Lab’s goal: Setting hemp standards

AURORA, Ore. — A unit of wheat is a called a bushel, and a standard weight of potatoes is called a century. But hemp as a fully legal U.S. agricultural commodity is so new that a unit of hemp seed doesn’t yet have a universal name or an agreed-upon quantity.

That’s one example of the startling lack of uniformity — and accountability — in an industry that’s sprung up almost overnight since the U.S. late last year removed hemp from the controlled substances list.

A global hemp research lab announced Thursday in Oregon, coupled with a nascent national review board for hemp varieties and a handful of seed certification programs nationwide, are the first stabs at addressing those concerns — and at creating accountability by standardizing U.S. hemp for a global market.

“If you look at a lot of financial markets, they’re all saying, ‘People are investing in this, and we have no idea what to divide it by,’ ” said Jay Noller, head of Oregon State University’s new Global Hemp Innovation Center. “We have hemp fiber. What is it? What’s the standard length?”

Oregon State’s research hub will be the largest in the U.S. and will offer a certification for hemp seed that guarantees farmers the seed they’re buying is legitimate and legal. Individual hemp seeds are selling for between $1.20 and $1.40 each — and an acre of crop takes up to 2,000 seeds, Noller said.

The new center dovetails with a greater movement to create a national infrastructure around hemp as the market explodes.

The U.S. National Review Board for Hemp Varieties will start taking applications in the fall from growers who want to claim credit for specific genetic varieties of hemp.

A meeting in Harbin, China, in early July will bring members of the global hemp industry together to start to hash out critical details such as what to call a unit of hemp seed or the standard length of hemp fiber, Noller said.

“This is the first time in U.S. history where we have a new crop that’s suddenly gone from prohibited to no longer prohibited,” Noller said.

The Associated Press file A new research lab at Oregon State University announced Thursday will offer a certification that guarantees farmers are buying legal and legitimate help seeds.