What Is Hemp

What Is Hemp?

History Of Hemp

Hemp has a long history in Australia, dating back to the First Fleet. The first seeds were brought by Sir Joseph Banks, an English naturalist, botanist, and patron of the natural sciences. He saw a bright future with hemp and envisioned the crop as a sustainable and lucrative resource for commercial production. This hemp was used for sails and cordage to maintain their fleet of ships and provide seeds for protein and other medicinal uses.

Hemp was first grown in Australia in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales in 1840 with the Australian government supporting farmers with gifts of land and grants. The consumption of cannabis in Australia in the 19th century was believed to be widespread.

Cannabis Evolution

History Of Hemp

In the 1920s, most of the world including Australia agreed to ban cannabis as part of the 1925 Geneva convention. It’s important to note that cannabis was a last-minute amendment that was added due to the lack of research at the time and pressure from other countries to include it. Australia was still researching cannabis for medical and scientific reasons and small scale cultivation was allowed in some areas until its full outlawing in 1960. it was not long until other countries began to shift their attitudes toward medical cannabis and industrial hemp, so did Australia.”

Global Versatility

History Of Hemp

After almost 80 years hemp was finally legalised in Australia In 2017. Today hemp is being grown across Australia’s temperate, subtropical and tropical climates.

Across the globe, It is estimated that industrial hemp can be used in more than 25,000 different products from textiles, clothing, rope, home furnishings, building materials, plastic , industrial oils, cosmetics as well as food and pharmaceuticals. Hemp has also had a positive effect on our environment being able to capture and store carbon and is considered zero waste as all parts of the plant can be utilised.

Today hemp is experiencing a global resurgence and Wandarra is committed to growing, harvesting and processing hemp fibre and seeds to meet local and global food and fibre demands.

The Global Market For Hemp Consists Of 25,000+ Products In 9+ Submarkets.

Examples Of Hemp Uses

Hemp Fibre

The fibre or bast provided the raw materials of the ropes, rigging, and sails of the ships that allowed nations to trade and to defend their shores. In the 21st century hemp fibre strengthens motor vehicles and body armor, and is woven into characteristically soft textiles.

Hemp Hurd

Also known as Shiv, the inner core of the stem. The hurd is broken into small pieces that have multiple applications – for instance a key component in top quality building blocks and fibre-board, railway sleepers, and a source of bio-energy.

Hemp Seeds

Hemp grain is considered a wonder food. The oil (about 40% of the seed weight) is rich in the ‘right’ omega 3 and 6 fatty acids – and tastes good. The protein (about 30% of the seed weight) provides 10 essential amino acids. The remainder is carbohydrate, fibre, essential minerals, especially magnesium, and vitamins (C, B, A, E).

Some of the special features of industrial hemp:

Hemp plants grow rapidly – as much as 10 cm in a day at their peak – and an achieve a height of 5 m in as many months.
Some experts say that hemp plants are more like fast-growing trees than conventional crop plants.
With 100 plants per m2, each hectare sequesters 6 MT of carbon, fixed from 22 MT of carbon dioxide in less than 5 months. The makes them more efficient at sequestering of atmospheric carbon than any other crop.
As much as 40% of the carbon sequestered by a hemp crop is added to the soil by the time the soil has been prepared for the next crop in the rotation.
The fibres in the stem are the longest and strongest known in nature. They have to be strong to support that 5 m tall, 2 cm thick stem.
The core of the stem, the pith or hurd, is light and strong: it allows the tall, thin stem to flex without breaking.
The grain of the hemp plant is a source of top-quality nutritional products and edible oil.