Industrial Hemp Podcast

Fighting Powdery Mildew With UV Light & Breeding Hemp for Better Grain and Fiber

On this week’s Hemp Show, we’re back at Cornell Agritech for part three of my Cornell trilogy. In this episode I visit plant pathologist Jane Hamilton, who’s testing UVC light as a non-chemical tool against powdery mildew, and Luis Monserrate from Larry Smart’s breeding program, where seed size, yield and chemotype drive decisions for grain and fiber growers. Next, we walk through Jane’s UV cabinet and the powdery mildew chamber, talking dose windows and why powdery mildew (unlike some fungi) doesn’t have melanin to block UV. Then it's over to Luis for small-plot yield math, why bigger seeds can jump-start canopy closure and how chemotype IV lines can keep hempseed meal within ultra-low cannabinoid limits. Learn More Cornell Agritech https://cals.cornell.edu/cornell-agritech   Cornell Hemp Research https://hemp.cals.cornell.edu/   Ultraviolet light kills fire blight in apple blossoms without antibiotics https://cals.cornell.edu/news/2023/10/ultraviolet-light-kills-fire-blight-apple-blossoms-without-antibiotics   What Is Powdery Mildew? https://extension.psu.edu/powdery-mildew   AOSCA – Variety Certification https://www.aosca.org/ News Nuggets Flawed USDA Hemp Data Is Warping Market Signals https://hemptoday.net/flawed-data-in-usda-hemp-reports-is-warping-policy-investment-and-market-signals/   Trump Pushes Medicare Coverage for Hemp-Derived CBD https://www.cannabisbusinesstimes.com/cannabis-rescheduling/news/15768113/trump-promotes-hempderived-cbd-for-senior-health-care-in-shared-video Thanks to Our Sponsors HEMI – Hemp Education & Marketing Initiative / Goodness of Hemp https://hempinitiatives.org/   KP4 Hempcutter – Forever Green https://hempcutter.com/

Inside Cornell AgriTech: Germplasm, Robots and Hemp

On this week’s podcast, we continue our trip to Geneva, New York, for part two of the Cornell story. I spend some time with Christine Smart, director of Cornell AgriTech, and her husband Larry Smart, professor of plant breeding and genetics and head of Cornell’s hemp program. Christine takes me through the history of the Agritech campus — from its 1882 founding to its living plant libraries and cutting-edge robotics labs. We talk Liberty Hyde Bailey, the USDA germplasm repository, and a future where UV light replaces pesticides and robots roam the fields. Then Larry brings us inside Cornell’s hemp research: from gene editing for disease resistance to the painstaking process of seed multiplication. He shares his work on a CBG-only hemp line with zero THC and CBD, designed to open animal feed markets, and explains why F1 hybrids could unlock hemp’s yield potential the same way they did for corn. And stay tuned, because next week in part three we’ll hear from two of the rising stars in Cornell’s hemp program — PhD students Jane Hamilton and Luis Monserrate. Learn More Cornell University – Hemp Program https://hemp.cals.cornell.edu Cornell AgriTech https://cals.cornell.edu/cornell-agritech USDA National Clonal Germplasm Repository https://www.ars.usda.gov/northeast-area/geneva-ny/plant-genetic-resources-unit-pgru/ Yu Jiang Lab – Agricultural Robotics & Sensing https://cals.cornell.edu/yu-jiang Liberty Hyde Bailey Museum https://www.libertyhydebailey.org News Nuggets, from HempToday Emergency rules take effect in Texas, restricting hemp intoxicant sales to adults over 21 https://hemptoday.net/emergency-rules-take-effect-in-texas-restricting-hemp-intoxicant-sales-to-adults-over-21/ French co-op, leading European supplier of hemp planting seed, has a new director https://hemptoday.net/french-co-op-leading-european-supplier-of-hemp-planting-seed-has-a-new-director/ Kazakh government backs China deal as foreign investors eye neighbor’s hemp sector https://hemptoday.net/kazakh-government-backs-china-deal-as-foreign-investors-eye-neighbors-hemp-sector/ Thanks to our Sponsors Kings AgriSeeds https://www.kingsagriseeds.com IND HEMP https://indhemp.com

