COLLEGE STATION, TX – Whenever an entrepreneur suggests explosive growth in one-year, researchers usually argue it will take ten times longer and although it may not take ten years to achieve a big breakthrough, the hemp industry in the U.S. is still in its infancy.
Dr. David Baltensperger is a Professor and Department Head at Texas A&M University and is leading the research for a crop other researchers say is stuck in the 1940s. He suggests that we’re close to an awakening of the ancient crop.
“Soybeans were hardly a crop in the United States when hemp became illegal and we quit growing it, and now it (soybeans) has become our largest crop” he explains.
On the research side, Baltensperger and his colleagues are using CRISPR/Cas9 technology to genetically control the levels of THC in fields, the compound that transforms hemp to marijuana. By removing the THC, farmers will be able to grow the crop with the assurance that the harvest will yield a legal mix of grain, oil, and fiber.
Unfortunately, he adds, the industry is stuck in an “egg or chicken” scenario where growers need more processing capacity to warrant more acres, while processors need more hemp to justify the investment in infrastructure.
(SOURCE: All Ag News)