# Wisconsin Legalizes Hemp



## CrackbottomLouis

http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/lo...cle_5b006004-fecd-5d9c-96db-8b5b0f184a12.html

So now Wisconsin is vowing to capitalize on, what I consider to be, one heck of a cash crop. I wonder how this is going to change the profitability of land ownership? South GA where I spend a lot of time and sell a good bit of investment property is a whole lotta pine tree farms. Those take 10-15 or even 30 years to mature to the point of profitability. I wonder how something that makes a comparable profit in 6 months will change property values and land usage? Will it make owning small farms as an investment easier to pay for if you can get higher income per year? I have a lot of good thoughts about this trend and hope other states, especially GA, follows suit. Love to hear anyone's thoughts.


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## Sentry18

I know in the Midwest the cost of farm land has skyrocketed, mostly because of corporate farms buying up everything near them. A buddy of mine bought a house on 17-18 acres 20 years ago for $140,000. He just had it appraised at $310,000 and the realtor told him he would make even more by selling the land and the house separately. If Hemp turns out to be highly profitable I doubt the common man will be able to afford even a small piece of good farm land. 

Another issue is subsidies. Currently you have to balance your crop of choice with what old Uncle Sugar is going to give you on top of it. I don't see the govt paying for hemp. Fair market value for say corn, mixed with an extra check from the USA, has to be worth more than just fair market value from hemp. But I am just theorizing as I am not a farmer.


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## CrackbottomLouis

Sentry18 said:


> I know in the Midwest the cost of farm land has skyrocketed, mostly because of corporate farms buying up everything near them. A buddy of mine bought a house on 17-18 acres 20 years ago for $140,000. He just had it appraised at $310,000 and the realtor told him he would make even more by selling the land and the house separately. If Hemp turns out to be highly profitable I doubt the common man will be able to afford even a small piece of good farm land.
> 
> Another issue is subsidies. Currently you have to balance your crop of choice with what old Uncle Sugar is going to give you on top of it. I don't see the govt paying for hemp. Fair market value for say corn, mixed with an extra check from the USA, has to be worth more than just fair market value from hemp. But I am just theorizing as I am not a farmer.


Corn and soybean prices are in the toilet. Gov subsidies certainly help. Hemp would be more of a rotational crop I think but Im not a farmer so dont really know. Im more interested on the impact it would have on investment land like is common in GA where it is planted in pine as a long term investment with the goal of the timber sale defraying the tax burden/cost of land upkeep while the property owner waits for property value to increase. If those types of considerations can be altered by a cashcrop that compares so favorably to timber how will that effect property prices, the feasibility of owning land, land value you can leverage and the appeal that all creates towards land ownership. More specifically how will it help joe schmoe prepper have a bol property that is a smart income producing investment rather than a large sum and a drain on an account balance. Hemp is a weed, grows well in a wide range of environments and has a myriad of uses across many industries. If I lived in Wisconsin and had a bol property that was able to support a portion of land to growing hemp Id be pretty happy. Id also like to own some land prior to hemp becoming a legal cash crop as I think this may be an eventual game changer towards land being an even smarter investment. Just trying to think outside the box a bit. I could be completely wrong about this having the type of effect I envision. At the very least maybe I can use the argument with the wife to accelerate the land purchase timetable


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## DKRinAK

Who will they sell to the help to? Last I heard most cotton mills in the US decades ago.

Since few use fiber rope, what would be the end-market?


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## weedygarden

DKRinAK said:


> Who will they sell to the help to? Last I heard most cotton mills in the US decades ago.
> 
> Since few use fiber rope, what would be the end-market?


Hemp is all the rage for fabric used in clothing and other fabric goods.


