Industrial Hemp Seed Sales Manager Shares Growing Tips with South Dakota Farmers

In 2019, Horizon Hemp Seeds Sales and Marketing Manager Derrick Dohmann and his team closely monitored their first crop of industrial hemp seed. During the 2019 South Dakota Farmers Union (SDFU) State Convention held in Aberdeen, Dec. 10-11, farmers and ranchers from across the state were able to glean valuable growing tips from what Dohmann learned.

“With Trade War we need to find commodities that can be sold domestically. And industrial hemp is a commodity that has a lot of domestic demand, which is why we wanted to hear from someone growing it,” says Doug Sombke, SDFU President.

With a THC level of less than .016 (legally industrial hemp needs to be .3 or less) the Madison, S.D.-based seed company, Horizon Hemp Seeds, hopes to help fill the growing demand for industrial hemp seed by raising certified seed. Planted 20 pounds to the acre in a 200-acre field in the Red River Valley of North Dakota, the industrial hemp seed raised in 2019 will be sold to farmers across the region…just not in South Dakota.

To date, South Dakota is one of only three states industrial hemp is not legal to raise. In 2019 the South Dakota Senate failed to override Governor Noem’s veto of House Bill 1191 after the 2018 Farm Bill directed USDA to establish a national regulatory framework for hemp production in the United States. In October, the USDA established the U.S. Domestic Hemp Production Program through an interim final rule. This rule outlines provisions for the USDA to approve plans submitted by States and Indian Tribes for the domestic production of hemp. It also establishes a Federal plan for producers in States or territories of Indian tribes that do not have their own USDA-approved plan.

If South Dakota’s farmers and ranchers are able to plant the crop in 2020, Dohmann says the low-input crop can yield between 1200 and 1500 pounds of industrial hemp per acre or about $500-$600-an acre. Seed costs about $250 per unit.

No need for herbicide
A hearty crop, Dohmann says they planted the crop in 15-inch rows, saw emergence within five days and complete canopy within two weeks. “In the U.S. there is not a herbicide approved to spray, but you don’t need weed controls because within two weeks the plant cuts off sunlight. It is truly incredible to see it happen.”

Planting depth is the only aspect of raising the crop which Dohmann says growers need to monitor closely. “Planting no deeper than half an inch is critical with this crop. I have heard horror stories of folks planting an inch deep and nothing comes up.”

Because it does not require much water, Dohmann says the excessive moisture throughout the 2019 growing season resulted in lower than anticipated yields.

And although the plant grows to heights of 90-inchs, its foot-long taproot anchors it well. “I was curious how it would handle 40-to-50-mile-an-hour wind. We had hardly anything flipped over in the field. If it was blown down, it did come back,” Dohmann says.

One of the state’s largest farm organizations, in 2020 SDFU will support Lee Qualm, House Majority Leader and Chair of Industrial Hemp Summer Study when he introduces a bill to legalize industrial hemp in South Dakota. To follow this and other policy developments, visit www.sdfu.org.