{"id":111893,"date":"2015-06-04T15:50:17","date_gmt":"2015-06-04T21:50:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/hemp-corridor-sprouts-on-u-s-160\/"},"modified":"2015-06-04T15:50:17","modified_gmt":"2015-06-04T21:50:17","slug":"hemp-corridor-sprouts-on-u-s-160","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/hemp-corridor-sprouts-on-u-s-160\/","title":{"rendered":"Hemp corridor sprouts on U.S. 160"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Industrial
Industrial hemp harvested in Mancos last year by Scott Perez.<\/span>Cortez Journal file photo<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Along a 45-mile stretch of U.S. 160, a farmer, a biochemist and a manufacturer have partnered to help sprout a viable hemp industry in Southwest Colorado.<\/p>\n

The process starts in Mancos, where farmer Scott Perez planted three varieties of hemp seed this week. A second-year industrial hemp farmer, Perez hopes his three-quarter acre agrarian experiment helps to create a model for farmers across America.<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw a headline this week that indicated the outlook for hemp was hazy,\u201d said Perez. \u201cThat\u2019s simply not true. Industrial hemp is on the verge of becoming an agricultural revolution.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perez based his prediction, in part, after joining forces with biochemist Scott Ottersberg of Durango. Ottersberg is working to launch Green Lab Solutions, which would analyze hemp seeds to determine cannabidiol levels, or CBDs. There is mounting evidence that CBD oils can treat both cancer and epilepsy patients, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve always been interested in natural products to support cancer patients,\u201d said the former anti-cancer drug designer.<\/p>\n

After a laboratory analysis, the hemp would continue east along U.S. Highway 160 to Green Leaf Production Co. in Bayfield, where the seed would be processed into CBD oil.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur goal is to provide a safe product for consumers with a predictable clinical outcome,\u201d Ottersberg said.<\/p>\n

The partnership would be the first successful industrial hemp operation in Southwest Colorado. That could be welcome news for the families that have moved to Colorado seeking natural cannabis-based medications, Ottersberg said.<\/p>\n

Growing pains<\/p>\n

Despite the benefits, Ottersberg and Perez were quick to point out that many \u2013 from law-abiding citizens to state and national legislators \u2013 continue to hold onto misinformed perceptions about marijuana, which stymies the industry\u2019s potential. Hemp grown in Colorado, for example, must contain less than three-tenths of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana responsible for producing euphoric highs.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s absurd,\u201d said Perez. \u201cYou could smoke a whole bale of this stuff, and all you\u2019re going to get is a headache and a cough.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe grew hemp from the 16th century past World War II and all the way up to 1970,\u201d Perez said. \u201cI don\u2019t understand why we have to reinvent the wheel.\u201d<\/p>\n

Congress has declined to pass legislation that would remove hemp from the federal list of banned substances or provide farmers greater access to secure seed, yet Perez remains optimistic.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you believe in industrial hemp, then contact Congress and lobby,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Legalized in Colorado last year for the first time in more than 50 years, industrial hemp still faces hurdles. U.S. officials have approved academic-based research efforts in states that have revised hemp laws, but Perez said Colorado State University officials have not provided seed stock for test plots like his. And some seed suppliers are charging more than $2,500 per pound, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSeed is still definitely an issue,\u201d Perez said.<\/p>\n

Because hemp is included in the Controlled Substances Act, farmers face a loss of federal subsides, or worse, their farms, said Perez. He cautioned farmers not to \u201cjump in\u201d without \u201cjumping through\u201d protocols.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of farmers are waiting to see if I\u2019m going to get marched off in handcuffs,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Seeds of change<\/p>\n

Perez planted a half-pound of seed that he received from a friend last year. He then saved a half-pound of seed harvested from his crop, and relied on the generosity of other farmers.<\/p>\n

This week, he planted three hemp varieties, sowing them between rows of sunflowers and corn to combat cross-pollination as the nation celebrates Hemp History Week, June 1-7.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe seed I got last year tested with a 10 percent viability and a 5 percent viability in the field,\u201d Perez said. \u201cThis year, it tested at 80 percent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Perez has relied on irrigation water, saying dry land farming puts his small supply of seeds at risk. Though hemp is drought-resistant, it requires about 12 inches of water during its 90- to 100-day growing season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d love to be able to make some money growing hemp, but this year, I just want to find a strain that will work in our climate,\u201d said Perez.<\/p>\n

Perez, 63, grew up in a Midwest farm community. After receiving a graduate degree in natural resources from Cornell University a few years ago, he settled in Mancos.<\/p>\n

\u201cHemp is really good for soil restoration,\u201d he said. \u201cSo I became interested from the conservancy end of things.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2015, Colorado has licensed 2,637 acres for hemp production.<\/p>\n

tbaker@cortezjournal.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Farmer, biochemist, manufacturer join<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":111894,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5736,5735],"tags":[281,731,950,13,83,1938],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-111893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","category-news","tag-agriculture","tag-bayfield","tag-durango","tag-frontpage-lead","tag-mancos","tag-medicine"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111893","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=111893"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111893\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/111894"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=111893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=111893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=111893"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=111893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}