HEMP MARKETS

[farmerfudd]

The crop is in the bag. After a very good looking crop and a not so easy harvest,both uso varieties seem to yield the same. To date all seed has been spoken for...even an offer to prepay for some,now thats refreshing news considering ther's not a bushel of hrsw moving. I'm still waiting for some kind of commitment to the fibre, but lots of interest.
Is there any agriville readers in the buissness??

[countryguy]

Good to hear from you again Farmerfudd.I was just wondering the other day about how your hemp harvest was this year.

We had 150 acres of USO 14 this year.We were bone dry all summer and the crop only got to no more than 5 to 6 feet high.What a pleasure to harvest!Did the whole field without a glitch.I estimated before harvesting that we'd be lucky to get 200 pds an acre out of it but we ended up harvesting 800.For once a pleasant surprise!

The crop is under production contract and will move in lots throughout the year.The fibre will stay over winter and then be knocked down and burned in the spring.I won't even think about pulling out the baler for this stuff until I see a fibre plant on the ground.

I must say that this crop is one of the few things in agriculture that really excites me.

[farmerfudd]

Hey countryguy that is a very good yield. In years past the propaganda on hemp states 1000 lbs./ac is realistic. To me thats like getting 50 bu canola, 1 in 20 years. where are you located? 5-6ft. hemp is a treat for harvestability. I got hailed out one year and it only got 4-5 ft. It was easy to harvesrt but seed yield was way down. What color of combine do you use? I've had wrapping problems with JD 8820s And again with massey 8680s. seems the 9600s have less problems due to a drum instead of a shaft on the feeder chain. Don't be affraid to bale the fibre even in the spring. I think there can be some good value very soon.

[countryguy]

Hi Farmerfudd.We do our farming battles in western Manitoba.We use a 9610 which we take out the feeder chains and install a different feeder chain on which a rubber belt the whole width of the feeder house bolts on to.It virtually eliminates any feeder house wrapping.Guys who go without this usually get some wrapping problems on the top shaft.My two basic rules for harvesting are to never wait until the crop is overly ripe and to never drive over fibre that has been through the combine and with that harvest is basically trouble free.

There is a guy out here that in his first year with the crop somehow managed to harvest 1800 pds per acre of seed.It was a small plot though and he hasn't come near to that again.I think it was a world record and I think he might be in the Guiness book for it.

As for the fibre I guess I have all winter to think about it but unless there's at least some hope of selling it around here she'll probably go up in smoke.

[farmerfudd]

countryguy;
I had to do the same on my f/h. If your part of the parkland group I've might've met you in the pegg. I thought Man.Ag were gonna move quickly with some infrustructure money for ag fibre. I'm in n/e Alta. the buzz is fibre while i believe Sask. is ethenol.