Here at UK Hemp we are hearing from multiple sources of hemp crop failures in Western Europe.
This has affected both the fibre and grain industries and has limited the availability of C1 cultivation seed. Many fibre varieties are bred and grown in France and we are hearing, in the words of one industry expert it is a “complete disaster.”
The hemp industry is not unique in that growth is limited by availability of cultivation seed but it is unique in that beyond that, most of the bigger producers are vertically integrated which means their supply of both cultivation seed and raw material is pretty much guaranteed. From this position, these companies can dictate price. So for smaller producers or processors of food there is a double whammy. One – the price of raw materials increases due to lack of availability and two; the value of finished material does not increase because the bigger companies don’t need to increase prices because their supply of raw materials (because of vertical integration) is assured.
Meanwhile farmers become demoralised with the crop failures that have been pretty ubiquitous throughout Western Europe in 2024 and to a lesser extent in 2023, which is a shame as enthusiastic new entrants to the industry should be encouraged as much as is possible.
In the UK many growers experienced a bad harvest this year - we would put this down to a combination of bad practices (ie not reading the instructions) and bad weather. However our more experienced growers reported a bumper harvest of just over 1.5 tons per hectare.
We have an extremely comprehensive resources page on our website which is based on 20 years growing experience by some of the best growers in the world.
If you're considering growing anything this year – for grain or fibre then I would recommend getting your orders in for cultivation seed as soon as possible.
Thanks for reading,
Steve