Grain & Fiber Hemp Field Day at Cornell 2025

On this week’s podcast, host Eric Hurlock travels to Geneva, New York, on the top of Seneca Lake to take part in Cornell’s Hemp Field day, held Thursday, Sept. 11. This episode covers both the morning and afternoon sessions for the field day. The day started in Jordan Hall on Cornell’s Agritech Campus, where hemp program director Larry Smart got things started with a reminder why we were there in the first place. “Hemp is an interesting crop, has a lot of potential, but there are some things that we just don’t understand about this crop,” he said. The morning session was focused mostly on hemp grain as a livestock feed. Cornell scientists presented their research on broiler chickens, dairy cows and horses. Andrew Bish from the Hemp Feed Coalition talked about the opportunity that hemp seed meal presents for farmers. “If 5% of the chickens are eating 20% of their diet in hemp seed meal, you need almost 275,000 acres of hemp grain produced in the United States,” he said. The morning session ended with Pennsylvania farmer Herb Grove from Brush Mountain Bison in Centre County, where he grows hemp grain and operates a bison feed lot and finishing operation. “We started the bison industry in 2011, and we started raising hemp in 2019. 2011, we had six head of bison. At the end of last year, we had 300 animals on feed." The afternoon session of the field day shifted from science to practice. Bob Pearce from the University of Kentucky talked about the S-1084 multistate trials, which bring together universities from Louisiana to Vermont to test hemp cultivars across latitudinal differences and growing conditions. "That’s the ultimate goal, making sure that a grower in New York knows which cultivars to pick for that location, and a grower in Kentucky or Tennessee has the opportunity to choose a cultivar that is well adapted to their conditions,” he said. There were equipment demonstrations, discussions with seed suppliers, and a very interesting talk from Lynn Sosnoskie, weed science specialist at Cornell, who, because of the lack of chemistry labeled for hemp, stressed the importance of non-herbicide methods of weed management, especially equipment clean-out. “We have to be focused on the weed seeds that we are moving from field to field, especially because we have Palmer amaranth in New York state now. We have waterhemp in New York state. These are two pigweed species. They are exceptionally competitive with our crops. They are spreading. You do not want to have one of these weeds get established in the fields where we have very few options of weed control,” she said. The day ended with a demonstration of the mobile decorticator. On this episode you will hear the voices of: Larry Smart, Cornell University Chuck Schmitt, New York Department of Agriculture & Markets Luis Monserrate, Cornell University Andrew Bish, Hemp Feed Coalition, Bish Enterprises Raj Kasula, Wenger Group Natalie Trottier, Cornell University Morgan Tweet, IND HEMP Xuedan Zhu, Cornell University Tom Overton, Cornell University Herb Grove, Brush Mountain Bison Lynn Sosnoskie, Cornell University Bob Pearce, University of Kentucky Jacob Bish, Cornell University Terry Moran, Kanda Hemp Robin Destiche, KonopiUS Corbett Mitteff, KonopiUS Reuben Stone, UniSeeds The trip to Cornell continues on the next episode with one-on-one interviews with Christine Smart, director of Cornell’s Agritech campus; Larry Smart, plant geneticist and head of Cornell's Hemp program; Luis Monserrate, doctoral candidate studying hemp fiber yields; and Jane Hamilton, a doctoral student studying the effects of UV light on powdery mildew on hemp. Learn More: Cornell University – Hemp Program https://hemp.cals.cornell.edu New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets https://agriculture.ny.gov New York State Office of Cannabis Management  https://cannabis.ny.gov Hemp Feed Coalition https://hempfeedcoalition.org Kreider Farms / Kreider Feeds https://www.kreiderfarms.com University of Kentucky  https://hemp.ca.uky.edu Kanda Hemp https://kandahemp.com UniSeeds https://uniseeds.ca KonopiUS https://konopius.com HempIT https://hempit.fr IND HEMP https://indhemp.com Bish Enterprises https://bishenterprise.com Hemp Harvest Works https://hempharvestworks.com Brush Mountain Bison https://brushmountainbison.com   News Nuggets from HempToday.net U.S. Democrats sign off on framework to rein in hemp intoxicants while protecting CBD https://hemptoday.net/u-s-democrats-sign-off-on-framework-to-rein-in-hemp-intoxicants-while-protecting-cbd/ Trump administration push to trim red tape leaves hemp industry still tangled in rules https://hemptoday.net/trump-administration-push-to-trim-red-tape-leaves-hemp-industry-still-tangled-in-rules/ Texas agencies directed to tighten oversight of hemp THC products under new order https://hemptoday.net/texas-agencies-directed-to-tighten-oversight-of-hemp-thc-products-under-new-order/ Thanks to our Sponsors IND HEMP https://indhemp.com Forever Green, distributors of the KP-4 Hemp Cutterhttps://www.hempcutter.com/ National Hemp Association (NHA) https://nationalhempassociation.org

