Industrial hemp growers needed for on-farm trials

MADISON, Wis. — The University of Wisconsin-Madison and partners in Illinois, Indiana and Michigan are seeking licensed and experienced grain and fiber hemp growers to conduct on-farm variety trials.

Growers will be asked to plant replicated strips of five hemp varieties, sample and record observations of the crop at key growth stages.

Growers will be provided seed, and a stipend of $500 per year is available to offset participant expenses.

Participating growers will also have an opportunity to serve on an advisory group for the project, which will meet quarterly online.

Interested growers are encouraged to submit an application by March 1.

As a reemerging crop and highly regulated industry, the U.S. hemp sector faces both basic and unique challenges to sustainable growth. Principle among those challenges is adapted cultivar development and selection.

The Midwestern Hemp Research Collaborative — a joint effort of Michigan State University, Purdue University, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Michael Fields Agricultural Institute — seeks to address this challenge with regional data from participatory on-farm research.

Their goal is to support stakeholder decision-making and mitigate risk to ultimately increase the regional adaptation, productivity and profitability of industrial hemp in the Midwest.

This project is led by James DeDecker, director of the Michigan State University Upper Peninsula Research and Extension Center. Work of the MHRC is made possible by financial support from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s Supplemental and Alternative Crops program.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s NIFA was established to invest in and advance agricultural research, education and extension to solve societal challenges.

USDA’s Supplemental and Alternative Crops program supports the breeding, testing and development of superior performing canola and industrial hemp varieties and production practices that result in improved cost efficiencies, reduced grower risks and wider use in production systems.

Contact DeDecker at 989-225-3221 or dedecke5@msu.edu for more information.