopic quantities. A hippie would have to smoke an entire field to maybe even get a little buzz!

The arguments for allowing industrial hemp cultivation under state supervision are becoming larger every year – from many perspectives. For one thing, the crop is hearty and can be grown in just about any soil or weather condition. For another, hemp is biologically superior to almost any other crop – including soybeans (which produce less digestible protein than hemp) and corn (which produces less biofuel energy per acre than hemp). The potential economic impact goes without saying.

Even more importantly, hemp is among the fastest-growing biomasses, 100% usable, and renewable in an almost limitless number of applications. At least 25,000 products can be made from hemp, including many that now rely on petrochemicals. And, the fact that hemp has been omitted entirely from the incredible advances by U.S. agri-science for the past half-century makes its future appear virtually limitless to some in the industry.

Stay tuned. With the current economic meltdown and obvious political shift to support renewable, sustainable resources, hemp seems like a no-brainer.

But don’t get your seeds out of storage, yet. You could still get busted!
[[b]Submitted by dlenef[/b]]

Canadian Company Seeking Hemp Growing Farmers

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 12:27:37 -0700

[link=http://www.communitypress-online.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1471582]Stonehedge makes pitch to farmers to grow industrial hemp[/link], at [i]The Community Press[/i].

The Stonehedge company claims to have crossbred legacy Canadian hemp seeds with Russian seeds to come up with a variety particularly well suited to the environment and applications.

Stonehedge makes pitch to farmers to grow industrial hemp
Posted By John Campbell
Posted 3 days ago

Stirling – Stonehedge Bio-Resources Inc. is looking for farmers to grow industrial hemp that can be turned into insulation, biomasonry concrete and fuel pellets. It’s also in the market for a site to build a 60,000-square-foot manufacturing plant somewhere along the Highway 401 corridor between Belleville and Port Hope that will employ more than two dozen people.

“The total project is probably going to be in excess of $15 (million), maybe close to $20 million,” John Baker, president of Stonehedge, said in an interview. More than half of that will spent on specialized equipment developed in Europe where industrial hemp is used extensively in a variety of products, including auto parts.

The decortication factory will be the first of its kind in North America.

The Stirling-area company has “commitments” of capital from investors in the United Kingdom and the United States who need “a supply chain .. to grow their business,” – mainly hempcrete, Baker said. They’re “ready to develop the U.S. market.”

Other potential investors have expressed an interest in purchasing equity in Stonehedge as well and Baker has approached the provincial and federal governments for financing in the form of loans. However, even though “there are all kinds of government programs for the green sustainable economy,” the funding is “hard to access,” Baker says. “It’s a slow ... frustrating process.

“It’s like the programs were designed to fund the multinationals, not really startups (or) small companies,” he said. “The mechanism is constipated ... We just have to be patient.”

Baker said he hopes to have all the financing he needs to launch the venture in place by May 1.

In the meantime, Baker will be reaching out to farmers in Hastings and Northumberland counties to sign contracts to grow hemp.

Stonehedge has scheduled two information sessions next week – March 16 at the Centreton Community Hall in Northumberland County and March 17 at the Ivanhoe Community Hall in Hastings County. Both meetings begin at 1:30 p.m.

Baker has already held focus groups with a number of farmers to find out what they would need in order to add hemp to their regular crop rotation of corn, soybean and wheat.

“I believe it will be one of the most profitable crops they can grow, if not this year, within a couple of years,” he said. “It will be much more stable in pricing than the volatility they see with other cash crops ... It will be a very stable long-term type of venture.”

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Hemp is attractive in other ways. It’s an “extremely deeply rooted crop (that) leaves the soil in beautiful shape,” Baker said, and its input costs are lower as it doesn’t require pesticides or herbicides, “but you do need to feed it fertilizers.”

