National Hemp Symposium
February 9-10, 2021
Details
Schedule
Speakers
Keynotes, presenters and other details will be listed soon.
Sponsors
Program brought to you by the
National Academies of Sciences Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources (BANR) and Oregon State University’s Global Hemp Innovation Center (GHIC)
Welcome
On behalf of the National Academies of Sciences Board on Agriculture and Natural Resources (BANR) and Oregon State University’s Global Hemp Innovation Center (GHIC) we would like to invite you to the inaugural National Hemp Symposium.
A virtual conference taking place February 9-10, 2021, this event will include a diverse program with a broad focus on both what the industry has accomplished to-date and what lies ahead. Major US corporations participating in international supply chains across all sectors will join us to express their views on the science and R&D needs for the thousands of hemp-based sustainable products that could displace unsustainable fossil fuel and water-intensive source materials currently in use.
Keynote
Presenters
Prime Location
Oregon’s location on the 45th parallel is optimal for hemp growth. In fact, a unique hemp germplasm – the material used for breeding – was developed in the state over the past several decades. Oregon authorized hemp cultivation in 2009, but the Oregon Department of Agriculture didn’t license its first hemp grower until 2015. Just three years later, Oregon ranked 3rd in the United States in licensed hemp acres planted behind Montana and Colorado.
As of mid-May 2019, the state has licensed 1,342 growers to plant 46,219 acres this year, according to the Oregon Department of Agriculture. That’s up from 7,808 acres in 2018. Nationally the number of licensed acres devoted to hemp cultivation increased by 204 percent from 2017 to 2018.
As the home to more than 220 agricultural commodities, Oregon farmers and producers have the diversity of innovation expertise to successfully navigate the future development of hemp. In fact, Oregon is projected to be number one in overall profitable production land for hemp, with 20% of all production acres registered as hemp. Further, the state legislature is sponsoring a bill (HB 2740) that would form a commission similar to the existing 23 commodity commissions in the state, to direct funding for hemp research.