The Godfather of Hempcrete: Steve Allin and the International Hemp Building Symposium

This week on the Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast, we continue our focus on the 13th International Hemp Building Symposium, happening October 3–5 at the Lower Sioux Indian Community in Morton, Minnesota. First we talk to Matt Marino from Homeland Hempcrete, who shares how his North Dakota company is scaling with structural hemp insulated panels and why he’s excited to be a sponsor and participant in this year’s symposium. Then we talk with Steve Allin, founder of the International Hemp Building Association and widely regarded as one of the godfathers of hempcrete. Speaking from his home in western Ireland, Steve reflects on decades of work building with hemp, his role in bringing the symposium to the United States, and why this year’s event is a critical gathering for the global hemp building community. Learn More International Hemp Building Symposium https://internationalhempbuilding.org/13th-international-hemp-building-symposium-registration/ Lower Sioux Indian Community https://www.lowersioux.com/ Homeland Hempcrete https://www.homelandhempcrete.com/ Stems Logic (Steve Allin’s company) https://stemslogic.com/ HempToday global news https://hemptoday.net/ Thanks to ours sponsor: IND HEMP https://indhemp.com/

Dallas Goldtooth and Danny Desjarlais Preview the International Hemp Building Symposium

This week on the Hemp Show we’re looking ahead to the 13th Annual International Hemp Building Symposium being held October 3–5 at the Lower Sioux Indian Community in Minnesota. It’s the first time this global event has ever been held in the United States, and it promises to be a gathering that blends culture, sovereignty and sustainability with hands-on demonstrations and international expertise. First we hear from Danny Desjarlais, Hemp Project Manager at Lower Sioux, about what this symposium means for his community and how a portion of the proceeds will support the building of a Dakota Language Immersion School. Then we call up Dallas Goldtooth — actor, activist, comedian and emcee of the Saturday night dinner — to talk about hemp, land, language and returning to traditional relationships with the natural world. Learn More International Hemp Building Association & Event Registration https://internationalhempbuilding.org/13th-international-hemp-building-symposium-registration/ Lower Sioux Indian Community https://lowersioux.com/ Reservation Dogs (FX/Hulu) https://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/reservation-dogs The 1491s on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/user/the1491s HempToday — global hemp industry news https://hemptoday.net/ Angel Food Bakery — MSP Airport Donuts https://angelfoodmn.com/ Thanks to Our Sponsors IND HEMP — family owned and mission driven, IND HEMP is working with farmers to grow hemp at scale and building a supply chain for raw materials to feed industry demand. Americhanvre — leaders in hempcrete construction across the United States and proud supporters of the 13th Annual International Hemp Building Symposium. Forever Green, distributors of the KP4 Hemp Cutter — introducing a revolution in hemp harvesting, setting a new standard for harvesting quality, speed and efficiency.