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## weedygarden

Sentry18 said:


> I know in the Midwest the cost of farm land has skyrocketed, mostly because of corporate farms buying up everything near them. A buddy of mine bought a house on 17-18 acres 20 years ago for $140,000. He just had it appraised at $310,000 and the realtor told him he would make even more by selling the land and the house separately. If Hemp turns out to be highly profitable I doubt the common man will be able to afford even a small piece of good farm land.
> 
> Another issue is subsidies. Currently you have to balance your crop of choice with what old Uncle Sugar is going to give you on top of it. I don't see the govt paying for hemp. Fair market value for say corn, mixed with an extra check from the USA, has to be worth more than just fair market value from hemp. But I am just theorizing as I am not a farmer.


Land is going to get harder and harder to buy. Get it now, if you can.


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## DKRinAK

weedygarden said:


> Hemp is all the rage for fabric used in clothing and other fabric goods.


Where? China? I've seen hemp cloth - but don't know where it is made....


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## musketjim

Here in interior Ak, we legalized reefer but not industrial hemp. And while it's legal to smoke reefers we can't burn wood most days to stay warm. How jacked up is this place now?


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## CrackbottomLouis

DKRinAK said:


> Who will they sell to the help to? Last I heard most cotton mills in the US decades ago.
> 
> Since few use fiber rope, what would be the end-market?


Hemp actually has a lot of uses. Makes great insulation, makes a wonderful construction material ( I think homes made of hempcrete are going to be a big thing), used for rope, clothing , paper. The list goes on.


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## Sentry18

From the little but of reading I did after this thread was started it seems that while many things can be made from hemp, including fuels, the manufacturing and production world has for the most part moved on. Hemp is not a new product, it is a very old product but one that has been for the most part left in the past with only very few exceptions. I found lots of old (to very old) websites touting the greatness of hemp and declaring it would become a big thing again, but so far that has not happened. The 2014 Farm Bill allowed individual states to start growing hemp for R&D but very few states did. It seems for Hemp to make a return it's going to have to jump a number of hurdles.


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## RedBeard

Hemp is an incredible crop. This could be very good for us, but like all other plants im sure Monsanto will **** it up for us and they will end up with another plant patented that they can control. So who knows.... Could be great or bad.


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## CrackbottomLouis

Sentry18 said:


> From the little but of reading I did after this thread was started it seems that while many things can be made from hemp, including fuels, the manufacturing and production world has for the most part moved on. Hemp is not a new product, it is a very old product but one that has been for the most part left in the past with only very few exceptions. I found lots of old (to very old) websites touting the greatness of hemp and declaring it would become a big thing again, but so far that has not happened. The 2014 Farm Bill allowed individual states to start growing hemp for R&D but very few states did. It seems for Hemp to make a return it's going to have to jump a number of hurdles.


I think it was mainly left in the past because it was illegal and competing product industries had better lobbyists. I could be wrong. Not saying it will have huge impact on many industries (I think potential is there)but if you have land you use as a pine tree farm to help defray costs of property ownership I could see the crop having great application replacing pulpwood industry in a more profitable way having implications on rural land ownership/land value around here. I think hemp will have a significant impact on the construction industry. Im a big fan of hempcrete. What Ive read seems to be very exciting. Especially when looking at materials suitable for 3d house printing. Insulation values, breathability, strength, and cost are great. Worth looking up if you have down time and find it interesting. I can think of a lot of applications for hemp when comparing it to pine tree industry. Paper is one and the process is not much different than using wood. Wouldnt have to change factories in any way.

Intro to some uses of hemp and hempcrete. I always have to get past the "green building/climate change" aspect in conversations about using hemp as thats not my interest.
http://www.collective-evolution.com/2013/02/03/hempcrete-worlds-strongest-building-material/


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## bbqjoe

I could be wrong, but I believe the physical appearance of hemp vs MJ is almost indecipherable.
This could pose areal problem for the FDA, law enforcement, DEA,etc.
If hemp was legalized, who's going to go around making sure who is growing which, and who might be growing both?


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## CrackbottomLouis

bbqjoe said:


> I could be wrong, but I believe the physical appearance of hemp vs MJ is almost indecipherable.
> This could pose areal problem for the FDA, law enforcement, DEA,etc.
> If hemp was legalized, who's going to go around making sure who is growing which, and who might be growing both?