Roy Taylor, a cash crop and beef farmer from Roseneath, attended Baker’s presentation at the Quinte Farm and Trade Show in Trenton last month and was one of about two dozen who expressed an interest in learning more about growing hemp. Prices for cash crops have been good but “are a little bit lower right now,” he said, so adding hemp to the mix could be “another egg in the basket.”

He said he would like to try growing “a little bit” this year to determine its potential.

Baker plans to sign only single year contracts at the outset, in order to find out what works and what needs tweaking. After that it will be three- to five-year contracts. His preference is for 50 acres at minimum but it might take “a whole lot of people growing 25.”

The planting should be done in mid-April.

Harvesting the hemp, which can grow to a height of 15 feet in 100 days, will require the services of a custom operator because special equipment is needed to cut it. The grower will be responsible for raking, baling and storing the straw until it goes for processing.

Growers will need to be licensed which will involve having a police check done to ensure they haven’t a criminal record, Baker says. The sites are registered with Health Canada.

The manufacturing plant will process hemp straw into three components that Baker believes “there is a strong market for right across North America.” About half of the material would be used to make hempcrete, one-quarter would go into producing insulation, “and a fairly significant portion” would be converted into energy pellets. “There’s virtually no waste,” Baker said.

The plant will be able to process straw from up to 20,000 acres a year but production will ramp up slowly. Baker is looking to plant 5,000 acres this year, more than 10,000 acres the following year and in excess of 15,000 by year three.

Although hemp resembles marijuana, it has little THC, the chemical that gives marijuana its hallucinogenic properties. Hemp straw is “regarded as the strongest natural fibre in the world” and the woody core material is used to make hempcrete, a lightweight alternative to concrete that is “totally fire retardant,” and resistant to moulds and pests.

Baker, a plant scientist and researcher, “stumbled across the fact that there was remnant historical cannibis biodiversity in this area” about 10 years ago. The British navy had introduced hemp to Canada to create an alternative source to its traditional supplier, Russia, in order to continue manufacturing rope and sailcloth.

“It was a military crop,” Baker says, introduced to this country when relations with the United States deteriorated to the point that it led to the War of 1812.

Baker began “bioprospecting” and discovered that seeds originally from Russia had “learned how to adapt and survive here in isolated pockets.” He collected and preserved more than 25 different lines of biodiversity and then began planting research plots to determine if the plant had any agricultural value. He cross-bred Upper Canada hemp with the best grown in Europe and was able to achieve “tremendous improvements (in) yield, adaptability, seed size, a whole series of traits,” Baker said.

He’s registered one of the varieties he developed and has another four “in the pipeline,” each of them with characteristics suited for a particular application.

He told those who attended his farm show presentation that the “unique germ plasma” he’s developed will give hemp growers in Canada “a distinct advantage worldwide.”
[[b]Submitted by dlenef[/b]]

Heartland hemp farming needs Iowa lawmakers’ help

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 10:29:51 -0700

Local Iowa Newspaper Sympathetic to Proposed Legislation to Legalize Hemp Farming

BY DI EDITORIAL BOARD, MARCH 12, 2009, The Daily Iowan

A bipartisan group of Minnesota lawmakers is putting forth legislation to legalize the growth of cannabis, or hemp. The Industrial Hemp Development Act (HF 608) would provide licenses to qualified farmers for the cultivation of hemp, after passing background checks, of course. Iowa lawmakers must pay close attention to the progress of Minnesota’s hemp act; its success or failure may signal how a similar act would fair here. Regardless of the reaction of our neighbors to the north, hemp production will dramatically change the face of agriculture in America, and Iowans need to be out ahead of this increasingly popular trend.

Seven states — Hawaii, West Virginia, Maine, Maryland, Montana, Kentucky, and North Dakota — have legalized hemp production; however, not one is producing the crop because of resistance from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Hemp farmers in North Dakota are granted licenses by the state, but they are required to obtain separate permits from the DEA. The agency has continually refused to accept applications, leading farmers in North Dakota to file a lawsuit against the federal government.

