A Hemp Day Out

Top: A hemp plant from the current crop at Woodlands farm.

Centre: John McCausland and Anna Povey check out the Westbury hempcrete house.

Bottom: THA President Tim Schmidt addresses the group in front of the crop.

Photos by Darren Harris

Darren Harris

A HEMP house, a hemp beer and a hemp burger were the attractions for the Tasmanian Hemp Association’s Community Education Day on Friday 19 February.

Meeting at Woodlands Farm, just outside Deloraine, a group of about 50 people took the opportunity to inspect the mature hemp crop, where Tasmanian Hemp Association (THA) President Tim Schmidt opened the education event.

Tim said the crop contains the industry standard of less than 1% cannabis in a tightly regulated industry.

Next was a coach ride to Westbury to visit a hempcrete house. Then it was back to the woolshed at Woodlands farm to enjoy a tasty hemp burger and a hemp beer.

John McCausland travelled from Launceston to attend the event. John said he has invested in a company that is buying a machine to harvest the hemp crop, which will create the hempcrete.

‘Hempcrete is the crushed stalk of the hemp plant mixed with lime and sand. It’s advantages are the reduction of plastics and glues in the environment and also it is a more sustainable product and good for energy conservation.’

Anna Povey also travelled from Launceston to attend the event as she is building a hempcrete house in Stieglitz.

Sean and Mandy Manners, owner builders, started building their own hempcrete house in Westbury a couple of years ago.

Sean said the average house, when a negative pressure test is conducted, has 15 air changes per hour, whereas a hempcrete house has 3 changes per hour.

‘When it is 28 degrees outside, it is 22 degrees inside. There are no cooling bills, and minimal heating bills (and with a battery installed there are no heating bills). The house is built to last 100 years and is environmentally sustainable.

‘Hempcrete is a better-than-zero-carbon material because more atmospheric carbon is locked away in the material for the life time of the building than was used in its production and use.’

The Westbury hemp house has approximately 3300kg of CO2 locked up in the hempcrete.

The Federal Member for Lyons, Brian Mitchell MP, attended the event. Brian is Deputy Chair of the House of Representatives’ Standing Committee on Agriculture and Water Resources.

Brian said that historically hemp was used for many things, until it was phased out because of the introduction of plastics in the 1920s.

THA Executive Officer Andi Lucas said hemp is a sustainable crop that can be grown three times per year, and results in a variety of useful products, including hempcrete, hemp fibre for clothes, hemp seed oil and more.

According to the THA website, growing industrial hemp has been legal and grown in Tasmania since the early 1990’s, under very strict Federal and State legislation and laws involving numerous government departments.

On 3 March 2016, after extensive consultation with key hemp industrial stakeholders the new Industrial Hemp Act 2015 came into force.

The THA offers its grower, associate, corporate and supporter members ongoing educational and agronomic support while facilitating critical networking and community events.

Its aim is to promote more sustainable agriculture and to continue to develop ways to increase the use of hemp as a renewable and sustainable source of food, fibre, fodder and extracts.

Farmers, investors and curious locals can contact the THA for more information.