Hemp Supply and Demand the American Dilemma

Due to legal hurdles, U.S. farmers are forced to leave money on the table because hemp industry demand is filled by foreign imports. Green says domestically grown and processed hemp will beat imports in quality and price. “We want a U.S. product to distribute globally and not vice versa. The current setup is not in the interest of our farmers or our country.”

“The foreign market is scared because they know we’re going to create a hemp industry and U.S. hemp can be the gold standard,” Mangone-Miranda echoes. Although CBD use is the merited driver of hemp potential, he says the biggest hemp sectors will develop in building materials, textiles, and food. As a multiple-use product, no crop compares with hemp’s footprint, despite playing catch-up in genetics, processing, infrastructure and regulatory navigation.

Once unsure of genuine profit possibility, Shell has consistently fended off interest from fellow farmers. Those days are over, and hesitancy has ceded ground to the​ ​ excitement. “I can now put a production portfolio in front of farmers and let them make up their own minds,” he says. “The potential for hemp profit is very real.”

​Credit agweb.com