SAES-422 Multistate Research Activity Accomplishments Report
Sections
Status: Approved
Basic Information
- Project No. and Title: S1084 : Industrial Hemp Production, Processing, and Marketing in the U.S.
- Period Covered: 10/01/2024 to 09/30/2025
- Date of Report: 09/30/2025
- Annual Meeting Dates: 02/27/2025 to 02/28/2025
Participants
Virtual attendees-Lesley Oliver U.Kentucky (AA), Bob Pearce- U. Kentucky, Brandy Phipps-Central State University, Ramesh Dhakal-Virginia State U., Thomas Eulgem-University of California Riverside, Jacob MacWilliams-Colorado State U., Kimberly Gwinn-U. Tennessee, Heather Darby-U. Vermont, Philip Alberti-U. Wisconsin, Brent Cutrer, Louisiana Department of Agriculture In-Person attendees-Tyler Mark-U. Kentucky (Chair), Alyssa Collins-Penn St., Marguerite Bolt- Purdue U., Larry Smart-Cornell, Chris Smart-Cornell, Babitha Jampala-Louisiana State, Zach Brym-U. Florida, Karla Gage-Southern Illinois U., Shelby Ellison-U. Wisconsin, Saeid Zehtab Salmasi- New Mexico State U., David Suchoff-North Carolina St., Nicole Gauther-U. Kentucky, Gordon Jones-Oregon State U., James DeDecker Michigan State, Kimberly Leonberger-U. Kentucky, Taylere Herrmann-Cornell, Lucia Monserrate-Cornell, Luis Monserrate-Cornell, Buddhika Patalee-U. Kentucky, Magdalena Ricciardi U. Kentucky, Bob Zemetra-Oregon State U., Oluwaseun Kolawole-U. Kentucky, Umair Ashraf-Michigan State U., James Obuya-Southern U., Chengci Chen-Montana State U.
The S1084 Annual Meeting was held on February 27 and 28 in Baton Rouge at Louisiana State University.
Day 1 started with a welcome from the Louisiana Ag Center administration. Presentations included and update for Lesley Oliver on the project, Multi-State variety trials and the accompanying manuscript, FFAR funded projects, and status of the two SAS projects that include hemp. After lunch we had presentations from the Midwestern Hemp Group, updates on hemp germplasms, powdery mildew, duel hemp trials, and hemp consumer research.
Day 2 included additional presentations on a range of hemp research projects being conducted around the country. This was followed by a field trip to tour the Cotton Quality and Innovation Research Unit at the Southern Regional Research Center of the USDA in New Orleans.
Detailed minutes and individual state reports are attached.
Accomplishments
Objective 1: Breeding and Genetics
Continued collection and evaluation of feral hemp collections for public hemp germplasm repository in collaboration with USDA-ARS. The feral hemp collection effort has more than 2000 accessions to be added. USDA’s collection has more than 600 samples, 100 plus are available for distribution. Work has continued to create custom genetic probes.
Objective 2: Agronomy and Sustainability
Refining plans for continued multistate field trials. Manuscript was submitted for publication.
Objective 3: Sustainable Pest Management
Launched a website for hosting pest and disease management data and fact sheets, which can be expanded to provide other management and research enabling resources. This is currently in the process of being populated. Discussed also integrating this in with the Midwest Hemp Groups website and data.
Objective 4: Product Quality, Market Development and Economics
Refining production budgets to expand to a regional comparison of costs for hemp production using data from the field trial conducted in Objective 2. Also expanding to the consumer side and examining the factors driving hemp product consumption.
Impacts
- The S1084 project continues to enable U.S.-wide coordination of hemp related research and collaboration across states, disciplines, and public and private entities.
- S1084 has increased access to research and management resources though germplasm collection, surveys of pest and disease issues, creation of comment terminology and minimum data standards, and economic analysis tools. Launching a new website that will also be presented to the Hemp Regulators Group as another resource for them.
- S1094 has contributed input for policymakers related to hemp provisions in the upcoming Farm Bill that will further facilitate effective research by highlighting the pressure points created by the current legislation and providing recommendations to relieve them.
Grants, Contracts & Other Resources Obtained
Publications
Williams, A., Brym, Z., Chen, C., Collins, A., Crawford, J., Darby, H., Dedecker, J., Ellison, S., Fike, J., Gage, K., Gang, D., Griffin, J., Johnson, B., Moore, V., Ortmeier-Clarke, H., Podder, S., Richmond, M., Roozeboom, K., Thelen, K., Pearce, R. (2025). Comparing agronomic performance of industrial hemp varieties for suitable production in the United States. Agronomy Journal, 117, e70006. https://doi.org/10.1002/agj2.70006