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Prairie home conservation

Helping conventional farmers go organic with hemp crops.

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When Canada legalized industrial hemp 10 years ago, some saw it as an opportunity to help farmers switch from conventional to organic production. Many family farmers are eager to get rid of chemicals but can’t survive a couple of lean years when yields might decline and they can’t yet claim higher prices for crops certified as organic.

“We wanted to see more organic farmers and we had a vehicle to show them how to do it,” says Mike Fata, president of Manitoba Harvest, a leading manufacturer of organic hemp products. By opening up a market for a new kind of food product, the Winnipeg-based firm provides an easy entrance for small growers who want to go sustainable. “Hemp is the perfect transition crop for farmers. It grows easily and doesn’t need pesticides. It will outgrow the weeds.”

Twenty-one Manitoba farm families—all of whom are now shareholders in the company—have moved from conventional to organic agriculture, producing hemp seed for Manitoba Harvest’s hemp oil, butter, kernels, protein powder and milk products. Manitoba Harvest products are available at natural-food stores in the United States, UK, Canada, Sweden and Japan or can be ordered from other places in Europe. The company had sales of $4 million in 2006, and processed 2 million tons of raw hemp seed. Hemp foods are a good source of protein and essential fatty acids like omega-3 oils. They also taste good, which may come as a surprise to anyone familiar with the bitter taste of “space cakes.” Manitoba Harvest products are made from the seeds and not the leaves of hemp plants, which have been bred to eliminate the natural compound tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, responsible for the marijuana high.

Industrial hemp is still illegal to grow in the U.S. and several other countries, but Manitoba Harvest is stepping in to fulfill the rising demand for hemp foods and provide an opening for new organic farmers.