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(OPEN June - September)

HEMP MAZE & FARM TOURS 

(OPEN July - October)

The first historical record of utilization of the hemp plant for its stem fiber comes from the Chinese who described the plant they called ma as having been introduced by the Emperor Shen Nung  in the twenty-eighth century BC. The wild Cannabis ancestor is believed to have grown somewhere in a general area between  western China and the eastern Caucasus, north of the Hindu Kush. 

This wild ancestor is not found today.

Hemp's major use was as a cordage fiber. Its natural  resistance to rot recommended it for maritime uses, and, as  European seafaring expanded, so did the importance of hemp. So 

critical was hemp to naval powers that laws were passed in England  and in the American colonies requiring farmers to allot a portion of 

their acreage to the production of hemp. Were it not for hemp, 

European expansion, the Age of Exploration and the discovery of the 

New World would certainly not have occurred as they did.

Sailing ships carried hempseed in their stores and the crop was seeded in new lands to provide for the repair of marlines, hausers and sails. Ships were caulked with oakum made of the short hemp fibers. 

Hemp was growing in Chile by 1545, in New England by 1629. The Founding Fathers were strong promoters of hemp. For a time following the War of Independence, farmers could pay their taxes in hemp. George Washington admonished, "Sow it everywhere."3 Thomas Jefferson, a strong proponent of hemp as a crop, invented a hemp 

brake and experimented with different genetic varieties.

 

Hemp production during the Revolutionary period was greatest 

in Virginia where its labor requirement led to a rapid increase in that state's slave population.  Hemp fabric clothed the slaves, but was too coarse for the gentle classes. 

 

Hemp moved west with the Pioneers. It was first planted in  Kentucky on Clarke's Creek near Danville by Archibald McNeil in 1775. The growth and vicissitudes of the Kentucky hemp industry have been described in detail by James Hopkins in his History of the 

Hemp Industry in Kentucky.  Kentucky was the principal producer of 

hemp fiber until the Civil War. 

The mainstay of the Kentucky industry was baling rope and bagging used for cotton bales. Hemp accounted for 5% of the weight  of a cotton bale and the fortunes of the Kentucky industry rose and  fell with the cotton market. But despite substantial efforts on the 

part of the government and private individuals to encourage the use 

of Kentucky hemp by the US Navy, it was generally rejected for 

quality in favor of imported Russian "Riga Rein" hemp. After the 

Civil War, jute and iron bands replaced hemp for cotton bales and the 

Kentucky industry declined.

Hemp moved west with the Pioneers: Missouri (1835); Minnesota (1860); Illinois (1875); Nebraska(1887); Wisconsin (1908); California (1912). By 1860, Missouri had replaced Kentucky 

as the major supplier of hemp. At the same time, hemp was moving 

north, being first grown in Minnesota that same year. 

As the nation expanded, so did its government. In 1890, the 

cabinet office of Secretary of Agriculture was created. Its first 

appointee was Jeremiah Rusk, a former governor of Wisconsin. One 

of Rusk's first actions was the inauguration of the USDA's Office of 

Fiber Investigations to encourage domestic bast fiber production. Its 

first director, Charles Dodge, opined: "There is no reason why hemp 

culture should not extend over a dozen States and the product used in 

manufactures which now employ thousands of tons of imported 

fibers."

Before the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937 Minnesota had a robust Industrial Hemp fiber industry.  There were processing mills throughout the state and companies like Minnesota Hemp Company, Northwest Hemp Company, and Chempco Incorporated.  In 1934 it was reported that over 800 acres alone were grown in Faribault County. MN.  It is interesting that most of the records on hemp production in the state have been mysteriously destroyed.  During World War II many of these same farmers began growing hemp again as part of the war effort "Hemp for Victory" when the United States supply of cordage and canvas from the Philippines was cut off due to Japanese occupation of the Pacific islands and trade routes.  With the end of World War II in 1945 the Hemp Industry in Minnesota was shut off and the crops were destroyed by the bureau of narcotics.

The feral remnant today we call "ditchweed" is a repository of important genes of the Industrial Hemp plant, not a threat to society. The extermination campaign that was waged against this genetic resource is no less than a crime, a crime against humanity and future 

generations.

In 2015, the Minnesota Industrial Hemp Development Act (IHDA), Minnesota Statues 18K, became law. This allowed MDA to create an industrial hemp research pilot program in order to study the growth, cultivation, and marketing of industrial hemp. This law directed the commissioner of agriculture to make program rules, determine a fee structure, and perform testing and other regulatory activities.

Industrial hemp is defined as Cannabis sativa L. that contains no more than 0.3% delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

Pilot participants are required to provide reports to MDA regarding seed varieties planted, agronomic findings, and any processing, distribution and sales of products. The 2018 Hemp Pilot Program Report is now available.

MDA obtained a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Schedule 1 Narcotic Research Registration in 2016. All hemp seed for the program is imported under MDA permits. 

In 2016, there were 6 pilot participants in Minnesota who grew industrial hemp in MDA's pilot program. It was a historic year, as we saw the harvest of approximately 40 acres of hemp in Minnesota for the first time since the 1950s. In 2017, there were 38 registered pilot participants, who grew 1,205 acres.  In 2018, there were 51 registered pilot participants, who grew 700 acres.

Industrial Hemp will be removed from the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). It will be distinct from marijuana and recognized as an agricultural crop by the federal government.

States and Tribes will still oversee regulation of hemp production in their jurisdictions. 

The Farm Bill frees up interstate movement of hemp seed, plants, and processed hemp products.

Hemp farmers will be eligible for crop insurance and grants through USDA.

Hemp Maze Minnesota is fully licensed. It is unlawful to remove any hemp from the pilot field. This includes seeds, leafs, or any other parts of the plants.