Industrial Hemp Podcast

Eric Hurlock, Digital Editor
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Lancaster Farming newspaper editors talk to farmers and experts about industrial hemp.

  1. 6d ago ·  Bonus

    Colin Steddy — Soil, Carbon, and Grassroots Farming Down Under

    This is part five of a ten-part podcast series documenting the European Industrial Hemp Association's 23rd Annual Conference in Poznan, Poland, at the Institute of Fiber Plants and Medicinal Medicine, June 10-12. Colin Steddy is a grassroots farmer from Western Australia who got into hemp in 2005 after selling his farm following two droughts and a divorce. He's a no-till advocate, a carbon thinker and someone who speaks from the heart about soil biology and systems thinking. "Everything affects something else. So you gotta understand when you make one decision what around it gets affected because it's not a single thing that makes things work," Steddy said. Steddy grew up on a sheep farm south of Perth, learned to shear, and spent decades in cropping and controlled traffic farming. He's been knocked down three times by deals worth five million dollars or more that fell through — each time he picked himself up. At 42, he lost his farm and had to start over. Hemp gave him that second chance. What draws Steddy to the Poznań conference isn't theory. It's reality. "They're not talking about s*** and they're not talking about the warm and fuzzies, they're talking about the things that happen and the obstacles they're faced," he said. He points to a Ukrainian hemp processor whose buildings were bombed, who lost power for three months, but kept moving forward. Real people doing real things — not scientists studying irrelevant data. On carbon credits, Steddy is clear: they're icing on the cake, not the foundation. Carbon credit schemes are political and can disappear overnight. The real work is building soil organic matter through farming practices you should be doing anyway. His advice to farmers: find a partner who covers baseline costs and shares credit returns. Get your baseline established early, before you start your regenerative journey, so you capture the financial benefit. And remember biochar isn't just a home for soil biology — it's a condominium. But you have to stock it with food: minerals, nutrients and plants. Everything affects something else. Learn More Hemp Inside https://hempinside.com.au The Hemp Corporation http://thehempcorp.com.au iHemp NSW https://ihempnsw.org.au Institute of Natural Fibers and Medicinal Plants (IWNIRZ) https://iwnirz.pl Institute of Natural Fibers and Medicinal Plants (IWNIRZ) iwnirz.pl European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA) eiha.org/ EIHA Conference eiha-conference.org/ Thanks to Our Sponsors Condor Seed condorseed.com HEMI — The Hemp Education and Marketing Initiative thegoodnessofhemp.org Bish Enterprises — FiberCut Hemp Harvesting bishenterprise.com/fibercut 1937 International 1937international.com

    15 min

  2. 6d ago ·  Bonus

    Jan Slaski — Hemp Breeding on the Canadian Prairies

    This is part four of a ten-part podcast series documenting the European Industrial Hemp Association's 23rd Annual Conference in Poznan, Poland, at the Institute of Fiber Plants and Medicinal Medicine, June 10-12. Jan Slaski, hemp researcher and plant breeder at InnoTech Alberta, has spent nearly a quarter-century developing industrial hemp on the Canadian prairies. He came to Canada from Poland in 1993 and started hemp research in 2001, testing nearly 90 varieties from around the world to find what worked on the Canadian prairies. His team at InnoTech Alberta addresses the entire value chain — from seed to final product — across genetics, agronomy, processing and engineering. But Slaski's real battle has been cultural, not agronomic. People conflate industrial hemp (low-THC fiber crops) with cannabis (high-THC intoxicating plants). Even at trade shows, visitors holding hemp seeds ask if they'll get high. "This thing between hemp and cannabis, because you know, just like a word matters, how people perceive reality, you know they perceive through words, right?" he said. For 25 years, Slaski has been destigmatizing industrial hemp — fighting regulatory confusion and consumer misunderstanding. His current focus is artificial intelligence applied to hemp breeding. Using drone technology and computer vision, his team is developing tools to automatically identify male plants in seed production — work currently done by hand. Beyond genetics, Slaski emphasizes that reliable feedstock matters most. In Canada, hemp breaks disease cycles that devastate canola. Farmers generate income while improving soil health. The conference message: industrial hemp has moved from abstract "world-saving" rhetoric to practical business. Learn More InnoTech Alberta https://www.inotechalberta.ca International Seed Standards Global Congress https://www.worldseed.org Institute of Natural Fibers and Medicinal Plants (IWNIRZ) https://iwnirz.pl Institute of Natural Fibers and Medicinal Plants (IWNIRZ) iwnirz.pl European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA) eiha.org/ EIHA Conference eiha-conference.org/ Thanks to Our Sponsors Condor Seed condorseed.com HEMI — The Hemp Education and Marketing Initiative thegoodnessofhemp.org Bish Enterprises — FiberCut Hemp Harvesting bishenterprise.com/fibercut 1937 International 1937international.com