A common complaint among law-enforcement agencies at all levels of government is that monitoring acres of hemp for hidden pockets of marijuana would be next to impossible. This idea is, in fact, very reasonable, because hemp and marijuana are members of the same species, cannabis.

However, centuries of breeding have elicited distinctly different characteristics in the two plants. Marijuana contains much higher levels of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the psychoactive agent, which induces a “high.” Hemp, on the other hand, has such minuscule amounts of THC that it is unable to produce the same high. In fact, hemp contains another chemical, cannabidiol, which is increasingly used as an antipsychotic.

Despite the plants’ botanical distinctions, their visual similarities are at the root of the problem. Interestingly enough, Minnesota researchers have developed a way to overcome the issues raised by law enforcement. George Weiblen, a University of Minnesota associate professor of plant biology, has established a method of DNA testing that is able to differentiate hemp from its doppelgänger. Using a DNA technique known as amplified fragment length polymorphism, Weiblen and a colleague are the first to undeniably distinguish hemp plants from marijuana plants.

So, if there is a way to discriminate between the two plants, what benefits could be harvested from the production of industrial hemp? Hemp is an industrial crop in every industrialized nation except the United States. Naturally, the U.S. imports more hemp and hemp products than any other industrialized nation. By growing the crop here, we could reap the reward of hemp’s increasing popularity. The herb has been touted as a wonder plant for many reasons. Nearly every part of the plant is usable. Hemp can be used to produce paper, food, clothing, plastics, and even low-carbon concrete.

The advantages of hemp as a commercial crop have special significance for Iowans. While soybeans are composed of greater levels of actual protein, hemp seeds contain more digestible protein. Furthermore, because of its fast-growing nature, hemp crops produce more energy per acre of biodiesel or ethanol fuel than corn or any other food crop, and it is able to do so at a much lower cost and with noticeably less damage to the soil. Hemp is a hearty plant and can grow on all types of soil.

By growing hemp, it could be possible to use damaged, exhausted, or marginal soil, thus reclaiming unused or abandoned land.

Because industrial hemp production could compete with Iowa’s two largest crops, it only makes sense to be out in front of the trend, leading the way, rather risking the consequences of watching that market develop without us. Industrial hemp would do much to facilitate the nation’s growing desire for all things “green”; an acre of hemp produces as much paper as four acres of trees, Europeans are perfecting a biodegradable plastic made entirely of hemp, and hemp seeds are an impressive source of protein as well as essential amino acids. Environmental benefits aside, the economic advantages of producing hemp in Iowa are certainly worth considering.

Original Article: [link=hyperlink url]http://www.dailyiowan.com/2009/03/12/Opinions/10547.html[/link]
[[b]Submitted by dlenef[/b]]

Afghanistan's Biofuel Revolution

Thu, 19 Feb 2009 10:29:05 -0700

By Robbie Gennet. Posted February 19, 2009 on Huffington Post

Seeing the news that President Obama is sending more troops into Afghanistan, our gaze turns from Iraq to the place where the Taliban has made a resurgence and where Al Qaeda and Osama Bin Laden have been hiding out near the border of Pakistan. Fueling this terrorist incubator has been the explosive growth of the poppy trade, the main source of funding for the Taliban and pretty much every terrorist organization in the area. So instead of just fighting this war militarily- which results in countless deaths and billions of dollars spent- couldn't we take a preemptive tactic to remove the Talibans main source of funding by buying up all of the poppy crops in Afghanistan (which produces more than 90% of the world's opium supply)? Pay above market value and do it under the stipulation that every hectare of land be replanted with biofuels that would thrive in that climate/condition. And guarantee both help with the agriculture- state of the art equipment, the latest knowledge and high-yield seeds to grow- and with moving the finished product straight into the biofuel production chain at a fair or above market price. Give them the incentive to sell their current crops to us, give them the tools and knowledge to grow replacement crops- biofuels and food- and then guarantee them a fair (or more than fair) market price at the end. Start them on a cycle of energy independence while ending both the illegal drug trade and the main source of funding for terrorist networks. It is hugely less expensive than waging a military war and it encourages diplomacy and economic prosperity while undermining the root financing of terrorism. And there is even one piece of that puzzle already in place, though it is not seen through the right prism. And that is cannabis/hemp.

