Building a Hemp Hub in Northern Illinois with Kifcure

On this week’s podcast, we continue our coverage of the European Industrial Hemp Association (EIHA) annual conference, this year held in Prague, Czech Republic, June 5 to 7.

As Lancaster Farming’s friendly neighborhood hemp reporter, I was invited to be part of an American delegation to the conference, funded in part by a grant from the USDA Market Access Program to build overseas markets for hemp as a commodity crop.

Last week, I shared a slew of interviews with Europeans in attendance at the conference. This week, I am sharing my interviews with American business leaders, entrepreneurs, policy wonks and processors — plus a handful of Canadians and one Australian who attended the event in Prague earlier this month.

Zhaohui Wu is a professor of supply chain management at Oregon State University in Corvallis, where he is an affiliate faculty member of OSU’s Global Hemp Innovation Center.

He said he was eager to learn from the Europeans, because he said they are further along in developing the industrial applications and supply chains.

“For me, this is the first time to come to the EIHA conference and to learn from European folks on how things are done, the best practices, and also to find opportunity to collaborate,” Wu said.

Tommy Copeland was part of the American delegation, representing Kentucky-based HempWood, a flooring manufacturer that uses hemp instead of hardwood.

Copeland said many attendees were not familiar with HempWood, and he enjoyed watching people’s reaction to it.

“You get to see the wow factor that they have,” he said. “Their mind is blown that you can do this from hemp.”

Copeland described to attendees the HempWood process from whole stalk, pressed with soy-based adhesives with no VOC off-gassing.

“It’s a clean building material, it’s eco-friendly to use, and I think that fits with the European mindset of building in a lot of ways,” he said.

Tim McCarthy is a business owner from North Carolina where he runs United Natural Hemp Extracts, USA.

“I am currently the chair of the policy committee for the NIHC, so I’m here on their behalf and the USDA trying to promote hemp from the United States to around the world,” he said.

Roger Gussiaas is oilseed producer at Healthy Oil Seeds in Carrington, North Dakota, where he produces and processes hemp and flax grain for oil and protein.

“We process 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” he said. “We’re expanding our business. In the next couple months, we (will) be doubling our production.”

Currently exporting to over 25 countries, Gussiaas is always looking for opportunity.

“This trip here,” he said, “it’s just there’s a lot of opportunity. There’s always a lot of opportunity in any new country you’re in.”

He said the key to finding markets is simple for him: “Always produce good quality and you’ll have markets.”

Keenan Stone, vice chair of the Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance and an owner of Uni Seeds in Ontario, was excited to attend the conference.

She enjoyed connecting with people in person, a welcome change from online interactions.

She said she was impressed with the research and innovation happening in Europe and, like Gussiaas, was open to opportunity.

“There have definitely been some good business prospects,” she said. “There seems to be a lot of interest in trying out new varieties and things like that. Our business is seed supply, so definitely some good interest from Europe there.”

Morris Beegle, founder of the annual NoCo Hemp Expo in Colorado, worked with EIHA to plan and execute the event in Prague.

On the final day of the conference, Beegle told me he was happy with the overall energy, participation and programming.

“It was really good last year, but I think definitely a step up this year, he said. “Great attendance. The conference has been packed the whole time. Networking has been really good. Lots of folks having great conversations. So I mean, overall I’m just very pleased with the way everything’s turned out.”

5:49 Robin Destiche, KonopiUS, Pure Shenandoah 21.14 Roger Gussiaas, Healthy Oil Seeds25:37 Morris Beegle, WAFBA29:58 Alicia Fall, Her Many Voices34.55 Zhaohui Wu, Oregon State University 39:24 Tommy Copeland, HempWood42:01 Trey Riddle, IND HEMP; Joe Hickey, Halcyon Technology Holdings; Gregg Gnecco IND ...