    24 min

  3. 6d ago ·  Bonus

    Estelle Delangle — Building a Whole-Plant Hemp Bioeconomy

    This is part three of a ten-part podcast series documenting the European Industrial Hemp Association's 23rd Annual Conference in Poznan, Poland, at the Institute of Fiber Plants and Medicinal Medicine, June 10-12. Estelle Delangle, director of the Hemp European Hub in Troyes, France, frames the hemp challenge differently than most: The material isn't the problem, the world is. "The world is not ready for hemp. Today, when you use hemp in textile, for example, you have to make it look like something else. You have to make it look like cotton. You have to make it look like wool. You have to make it look like linen or flax," she said. Delangle has spent six years building the Hemp European Hub — a cooperative company that coordinates complex, cross-sector projects across Europe and beyond. The Hub isn't a traditional industry cluster or a government agency. It's a working laboratory for what Delangle calls "cooperative bioeconomy applied to hemp." The European hemp model, she explains, rests on three pillars: farmers who built their own markets and machines; price stability that makes the sector resilient; and whole-plant utilization — fiber for textiles, grain for food, hurd for bedding and leaves for extraction. No waste. "We are trying to do at the hub is to act stone by stone on those socio-technical obstacles," Delangle said, describing her approach to regulatory change, consumer perception and cross-sector cooperation. "Time is key. You don't change the world overnight." The Hub hosts the World Hemp Forum every two years in Troyes, drawing 300 participants from around the world. The next edition is November 24–26, 2026. Learn More Hemp European Hub (Pôle Européen du Chanvre) https://www.pole-europeen-chanvre.eu World Hemp Forum 2026 https://www.pole-europeen-chanvre.eu/world-hemp-forum La Chanvrière — Hemp Cooperative https://www.lachanvriere.com InterChanvre — French Hemp Industry Organization https://www.interchanvre.org Institute of Natural Fibers and Medicinal Plants (IWNIRZ) iwnirz.pl European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA) eiha.org/ EIHA Conference eiha-conference.org/ Thanks to Our Sponsors Condor Seed condorseed.com HEMI — The Hemp Education and Marketing Initiative thegoodnessofhemp.org Bish Enterprises — FiberCut Hemp Harvesting bishenterprise.com/fibercut 1937 International 1937international.com

    23 min

  4. 6d ago ·  Bonus

    Witold Czesiak — Professionalizing Hemp Through Genetics and Licensing

    This is part two of a ten-part podcast series documenting the European Industrial Hemp Association's 23rd Annual Conference in Poznan, Poland, at the Institute of Fiber Plants and Medicinal Medicine, June 10-12. Witold Czeszak, co-founder and head of the Polish Hemp Program at the Institute of Natural Fibers and Medical Plants, talks about Polish hemp genetics, the importance of IP protection and why he fought hard to bring the European Industrial Hemp Conference to the Institute. "I brought to the table new blood. I brought here representatives of huge companies because in general my idea is to professionalize the sector so to scale it up, keeping of course quality on the highest level," he said. Poland has been at the epicenter of hemp in Europe for decades, and with genetics like Hanola and Białobrzeskie coming out of Czesak's breeding program, Polish varieties have become standard fiber genetics around the world. Learn More Institute of Natural Fibers and Medicinal Plants (IWNIRZ) iwnirz.pl European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA) eiha.org/ EIHA Conference eiha-conference.org/ Thanks to Our Sponsors HEMI — The Hemp Education and Marketing Initiative thegoodnessofhemp.org Bish Enterprises — FiberCut Hemp Harvesting bishenterprise.com/fibercut 1937 International 1937international.com Condor Seed condorseed.com

