A research team in Maryland is recommending farmers hold off on farming hemp, citing the “chicken-and-egg” nature of the nascent industry, over-saturation in the biomass market, and the need for further studies.
The team, from the University of Maryland College of Agriculture & Natural Resources, noted that with production and research of hemp still in its infancy, it may not yet be an economically viable crop for the state’s farmers.
The multi-year study, led by Andrew Ristvey, a commercial horticulture specialist at the University of Maryland Extension, and Nicole Fiorellino from the university’s Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, looked at hemp economics and agronomics in search of ways to maximize production under existing legal restrictions.
“I would recommend farmers hold off and not grow just yet,” Ristvey told the website myeasternshore.com. Researchers cautioned farmers regarding the current bloated market for biomass, marked by prices that have dropped by roughly 80% over the past two years amid an oversupplied CBD market. The current limit of maximum 0.3% THC in hemp plants was also cited by the research team as a risk factor to farmers. Plants that go over that limit can mean crops must be destroyed.
Read more at hemptoday.net