Welcome to CropCast Conversations. On today’s episode Mark is joined by Iain Riddell. Iain was a consultant and project manager with SAC Consulting for 45 years, before becoming self-employed and operating under Graystones Consulting. Iain’s work focuses on agricultural supply chains and his main interest is industrial hemp, which will be the focus of this episode. The global market for hemp is expected to quadruple by 2030 and as markets here evolve, there is great potential for Scotland’s farmers to reap the benefits.
Hemp was actually grown in Scotland in the Middle Ages for rope and textile production, before it became more economic to import, to make ropes and sails for ships. It has recently attracted interest as a new arable crop as more uses for hemp become viable, including fibre/shiv for insulation and boarding in house construction and seeds used for cold pressed oil and food health products, plus many other uses. Hemp has also been shown to improve soil structure and quality, store CO2 and improve biodiversity and could play an important role in reducing Scotland’s greenhouse gas emissions. There is potential for this highly versatile crop to be a profitable break crop for farmers as demand increases for biobased materials to replace products derived from fossil fuels.
Industrial hemp is used across sectors such as agriculture, automotives, bio-energy, construction, food and beverages, furniture, paper, personal care, recycling and textiles. Several years field crop experience in Angus and the Borders, and hemp crop trials in Scotland in 2024 has confirmed that the crop grows well in our climate.
Episode Timestamps
01.23 Introducing Iain Riddell
02.50 Potential uses for hemp as an industrial crop
03.46 What do we mean by ‘industrial hemp’
05.45 Historical context
10.45 Growing hemp for fibre
12.17 Hemp – what’s currently going on in the UK
17.09 What we learned from growing hemp in the rotation
22.48 Retting process
28.32 Emerging hemp markets and potential uses
33.42 Hemp seed industry
35.26 Phytoremediation and the advantage of deep tap roots
37.23 Biodiversity benefits
Resources
The Potential of the Hemp Crop in Scotland | Helping farmers in Scotland
Advancing a sustainable Scottish supply chain for industrial hemp and co-products
British Hemp Alliance
IndiNature – Natural fibre construction insulation
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/industrial-hemp-licensing-guidance/industrial-hemp-licensing-factsheet
The Rowett Institute | The University of Aberdeen
Contact:
Mark.Bowsher-Gibbs@sac.co.uk
Graystonesconsulting308@gmail.com (Iain Riddell)
For more information, visit www.FAS.scot
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Feb 17 202640 m