    14 min

  5. 6d ago ·  Bonus

    Ken Elliott & Rusty Peterson — What US Hemp Can Learn From Europe

    This is part one of a ten-part podcast series documenting the European Industrial Hemp Association's 23rd Annual Conference in Poznan, Poland, at the Institute of Fiber Plants and Medicinal Medicine, June 10-12. The series starts with a casual conversation with Ken Elliott and Rusty Peterson from IND HEMP in Montana about the conference itself and how it compares to hemp events back home. "The professionalism that they bring, the fact that they've been doing things instead of talking about things in Europe is a big difference," Elliott said. Both Elliott and Peterson spoke at the conference on topics ranging from the state of hemp in the U.S. to how carbon and carbon markets will shape the future of hemp farming, processing and manufacturing. Learn More IND Hemp indhemp.com European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA) eiha.org/ EIHA Conference eiha-conference.org/ Institute of Natural Fibers and Medicinal Plants (IWNIRZ) iwnirz.pl Thanks to Our Sponsors! HEMI — The Hemp Education and Marketing Initiative thegoodnessofhemp.org Bish Enterprises — FiberCut Hemp Harvesting bishenterprise.com/fibercut 1937 International 1937international.com Condor Seed condorseed.com

    21 min

  6. Jun 10

    Meet Ursa Alta, The New Low-THC Fiber Cultivar from Cornell AgriTech

    This week on the Hemp Show, Larry Smart returns to talk about Ursa Alta, the new low-THC hemp variety that Cornell AgriTech has released for commercial production. The variety has been seven years in the making. "We had come up with a new cultivar that was distinct, uniform and stable. That's our definition of a cultivar," Smart said. Ursa Alta, which means tall bear and is named for the Cornell mascot, is a fiber variety with low THC and a high hurd ratio. While bred for conditions in New York state, Smart said the variety excels in southern latitudes as well. "This variety does grow very well in Texas," Smart said. "My collaborator, Calvin Trostel, is based in Lubbock, at about the same latitude as where they're growing for Panda Biotech. So we think it will grow quite well in that area and yield quite well for them." Panda Biotech, owner of the second largest hemp processing facility in the world, is based in Wichita Falls, TX. Cornell has licensed seed multiplication to Condor Seed Production in Yuma, Arizona. Condor has a deep history of vegetable seed production — onions, artichokes, brassicas — and brings more than 40 years of experience to the work. Smart provided Condor with 110 pounds of breeder seed to start the multiplication process, with an ambitious target ahead: "to scale up the seed from 110 pounds of breeder seed to hopefully by next year, somewhere between three and 400,000 pounds of seed. And then they can start really selling it," Smart said. Listen to show to learn more. Learn More  Condor Seed Production https://condorseed.com Cornell AgriTech Hemp Breeding Program https://cuaes.cals.cornell.edu/stations/cornell-agritech/ AOSCA — Association of Official Seed Certifying Agencies https://www.aosca.org USDA Plant Variety Protection Office https://www.ams.usda.gov/plant-variety-protection HempWood https://hempwood.com Sponsor Links IND Hemp — Fort Benton, Montana. Fiber, food, feed. https://indhemp.com Forever Green — Distributors of the KP4 Hemp Cutter. https://hempcutter.com Summary: In this episode of the Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast, host Eric Hurlock speaks with Dr. Larry Smart, plant geneticist and director of hemp breeding at Cornell AgriTech in Geneva, New York, about the official release of Ursa Alta, a certified low-THC industrial fiber hemp cultivar developed over seven years of research and field trials. The conversation covers the cultivar development process, AOSCA seed certification, Plant Variety Protection, and the URSA trademark, offering growers and industry professionals a detailed look at what it means to release a new hemp variety in today's regulatory environment. Larry Smart explains the seed multiplication process that took Ursa Alta from 110 pounds of breeder seed to a projected 300,000 to 400,000 pounds of certified planting seed, with Condor Seed Production in Yuma, Arizona playing a central role. The episode details the agronomic challenges of desert hemp seed production, including heat-related pollen failure, photoperiod complications, and extreme weather events, and explains why the September-to-January growing window in Arizona emerged as the viable solution for large-scale seed multiplication. The episode also addresses hemp cultivar intellectual property, seed licensing, and the contrast between open-source wheat breeding culture and the more restricted IP environment in hemp. Larry Smart discusses end markets for Ursa Alta fiber including hempcrete construction, textile applications, and industrial fiber processing, with growers in Montana, Texas, and South Dakota identified as early adoption targets. Additional topics include the Farm Bill's certified seed provisions, zero-cannabinoid hemp variety development, and the role of AOSCA-certified seed in navigating hemp's evolving federal regulatory landscape. The episode opens with a tribute to Dr. Bob Pierce of the University of Kentucky, a pioneer in American hemp agronomy, and closes with a seven-year callback to Larry Smart's first appearance on the show in 2019, when the vision for what would become Ursa Alta was first discussed publicly. This episode is essential listening for hemp farmers, seed producers, plant breeders, fiber processors, and anyone tracking the development of industrial hemp as a certified, scalable agricultural commodity in the United States.

