Last week, USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) released the National Hemp Report, which contains the results of the 2021 Hemp Acreage and Production Survey. The hemp survey collected information on total planted and harvested area, yield, production, and value of hemp in the United States. NASS collected data for hemp grown in the open and under protection (in a greenhouse, for example). The survey collected information for all hemp use, including hemp flower (or floral hemp), which was valued at $687.4 million in 2021. Production totaled roughly 20 million pounds and utilized production totaled nearly 16 million pounds.
Floral hemp plays a role in the resurgence of hemp consumption. This ingredient is in supplements, skin creams, and shampoos, among other products containing Cannabidiol, better known as CBD.
To get from floral hemp to CBD or other oils (broadly called cannabinoids) hemp buds must processed. Cannabinoid concentration in the flower drops after pollination so that is a consideration for hemp growers and processors. For efficient oil production, all plants should be female as cannabinoids are found in the highest concentration in the female flowers. Oil is extracted from the female flower, stem and leaf material, not the seed.
It’s not just USDA and its agencies that want to know about producers’ intended uses for hemp. NASS’s National Hemp Report provides the hemp industry and other interested parties with critical benchmarks on the raw material’s many uses.
