I've decided to publish this diary because I feel strongly on the issue at hand, which is growing alternative crops.
The disappearance of family farms and the problems that small farmers face with keeping their farms going should be a big concern.
I have attempted to highlight my opinions on the subject in this diary. Feel free to add your thoughts. Again, I am still new to posting diaries and I am hoping I will get better at it over time.
First of all, I'm not anti-agriculture. I have always thought that farmers were supposed to be honest, hard-working people that shunned the idea of outside help and did whatever it took to get by in their profession.
I am aware that this is a naive view of agriculture, being that I have never been involved in it and I don't fully understand the costs of agriculture. Also, for many years, I listened to my father and his bitter opinions on agriculture in Vermont.
I would like to forget everything he said (because it's wrong anyway)and try to develop a better understanding of agriculture and issues that affect it.
I have also noticed so many small farms disappearing here in Vermont. I grew up in Swanton,Vermont, which is a rural town situated about 10 minutes from the border with Quebec. Farms have always been part of the landscape in that town. Over the years, more and more family farms have disappeared though.
I think it's bad for local economies when the smaller, family farms go out of business. I believe that one way to counter the loss of so many family farms is to offere alternate crops for farmers to grow and sell, such as hemp and soybeans.
I think that Vermont farmers ought to be able to grow industrial hemp. Yes, hemp. Why do I think this? First of all, hemp is a durable material in which over 25,000 different products can be made. Soybeans are another idea but I'd like to concentrate on hemp in this diary.
According to the North American Industrial Hemp Council , there are several states currently reviewing or proposing legislation related to industrial hemp, such as California, Oregeon and North Dakota.
According to this part from the NAIHC brochure,
George Washington and Thomas Jefferson both grew hemp.
Ben Franklin owned a mill that made hemp paper. Thomas
Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence on hemp
paper. Industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa) was grown in the
United States from the beginning of our nation’s history up
to the early 1950s. At that point, industrial hemp’s legal
status was changed when it was classified a dangerous drug.
Subsequently, the growing and manufacture of industrial
hemp products ended in the United States. Over 30 countries
are currently developing a hemp industry to meet international
fiber demands. The United States is not one of them.
So why isn't this more widespread? If our founding fathers could grow hemp and manufacture products out of hemp, why can't we? Why have we allowed the war on drugs to make it so that farmers cannot grow hemp?
According to VoteHemp,
What is the difference between hemp and marijuana?
Marijuana and hemp both come from the same species of plant, Cannabis sativa L., but from different varieties or cultivars. There are different varieties of Cannabis, just as Chihuahuas and wolves are different breeds of Canis lupus.
Marijuana is the flowering tops and leaves of psychoactive varieties of Cannabis that are grown for their high THC content.
Hemp, also referred to as industrial hemp, are low-THC varieties of Cannabis that are grown for their seeds and fiber. Hemp is grown legally in just about
While hemp and marijuana come from the same species of plant, hemp is not marijuana. The low-THC of hemp makes it totally pointless for recreational use.
More from the NAIHC brochure on industrial hemp:
A limiting factor in sustainable agriculture is the lack of
profitable rotation crops. Hemp could be quite profitable
as it fits well into the corn-soybean rotation. The University
of Minnesota has suggested that the corn-soybean rotation
is unsustainable. Farmers are losing money and equity on
the corn-soybean rotation. In North Dakota, farmers have
been making more by selling wheat straw to particleboard
plants than from the wheat itself. Due to the bulkiness of
hemp fiber, processing facilities will have to be built near
the production areas. This will provide new jobs and
investment in rural America
While there are initial investments that would need to be made in order to help farmers get started on growing industrial hemp (perhaps government subsidaries?), the benefits far outweight the costs.
Environmental benefits of industrial hemp:
The widespread use of industrial hemp could result in numerous
environmental benefits, including but not limited to:
(1) Less reliance on fossil fuels, (2) more efficient use of
energy, (3) less long-term atmospheric build-up of carbon
dioxide, (4) soil redemption, (5) forest conservation, (6)
agricultural pesticide use reduction, (7) dioxin and other
pollution reduction, and (8) landfill use reduction. Hemp is
superior to many other plants for a variety of use
Again, the facts speak for themselves. Why encourage more farmers to grow corn for ethanol when they can grow hemp instead?
This issue has been on my mind for a long time. I'm planning on doing more research into this issue and possibly contacting representatives. I believe that family farms are important to Vermont's economy. I believe our farmers ought to have a way to continue to make a living and at the same time, contribute to the environment in a positive way, growing hemp.
Time to get to work on contacting those representatives!
Update: There is a pending bill in the Vermont Legislature in regards to Industrial hemp: H.267
I am going to keep track of this bill for sure.