Besides poppies, which are used to make heroin and opium, the other huge Afghani crop is cannabis, which is grown for hash production and is considered part of the "war on drugs" and the "war on terrorism" because it is seen as fueling both. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) estimates that some 70,000 hectares of cannabis were grown in Afghanistan in 2007, up from 50,000 in 2006 and 30,000 in 2005. Afghanistan appears to be overtaking the world's top cannabis grower, Morocco, where the multi-billion dollar cannabis harvest halved from 2003 to 2006. However, cannabis/hemp is a known and tested biofuel that could be harnessed as the solution to the problem instead of viewing it AS the problem. It is drought-resistant, pest-resistant, environmentally friendly and much more productive and cost-effective than current biofuel crops such as corn, which requires 29 percent more fossil energy than the fuel it produces. An acre of hemp can produce ten times the methanol that an acre of corn can, and can do it faster with less fertilizer. Plus, the crops are already planted and thriving! Check out this bit of information from The Independent, dated today (Feb. 19th):

The UN's International Narcotics Control Board said in its annual report that due to overproduction of opium there has been a rise in the production of cannabis in Afghanistan. Many provinces which had been declared by the Afghan government and Nato to be free of poppy cultivation have switched to cannabis. The report stated: "The lack of security in Afghanistan has severely hampered government efforts to eradicate illicit opium poppy; a total of 78 persons involved in the eradication efforts lost their lives in 2008, a six-fold increase over the previous year. The increase in illicit cultivation of cannabis in Afghanistan is also a worrying development."

Instead of a "worrying development," we could be praising Afghanistan for increasing their biofuel crops. Add to that uses for fiber, food and medicine and you have a truly valuable crop with which to wean Afghanistan off of poppies, oil and terrorism. All it takes is a change in how we see hemp/cannabis and it's many uses, which of course includes reviewing its illegal recreational stature. There is no doubt that the prohibition of cannabis (and industrial hemp) has had more negative effects on society than the actual usage of the drug. Under it's current state of illegality, we have a multi-billion dollar untaxed cash crop, a black market shadow economy, the associated crime and violence inherent with prohibition, plus a prison system overwhelmed and overloaded with simple possession cases so there aren't enough resources for violent criminals and terrorists. With simple decriminalization, plus rigorous scientific testing to maximize it's usage, industrialized cannabis/hemp could actually bring on the end of the war in Afghanistan, defund the War on Terrorism and easily halve the "War on Drugs" that we've waged on drug users in this country, freeing up billions of dollars and countless resources to apply to real threats or redirect into our crumbling economy- all while freeing us from our own addiction to foreign oil. If we hew to scientific data and end the empty rhetoric and political posturing that keeps cannabis/hemp from being scientifically tested or utilized, we can move forward with a biofuel revolution just waiting to happen. It's a win-win for US taxpayers, for our strategic goals abroad and for the planet and all its residents.

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Check out: NY Times on Afghanistan's New Cash Crop:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15DHHeDCd-s

The Geopolitics of Afghani hash:
http://www.cannabisculture.com/articles/2225.html

Henry Ford's Hemp Car:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxlj6fgQ-ZU
Way back in the 1930's, Henry Ford was hard at work in the alt-fuels sector, and in 1941 he constructed a hemp-fueled and hemp-bodied prototype car. The "plastic" body panels were composed of 70% cellulose fibers, including industrial hemp, mixed with a resin binder, and apparently they were pretty sturdy!

