Optimism Grows for Hemp as Livestock Feed

On this week’s hemp podcast, we talk to Morgan Tweet, executive director of the Hemp Feed Coalition, who recently participated in a two-day hemp feed workshop co-hosted by the coalition, Oregon State University and the Hemp Innovation Center.

There was a strong showing of university researchers at the event, along with representatives of FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine and the Association of American Feed Control Officials.

“We felt like the best way to have a productive dialog between research, regulators and industry,” Tweet said, “was to bring everyone into one room to review what current research there was, have the discussion about what was needed, and then identify steps forward.”

Hemp grain was given GRAS (generally regarded as safe) status for human consumption by the FDA many years ago, but it is not federally legal to feed hemp grain to livestock.

Some states, like Montana, have written laws to allow hemp grain to be used in feed for companion animals, but the process to gain widespread approval for hemp as a livestock feed for production animals involves time-consuming and expensive testing, Tweet said.

Hemp grain has an attractive nutritional profile — high in protein and amino acids — and is often referred to as a superfood, but without opening up the livestock feed markets, hemp grain producers have nowhere to go with their seed cake byproducts after crushing the grain for oil, hampering the growth of the industry.

Tweet said there is reason to be optimistic and pointed to Pennsylvania, where Wenger Feeds was given special permission to market its Chiques Creek Hemp-Fed Eggs within the borders of the state.

Hemp Feed Coalition

https://hempfeedcoalition.org/

Kansas State Study on Hemp Feed

https://www.lancasterfarming.com/farming-news/hemp/short-term-feeding-of-industrial-hemp-with-a-high-cannabidiolic-acid-cbda-content-increases-lying/pdf_4a0c6adc-70df-11ed-855c-a3c50f8c0b4c.html

News Nuggets

Hemp Can Be Crucial To Control Climate Change And It’s Destined To Be Wildly Profitable, Win-Win?

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/hemp-crucial-control-climate-change-191728600.html

Could hemp be a key tool in fight against climate change?

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/nov/24/could-hemp-be-a-key-tool-in-fight-against-climate-change

Home Office hampering potential of Scotland’s hemp farmers

https://www.thenational.scot/news/23152035.home-office-hampering-potential-scotlands-hemp-farmers/

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