Its considerations like that that have held back the use of an extremely beneficial crop. I could care less about pot. Dont smoke it or care if others do. Dont think the gov should be involved. But if gov is really interested in stopping the use of pot then Im sure there is a way to keep tabs on who is growing and selling what. Just gives the DEA an excuse for more funding which they should be excited about. Since when has gov not loved an excuse to create a need to expand their responsibilities and therefore funding?

Really dont want this thread derailed into a pro/con on drugs but I guess the two crops are related. You cant get high off hemp. Aside from your point, bbqjoe, I dont see the correlation between the two topics and think if society can seperate the two we will benefit.

Hemp reaches maturity in 14 weeks. The outside husks can be used to make paper, rope, cloth, etc while the inside fibers make an extremely good building material when mixed with lime that is antibacterial, antifungal, dries hard as stone, is cheap and much lighter to transport than common building materials of today. It also lends itself well to new building technology on the horizon. It also makes extremely efficient insulation even if we arent using it as the primary building material. I consider it a no brainer but society always has to be dragged kicking and screaming to the new (in this case old but new in todays world) when it requires rethinking set industries.


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## bbqjoe

CrackbottomLouis said:


> Its considerations like that that have held back the use of an extremely beneficial crop. I could care less about pot. Dont smoke it or care if others do. Dont think the gov should be involved. But if gov is really interested in stopping the use of pot then Im sure there is a way to keep tabs on who is growing and selling what. Just gives the DEA an excuse for more funding which they should be excited about. Since when has gov not loved an excuse to create a need to expand their responsibilities and therefore funding?
> 
> Really dont want this thread derailed into a pro/con on drugs but I guess the two crops are related. You cant get high off hemp. Aside from your point, bbqjoe, I dont see the correlation between the two topics and think if society can seperate the two we will benefit.
> 
> Hemp reaches maturity in 14 weeks. The outside husks can be used to make paper, rope, cloth, etc while the inside fibers make an extremely good building material when mixed with lime that is antibacterial, antifungal, dries hard as stone, is cheap and much lighter to transport than common building materials of today. It also lends itself well to new building technology on the horizon. It also makes extremely efficient insulation even if we arent using it as the primary building material. I consider it a no brainer but society always has to be dragged kicking and screaming to the new (in this case old but new in todays world) when it requires rethinking set industries.


Totally agree. The uses could be endless.
Of course the easy solution would be to legalize both.

Currently soaps, oils, and fabrics are only a few products being made.
But man is awfully creative.


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## CrackbottomLouis

bbqjoe said:


> Totally agree. The uses could be endless.
> Of course the easy solution would be to legalize both.
> 
> Currently soaps, oils, and fabrics are only a few products being made.
> But man is awfully creative.


Youre right, the oils from the seeds have a lot of uses as well. Its a good protein source for a food additive as well. I used to put hemp seed in shakes when I wasnt using a protein powder.

Might also be a way to throw the annoying environmentalists a bone by stressing the "green" aspect. Not that I care much about that but letting them believe it helps move towards the end goal of making use of the crop. Also, politicians would be able to make up for pissing off a lot of industries and their lacky lobbyists with green initiative sound bites for segments of the sheeple. The industries will come around when they start finding ways to exploit the crop.

All in all I think its a win win for all involved.


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## Woody

I think it is a win win also. I can’t believe hemp has been held back this long. Well Actually I can. Follow the money



I believe one of the main reasons no research was done, after our beloved Fed Govt gave the OK, is Our beloved government itself. I can imagine they put so many restrictions and hoops to jump through, no one wanted anything to do with it. Too cost prohibitive. First you need to get this permit, but you have to get approved first, to apply for the permit. That will cost ya, nothing is free ya know. Then the review process. More fees, background checks, past tax filing reviews…. Then you need a certain piece of land, nd inspected AND approved. Then it has to be fenced “for security” reasons. And inspected AND approved. Then the record keeping, inspections, paperwork… and more fees for all that. Anyone with any brains just didn’t even try. They made anything to do with it too cost prohibitive for investors.


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