Reading Time: 3 minutes Leaders in Canada’s hemp industry were hoping an expert committee would recommend significant changes to hemp regulations so it could be treated the same as wheat, canola and other crops. That didn’t happen. Instead, the committee of experts reviewing the Cannabis Act barely mentioned hemp in its 91 page report published March 21.
Hemp sector disappointed new report ignores deregulation
Regulations, versatility pull hemp in different directions in West
Crop 'still struggling with reaching its full potential'
Reading Time: 3 minutes MarketsFarm — Accounting for 60 per cent of Canada’s 1,100 cultivation licenses as of 2020, according to Health Canada, Western Canada is the country’s most important region when it comes to hemp production. But while there are more products on store shelves, more cultivars than ever before and high prices for the crop, demand for […] Read more
Cannabis firms catch whiff of opportunity in Brazil
Canadian producers among those now supplying Brazilian market
Reading Time: 3 minutes Sao Paulo | Reuters — International cannabis companies are showing interest in Brazil, both its large consumer market for medicinal products and a proposal that could legalize planting of the crop. Major producers such as Colombia’s Clever Leaves and Canada’s Canopy Growth are developing and selling medicinal cannabis products to a Brazilian consumer segment estimated […] Read more
Hemp industry looking forward despite hurdles
Industry 'on the edge of turning'
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — The number of hemp acres grown in Canada, of which more than 80 per cent are on the Prairies, have ebbed and flowed over the past few years. In 2018, 41,200 acres were planted, according to Statistics Canada, but the total more than doubled the next year to 91,100. In 2020, that number […] Read more
Lighting up the hemp business
Could the timing finally be right for a Canadian hemp crop? Blue Sky Hemp Ventures is betting yes, based on a marriage of oil-industry strategies and hard-nosed farm smarts
Reading Time: 9 minutes It isn’t easy to make a business case for hemp. The crop has so much potential. But then, it has had such a checkered past too. Sure, there have been some successes, but farmers can’t be blamed for remembering the hemp co-operatives that bled red ink, or for recalling all the big talk about hemp […] Read more
Hemp poised for year of gains
Nationwide increase in acres expected
Reading Time: 2 minutes MarketsFarm — The hemp industry in Canada is set for a good year in 2021, according to Canadian Hemp Trade Association (CHTA) CEO Ted Haney. “It looks like we are looking at another 15 to 20 per cent increase in seeded acres nationally, which should take us over the 100,000-acre level for sure,” he said. […] Read more
Hemp 101 for growers
It’s now well established, with three potential markets and increased agronomic support
Reading Time: 4 minutes [UPDATED: Mar. 4, 2021] There were challenges for early hemp growers — limited markets, combining troubles and complex licensing requirements, but these problems have been reduced or eliminated. And while demand is not unlimited, it’s stable and growing every year. So if you’re looking for a profitable, easy-to-produce crop that’s also a good rotational option, […] Read more
Canopy Growth to close Saskatchewan pot plant
Ontario company stepping out of other international plays
Reading Time: 2 minutes A major indoor cannabis grow site at Yorkton, Sask. is the latest casualty as pot producer/retailer Canopy Growth adjusts its worldwide footprint. Smiths Falls, Ont.-based Canopy Growth, whose cannabis brands include Tweed, Tokyo Smoke, Van der Pop and Spectrum Therapeutics, announced Thursday it will shut down its Tweed Grasslands production facility at Yorkton to “further […] Read more
Canopy Growth may face challenges offloading assets, CEO says
Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — Canada’s biggest cannabis producer, Canopy Growth Corp., could face challenges offloading assets as it seeks to winnow its facilities down to focus on its most lucrative markets and products, its CEO told Reuters. The company, which reported a smaller-than-expected third-quarter loss on Friday, is conducting a “thorough strategic review” of its production facilities […] Read more
For many U.S. farmers who planted hemp, CBD boom leaves bitter taste
Reading Time: 3 minutes Reuters – Dan Maclure planted eight acres of hemp on his Vermont farm for the first time this year, aiming to cash in on the exploding demand for CBD, a derivative of the plant reputed to ease anxiety and other ills without the high of its close cousin, marijuana. He persevered when some of his hemp plants grew white […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