    37 min
  7. Can the Goodness of Hemp Act Fix What's Broken in Hemp?

    Jun 5

    Can the Goodness of Hemp Act Fix What's Broken in Hemp?

    This week Morgan Tweet returns to the Hemp Show to talk about the Goodness of Hemp Act, a draft legislation she's confident will set the broader hemp industry on the path toward sensible regulation. She was on the show last November, about a week after the November surprise that we now know as the McConnell language was slipped into the appropriations bill in the eleventh hour. Tweet is the interim executive director of HEMI, the Hemp Education and Marketing Initiative. The McConnell language got everyone's attention, not only because it seemed to answer the questions around intoxicating cannabinoids once and for all, but by doing so, the bill wipes out most of the hemp cannabinoid industry, intoxicating or otherwise. "For most folks that are in the floral cannabinoid sector," Tweet said, "this has been basically an extinction event." The clock is ticking. November is on its way. Tweet is back with a draft piece of legislation called the Goodness of Hemp Act, a campaign and a call to build community. Can the Goodness of Hemp save the day? Listen to the episode and find out. Learn More The Goodness of Hemp Campaign https://thegoodnessofhemp.org HEMI — Hemp Education Marketing Initiatives https://hempinitiatives.org IND Hemp https://indhemp.com National Hemp Association https://nationalhempassociation.org Thanks to Our Sponsors Americhanvre https://americhanvre.com Forever Green https://hempcutter.com The Goodness of Hemp Act is a 2026 draft hemp legislation proposal developed by HEMI, the Hemp Education Marketing Initiatives, in coordination with stakeholders across the hemp industry including grain and fiber producers, hemp beverage companies, cannabinoid processors, and hemp farming advocates. The bill proposes a comprehensive federal regulatory framework for hemp that addresses cultivation, food products, dietary supplements, and intoxicating hemp-derived beverages under three separate federal agencies — the USDA, the FDA, and the TTB, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. The Goodness of Hemp Act has been presented to congressional staffers and reviewed by FDA as part of ongoing hemp policy negotiations ahead of a critical November 2026 legislative deadline created by the McConnell appropriations language enacted in late 2024. The 3.7 milligram THC per serving interim limit proposed in the Goodness of Hemp Act is drawn from Johns Hopkins University research on THC impairment thresholds and is referenced in White House hemp policy discussions led by Heidi Overton, director of White House drug policy. The 3.7 mg per serving limit is designed to distinguish responsible hemp-derived consumer products from intoxicating products that the bill's authors argue should be regulated like alcohol under the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. The interim limit would defer final rulemaking to the FDA while establishing a workable and scientifically grounded starting point for Congress, hemp farmers, hemp processors, hemp beverage producers, and CBD product manufacturers navigating the post-McConnell regulatory landscape. Morgan Tweet is the CEO of IND Hemp, a grain and fiber hemp company based in Fort Benton, Montana, and serves as interim executive director of HEMI, the Hemp Education Marketing Initiatives. Tweet has been a leading voice in hemp policy advocacy since the 2018 Farm Bill and has worked with the National Hemp Association, the Hemp Feed Coalition, and other industry organizations on hemp regulation, hemp marketing, hemp farmer support, and federal regulatory frameworks for hemp cultivation and hemp-derived products. The Goodness of Hemp Act also includes language allowing hemp seed ingredients as approved feed for companion animals and horses, a provision developed in coordination with the Hemp Feed Coalition, and directs a portion of federal excise tax revenue back into hemp farmers, hemp research, and hemp supply chain infrastructure. The Goodness of Hemp awareness campaign is a grassroots marketing and education initiative launched by HEMI in 2026 to build public and legislative support for responsible hemp regulation ahead of the November 2026 federal deadline. The campaign is designed to educate consumers, retailers, policymakers, and agricultural stakeholders about the broad value of hemp across food, fiber, wellness, construction, animal care, and emerging product categories including hemp-derived beverages. The Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast has covered hemp policy, hemp farming, hempcrete, hemp fiber, hemp grain, hemp seed, and hemp-derived cannabinoid products since 2018, making it one of the longest-running editorial hemp podcasts in the United States. Farmers, hemp businesses, hemp advocates, and hemp consumers are encouraged to share their goodness of hemp story at thegoodnessofhemp.org.

