Many people think of hemp as being a sustainable, environmentally friendly plant. It uses less water than cotton, helps preserve trees, and can even be used to create nontoxic and biodegradable plastics and other products.
But the truth is more complex than these simple statements would suggest. In this article, we’ll discuss 10 things you probably didn’t know about sustainable hemp farming.
First, let’s start with the basics: what is sustainability, and why is it important?
Sustainability means behaving responsibly to avoid the depletion of our natural resources. It means maintaining an ecological balance. It means acting in harmony with nature to help preserve our precious yet fragile environment to ensure that our grandchildren will have a suitable world to live in, just as we did.
After all, nature provides and does so much for us. The least we can do is pay our dues and reestablish a symbiotic relationship with our environment. It’s time we take on the role of stewards and guardians of this beautiful emerald planet.
Achieving that goal starts with education and knowing which agricultural practices help reduce our carbon footprint, and which ones make it worse. So with that in mind, here are 10 things you probably didn’t know about sustainable hemp farming.
#1: Many CBD companies purchase hemp from overseas.
It’s vital to know your source. Many CBD companies buy their crops from overseas to cut down on costs. As a result, they’re unsure of the integrity with which their hemp was grown. From unsustainable plastic mulching to the possible use of pesticides and other harmful practices, there are a variety of ways that hemp cultivators can cut corners.
#2: Soil is not an unlimited resource.
Healthy soil is one of our most precious natural resources. It supports the production of food and fuel for humans, and is also a crucial component for countless other natural processes in the environment.
But what many people don’t realize is that soil is not an unlimited resource. It can be degraded or eroded through irresponsible farming practices. And when that happens, it’s not easily recovered.
This is an under-appreciated yet vital fact that our society must come to terms with in the coming years. And that’s why we put such great care into protecting and enriching our soil.
After we harvest our plants, rather than leaving the soil bare over the winter, we plant what are known as cover crops. These crops improve the soil’s health by protecting it from erosion, making it more nutrient dense, and reducing the need for pesticides.
As a result, our soil is always in great condition when spring rolls around. This not only helps protect the quality of our soil—it also means our hemp plants reap the benefits of richer, more nutrient-dense soil.
#3: Keeping the land contaminant-free requires constant testing.
Keeping the land clean and healthy requires constant vigilance. In these times, you can’t just assume that your soil or irrigation systems are free from things like heavy metals or pesticides without regular laboratory analysis and testing.
Complicating matters is the fact that hemp is a bioaccumulator, which means it can absorb things like heavy metals, herbicides, and fuels from the soil.
That’s why we take care to test extensively. We test our water for microbes and we monitor our irrigation systems to ensure that they stay free from pesticides and contaminants. We also test the soil for nutrient content and heavy metals. And of course, we test our actual hemp plants at multiple stages throughout the production process.
#4: Compliance with regulatory guidelines is key.
Farms, manufacturers, and other organizations have regulatory guidelines for a reason. Unfortunately, not every company is compliant with the most important regulations.
#5: Creating a GMO plant is expensive.
GMO crops are more common than ever. However, you might be surprised to learn that GMOs are extremely difficult, time consuming, and expensive to make.
The average cost for producing a new GMO plant is well over $100 million (and sometimes it cost much more than that). This is why you’ll typically only see GMOs developed by massive, multinational companies.
As far as we know, no GMO varieties of the hemp plant have been developed anywhere. Developing a GMO hemp crop would be beyond our ability, and we would never have any desire to do so anyway.
This is one more reason you can trust that we will always use natural, non-GMO plants for our hemp products.
#6: Consider the company’s partners and associates.
If a company claims to be sustainable, but they support and rely on a bunch of companies that are polluting the environment, are they really acting in an environmentally responsible manner?
We don’t think so. We believe that the people and companies you associate with makes a difference. That’s why we only support like-minded organizations that choose to champion and restore sustainable farming in the United States.
Denver Urban Gardens is one organization we believe in. Their mission is to cultivate gardeners, promote healthy living, and nourish communities through growing food.
#7: Organic is great, but not essential.
Organic is wonderful, but it’s not a requirement for sustainable farming. Getting certified as organic requires jumping through hoops that can be difficult and expensive for many companies. So even if you don’t see that organic seal, it doesn’t necessarily mean the product wasn’t made in a sustainable, eco-friendly way.
For instance: there are many Amish farmers who aren’t certified organic, even though their farming practices go above and beyond what is required to be “organic.”
For example, rather than using toxic pesticides, we actually encourage and support natural predators of common hemp pests (an army of vicious ladybugs). We also tend to all of our plants by hand, and plant cover crops during the winter rather than leaving the soil bare.
We avoid the use of all harsh chemicals and fertilizers. We never spray our plants with anything nasty or unnatural, and we never use anything that’s been regulated by the EPA.
Source: Eco Watch
Image: Unsplashed