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Hemp can diversify operations as farmers face a down farm economy

Mark Boyer is the first Indiana farmer to grow industrial hemp in a production setting since World War II.

The northwestern Indiana farmer was able to grow hemp this year through a research agreement with Purdue University.

“This past growing season I was able to secure a permit to grow for-research industrial hemp on my farm and i grew 12 acres,” He says. “I was able to do hemp seed oil which differs from CBD oil in that it’s a culinary oil and it’s extracted from a different part of the plant.”

At least 38 states considered legislation related to hemp in 2018.

Boyer says hemp would help farmers diversify their operation as they face a down farm economy.

“This is not going to be a commodity crop replacement,” he says. “This simply is something that will add diversity and another crop to our rotation.”

Boyer grows corn, soybeans, and wheat. He also operates a cold press edible oil processing facility where oil crops are processed and botted for retail. Right now, that oil comes from sunflowers and canola seeds. Someday, Boyer hopes the mix might include hemp oil.

Boyer spoke to Brownfield at the 2018 Indiana Farm Bureau State Convention.

Audio: Mark Boyer, Indiana farmer