    34 min

  8. May 29

    Meet NHA's New Director Sully Sullivan

    This week on the Hemp Show we meet Sully Sullivan. He's the new executive director at the National Hemp Association — and what a time to be taking the helm of a hemp association. So much is up in the air right now. What about the November federal deadline that will ban most hemp-derived THC products, from gummies and beverages to most full-spectrum CBD? Yeah, it's just sort of hanging out there, flapping in the breeze. What's going to happen? Will there be an extension? Will there be new legislation? How will all this play out? No one knows just yet. Sully Sullivan is aware he has his work cut out for him as the new director of the NHA. "I feel like we're at a precipice right now, or a crossroads perhaps, where we are, as a country, getting the regulations right," he said. He sees what he calls "fracturedness" in the industry and the cacophony of voices in the advocacy space. "There's a lot of voices and some are saying the same thing. Some are saying different things. Some things don't match up at all," he said. For over a decade, Sullivan has been active in hemp policy in his home state of Arizona as a leader of the Hemp Industry Trade Association of Arizona, so he's no stranger to conflict, hard conversations and compromise. "I feel all of my work over the last 10 years is coalescing right now," he said. "Like this is what it was all for. This all has manifested for this moment. So I take it very seriously, and it's almost spiritual in a sense. I am in the right place at the right time. I'm the person to fill these shoes and help push this industry forward." Listen to the whole show to hear what else Sully Sullivan has to say. Learn More National Hemp Association https://nationalhempassociation.org Hemp Industry Trade Association of Arizona https://www.hita-az.org/ News Nugget: 3 US House Republicans Attempt to Thwart Intoxicating Hemp Product Ban https://www.cannabisbusinesstimes.com/hemp/news/15826349/3-us-house-republicans-attempt-to-thwart-intoxicating-hemp-product-ban Thanks to Our Sponsors King's AgriSeeds https://kingsagriseeds.com IND Hemp https://indhemp.com Forever Green https://hempcutter.com

    29 min
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About

Lancaster Farming newspaper editors talk to farmers and experts about industrial hemp.

Information

  • Creator
    Eric Hurlock, Digital Editor
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2026
  • Episodes
    389
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2025 - Lancaster Farming
  • Show Website
    Industrial Hemp Podcast

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