ENERGY CRISIS: Ford And Diesel Never Intended Cars To Use Gasoline
When Henry Ford told a New York Times reporter that ethyl alcohol was "the fuel of the future" in 1925, he was expressing an opinion that was widely shared in the automotive industry. "The fuel of the future is going to come from fruit like that sumach out by the road, or from apples, weeds, sawdust -- almost anything," he said. "There is fuel in every bit of vegetable matter that can be fermented. There's enough alcohol in one year's yield of an acre of potatoes to drive the machinery necessary to cultivate the fields for a hundred years." http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=20050828&articleId=872

More on Henry Ford and biofuels:
http://www.hempcar.org/ford.shtml
http://www.hempplastic.com/newSite/hp_aboutplastics_fordcar.htm

Hemp- the environmentally sustainable alternative
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vxd64t6H3_4
Shows Henry Ford making biodegradable car parts!

More facts on hemp for fuel, food, fiber, medicine and industry:
http://www.masscann.org/consumption/hemp-facts/74-hemp/97-hemp-facts

A fascinating piece on the economics of hemp fuel:
http://hemp-ethanol.blogspot.com/2008/01/economics-history-and-politics-of-hemp.html

Popular Mechanics 1938 issue calling hemp a "billion dollar crop":
http://www.jackherer.com/popmech.html

According to a 1938 Popular Mechanics article calling hemp a Billion Dollar Crop, hemp hurds "can be used to produce more than 25,000 products, ranging from dynamite to Cellophane". That's just the hurds. When you factor in the fiber, the oil and the resin, the number of products hemp can produce is closer to 50,000. Almost everything that isn't glass or metal - including paper, pressed particle board, fabrics, plastics and concrete - can be made from hemp. With a massive manufacturing base to reflect its massive utility, there will be plenty of hemp waste to make fuel from, driving the price down considerably.
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Why I Don't Write About Biofuels by John J. Fanning (Chief Engineer Magazine)
http://www.chiefengineer.org/content/content_display.cfm/seqnumber_content/3324.htm
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Cellulose-sourced hydrogen good enough for fuel cells (Feb. 12, 2009)
"If a small fraction--2 or 3 percent--of yearly biomass production were used for sugar-to-hydrogen fuel cells for transportation, we could reach transportation fuel independence...."
http://www.hemp4fuel.com/news.php
------------------------
The many uses of hemp:
http://www.jackherer.com/hemp%20things.htm

Original Article:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robbie-gennet/afghanistans-biofuel-revo_b_168399.html
[[b]Submitted by dlenef[/b]]

A public letter from Andrew Lahde of Lahde Capital Management, Llc

Fri, 17 Oct 2008 21:47:58 -0700

October 17, 2008
Today I write not to gloat. Given the pain that nearly everyone is experiencing, that would be entirely inappropriate. Nor am I writing to make further predictions, as most of my forecasts in previous letters have unfolded or are in the process of unfolding. Instead, I am writing to say goodbye.
Recently, on the front page of Section C of the Wall Street Journal, a hedge fund manager who was also closing up shop (a $300 million fund), was quoted as saying, “What I have learned about the hedge fund business is that I hate it.” I could not agree more with that statement. I was in this game for the money. The low hanging fruit, i.e. idiots whose parents paid for prep school, Yale, and then the Harvard MBA, was there for the taking. These people who were (often) truly not worthy of the education they received (or supposedly received) rose to the top of companies such as AIG, Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers and all levels of our government. All of this behavior supporting the Aristocracy, only ended up making it easier for me to find people stupid enough to take the other side of my trades. God bless America.
There are far too many people for me to sincerely thank for my success. However, I do not want to sound like a Hollywood actor accepting an award. The money was reward enough. Furthermore, the endless list of those deserving thanks know who they are.

