THGA is Looking for a Few Good Partners!
Texas Hemp Growers Association (THGA) is looking for partners to help us grow. We are farmers who love the land we steward and want to be a part of the solution by providing you with a local source for food that also offers alternatives to single use plastics, building products, biocomposites, paper products, and so much more. As a consumer, we know you also want to be a part of this solution.
To that end, THGA have some immediate needs for the 2021 growing season. We are facing obstacles such as lack of insurance, banks reluctant to lend, and many unknowns in how and what to grow to fit the needs. Research needs to be done on our farms. We need our universities to research and breed varieties that require less water (not GMO).
We can’t get going without your help. There is no time to waste. The need is now, but so is the solution.
Hemp Problems
Farmers
- Can’t get insurance the first year hemp is grown
- Know hemp will grow on the High Plains, but which varieties grow best here?
- Bankers are reluctant to lead before we know what varieties will grow on the High Plains
- Determining which varieties are best for plastics replacements or building products
- Hemp doesn’t qualify for subsidies, which are the difference between what it costs to farm a crop and what the market will pay. It is what keeps consumer cost low.
Consumers
- Want a sustainable alternative to plastics
- Want to live and work in buildings safe for people and the earth
- Are willing to pay a fair price for alternatives if it’s also a reasonable price
- Corporations won’t provide greener options to consumers if they cost more.
- Want to know where food and plant-based products come from and how they are grown
Environment
- Climate change has created a change in our weather patterns. It doesn’t rain like it once did.
- We must preserve our most precious resource: water.
- Carbon sequestering is vital for the environment, and hemp is really good at that.
Hemp Benefits
Farmers
- New option for a financially sustainable crop
- New option for crop rotation
- New commodity = less of other commodities grown = less supply = higher prices for farmers on their other crops
- Carbon Credit programs will provide hemp farmers with a new value stream when growing hemp
- Farmers could have ownership in new end products: buy direct from farmers.
Consumers
- Move the consumer and the farmer closer together: buy paper, building supplies, green plastics directly from the farmer.
- You know where your products are coming from.
- You help create the demand that builds a local supply chain.
- You ensure that growing crops that are sustainable for the earth is a financially viable option for farmers.
Environment
- Carbon capture through hemp farming and hemp building products
- Breeding (not GMO) of hemp can create drought-tolerant choices that save our most precious commodity, water.
- Farmers can grow solutions to the plastics problem, from overhead door bins in planes to car door panels and many items in between.
How Do I Join the Movement for a Sustainable Future for Both the Earth and the Farmer?
- Learn what choices a farmer faces to ensure they make a living.
- Tell big retailers you want a solution to the plastics problem. Demand a change.
- Support builders experimenting with green building options.
- Join organizations that support research in farming that sustains both the environment and the family farm: Texas Hemp Growers Association, US Hemp Growers Association, Midwest Hemp Counsel, Hemp Feed Coalition
- Contribute to research directly!
Texas High Plains seed trials are set to begin in March 2021, and we need your help to do it!
Ready to make your pledge?
Please fill out the form below
About Seed Trials
What
Seed trials are small plots that farmers set aside to grow and test new seed varieties. It costs about $250,000 to run a proper seed trial.
Why
Before growing acres and acres of a new seed, farmers need to know how a plant will respond to their environment by answering questions such as:
- Will it grow? Some hemp varieties from northern latitudes would only grow a few inches in Texas.
- We need to know which varieties will grow the best in the South Plains.
- Will this variety give us the fiber in quality and quantity we need for end products? Each product requires specific amounts and specifications.
- What are the needs of this plant? Water, weed control, nutrients?
- What will hemp put back into the soil? Will it improve the yield of the crops that are grown the next year?
How
- Ten volunteer farmers will grow 30 acres of multiple varieties from China, Ukrainian, and Mediterranean countries.
- They will be paid up front per acre to guarantee they will not lose the income from those acres.
- Farmers will cover all growing costs.
- Each variety will be tested separately to discover its advantages and disadvantages.