I will no longer manage money for other people or institutions. I have enough of my own wealth to manage. Some people, who think they have arrived at a reasonable estimate of my net worth, might be surprised that I would call it quits with such a small war chest. That is fine; I am content with my rewards. Moreover, I will let others try to amass nine, ten or eleven figure net worths. Meanwhile, their lives suck. Appointments back to back, booked solid for the next three months, they look forward to their two week vacation in January during which they will likely be glued to their Blackberries or other such devices. What is the point? They will all be forgotten in fifty years anyway. Steve Balmer, Steven Cohen, and Larry Ellison will all be forgotten. I do not understand the legacy thing. Nearly everyone will be forgotten. Give up on leaving your mark. Throw the Blackberry away and enjoy life.

So this is it. With all due respect, I am dropping out. Please do not expect any type of reply to emails or voicemails within normal time frames or at all. Andy Springer and his company will be handling the dissolution of the fund. And don’t worry about my employees, they were always employed by Mr. Springer’s company and only one (who has been well-rewarded) will lose his job.

I have no interest in any deals in which anyone would like me to participate. I truly do not have a strong opinion about any market right now, other than to say that things will continue to get worse for some time, probably years. I am content sitting on the sidelines and waiting. After all, sitting and waiting is how we made money from the subprime debacle. I now have time to repair my health, which was destroyed by the stress I layered onto myself over the past two years, as well as my entire life – where I had to compete for spaces in universities and graduate schools, jobs and assets under management – with those who had all the advantages (rich parents) that I did not. May meritocracy be part of a new form of government, which needs to be established.

On the issue of the U.S. Government, I would like to make a modest proposal. First, I point out the obvious flaws, whereby legislation was repeatedly brought forth to Congress over the past eight years, which would have reigned in the predatory lending practices of now mostly defunct institutions. These institutions regularly filled the coffers of both parties in return for voting down all of this legislation designed to protect the common citizen. This is an outrage, yet no one seems to know or care about it. Since Thomas Jefferson and Adam Smith passed, I would argue that there has been a dearth of worthy philosophers in this country, at least ones focused on improving government. Capitalism worked for two hundred years, but times change, and systems become corrupt. George Soros, a man of staggering wealth, has stated that he would like to be remembered as a philosopher. My suggestion is that this great man start and sponsor a forum for great minds to come together to create a new system of government that truly represents the common man’s interest, while at the same time creating rewards great enough to attract the best and brightest minds to serve in government roles without having to rely on corruption to further their interests or lifestyles. This forum could be similar to the one used to create the operating system, Linux, which competes with Microsoft’s near monopoly. I believe there is an answer, but for now the system is clearly broken.

[b]Lastly, while I still have an audience, I would like to bring attention to an alternative food and energy source. You won’t see it included in BP’s, “Feel good. We are working on sustainable solutions,” television commercials, nor is it mentioned in ADM’s similar commercials. But hemp has been used for at least 5,000 years for cloth and food, as well as just about everything that is produced from petroleum products. Hemp is not marijuana and vice versa. Hemp is the male plant and it grows like a weed, hence the slang term. The original American flag was made of hemp fiber and our Constitution was printed on paper made of hemp. It was used as recently as World War II by the U.S. Government, and then promptly made illegal after the war was won. At a time when rhetoric is flying about becoming more self-sufficient in terms of energy, why is it illegal to grow this plant in this country? Ah, the female. The evil female plant – marijuana. It gets you high, it makes you laugh, it does not produce a hangover. Unlike alcohol, it does not result in bar fights or wife beating. So, why is this innocuous plant illegal? Is it a gateway drug? No, that would be alcohol, which is so heavily advertised in this country. My only conclusion as to why it is illegal, is that Corporate America, which owns Congress, would rather sell you Paxil, Zoloft, Xanax and other addictive drugs, than allow you to grow a plant in your home without some of the profits going into their coffers. This policy is ludicrous. It has surely contributed to our dependency on foreign energy sources. Our policies have other countries literally laughing at our stupidity, most notably Canada, as well as several European nations (both Eastern and Western). You would not know this by paying attention to U.S. media sources though, as they tend not to elaborate on who is laughing at the United States this week. Please people, let’s stop the rhetoric and start thinking about how we can truly become self-sufficient.
With that I say good-bye and good luck.[/b]
All the best,
Andrew Lahde

Lahde Quits Hedge Funds, Thanks `Idiots' for Success (Update1)
By Katherine Burton

Oct. 17 (Bloomberg) -- Andrew Lahde, the hedge-fund manager who quit after posting an 870 percent gain last year, said farewell to clients in a letter that thanks stupid traders for making him rich and ends with a plea to legalize marijuana.

Lahde, head of Santa Monica, California-based Lahde Capital Management LLC, told investors last month he was returning their cash because the risk of using credit derivatives -- his means of betting on the falling value of bonds and loans, including subprime mortgages -- was too risky given the weakness of the banks he was trading with.

``I was in this game for money,'' Lahde, 37, wrote in a two-page letter today in which he said he had come to hate the hedge-fund business. ``The low-hanging fruit, i.e. idiots whose parents paid for prep school, Yale and then the Harvard MBA, was there for the taking. These people who were (often) truly not worthy of the education they received (or supposedly received) rose to the top of companies such as AIG, Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers and all levels of our government.

``All of this behavior supporting the Aristocracy, only ended up making it easier for me to find people stupid enough to take the other sides of my trades. God Bless America.''

Lahde, who managed about $80 million, told clients he'll be content to invest his own money, rather than taking cash from wealthy individuals and institutions and trying to amass a fortune worth hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars.

``I do not understand the legacy thing,'' he wrote. ``Nearly everyone will be forgotten. Give up on leaving your mark. Throw the Blackberry away and enjoy life.''

Request for Soros
He said he'd spend his time repairing his health ``as well as my entire life -- where I had to compete for spaces at universities, and graduate schools, jobs and assets under management -- with those who had all the advantages (rich parents) that I did not.''

He also suggested that billionaire George Soros sponsor a forum in which ``great minds'' would come together to create a new system of government, as the current system ``is clearly broken.''

[b]Lahde ended his letter with a plea for the increased use of hemp as an alternative source of food and energy that segued into a call for the legalization of marijuana.

``Hemp has been used for at least 5,000 years for cloth and food, as well as just about everything that is produced from petroleum products,'' he wrote. ``Hemp is not marijuana and vice versa. Hemp is the male plant and it grows like a weed, hence the slang term.''

`Innocuous Plant'

He added, ``The evil female plant -- marijuana. It gets you high, it makes you laugh, it does not produce a hangover. Unlike alcohol, it does not result in bar fights or wife beating. So, why is this innocuous plant illegal? Is it a gateway drug? No, that would be alcohol, which is so heavily advertised in this country.''

Lahde said the only reason marijuana remains illegal is because ``Corporate America, which owns Congress, would rather sell you Paxil, Zoloft, Xanax and other addictive drugs, than allow you to grow a plant in your home without some of the profits going into their coffers.''
[/b]
Lahde graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in finance and holds an MBA from the University of California, Los Angeles. He worked at Los Angeles-based hedge fund Dalton Investments LLC before founding his own firm two years ago with about $10 million.

Lahde wasn't available for comment. A woman at his firm, who asked not to be identified, confirmed the authenticity of the letter.
To contact the reporter on this story: Katherine Burton in New York at kburton@bloomberg.net

[[b]Submitted by Hemp4Fuel[/b]]

Ralph Nader turns to Hemp for 2008 presidential campaign

Tue, 14 Oct 2008 19:50:59 -0700

This week presidential candidate Ralph Nader announced that he would be running on an industrial hemp platform for the 2008 elections.

[center][/center]

Catch it here: [link=hyperlink url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7kPhH8LGdI[/link]
[[b]Submitted by Hemp4Fuel[/b]]