OSU Global Hemp Innovation Center (GHIC)

Spring has just arrived and the new hemp season is on the horizon. Here is an Extension bulletin put together by Oregon State University Extension Plant Pathologists and Global Hemp Innovation Center affiliated faculty member Cynthia Ocamb reporting the prevalence of Hop Latent Viroid on hemp in the Pacific Northwest and recommendations for managing this disease. https://lnkd.in/gDpDNepw More useful information for producing hemp in Oregon can be found at the Oregon State University Extension Service website at: https://lnkd.in/gdpTknPX

Zhaohui Wu, Global Hemp Innovation Center Assistant Director for Industry Relations, recently saw traditional uses of industrial hemp in Japan as a part of a trade mission led by the National Industrial Hemp Council of America with support from the USDA USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) Market Access Program. Through the Market Access Program (MAP), FAS partners with U.S. agricultural trade associations, cooperatives, state regional trade groups, and small businesses to share the costs of overseas marketing and promotional activities that help build commercial export markets for U.S. agricultural products and commodities. You can find out more about the trade mission in a recent interview of Wu. https://lnkd.in/gYuHdcHC The GHIC appreciates the opportunity to provide technical support to Patrick A. and the NIHC to develop new market opportunties for American produced hemp products.

Pi (π). ‘A mathematical constant that represents the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter that never repeats or forms a pattern.’ Here is most of the undergraduate polymer research group in Global Hemp Innovation Center’s affiliated faculty member Skip Rochefort’s chemical engineering laboratory. This squad was gathered together for their annual Pizza π Day Celebration. From this talent pool as well as graduate students comes some of the science advances that will help industrial hemp find its way into biobased products in markets worldwide. Even more important is the effect Skip and other faculty across the Oregon State University campus are having preparing the next generation of graduates for 21st-century careers in Technology and Engineering; Agricultural Innovation and Sustainability; Health and Human Sciences; Business and Entrepreneurship; and Social Sciences and Policy, combining research-driven education with hands-on learning and industry partnerships.

***NOW OPEN*** Call for Session Proposals - Deadline: April 7 9th Annual #CannabisResearch Conference (OCT 6-8, 2025 | Portland, OR) https://lnkd.in/giedMDiC The Cannabis Research Conference (CRC) is an incredible opportunity for cannabis and hemp researchers to share their groundbreaking work with a diverse audience of fellow researchers, healthcare professionals, policymakers, and industry leaders united by their interest in advancing cannabis and hemp research. We look to researchers in this space to propose timely session topics and help guide the development of the conference program.

***DATE CHANGE*** - Join us at the 9th Annual Cannabis Research Conference on October 6-8, 2025, in Portland, Oregon. - https://lnkd.in/gA69Sn7

Everything but the squeal. 'An idiom meaning to utilize every part of something, leaving nothing wasted, often used in reference to animals, particularly pigs, where almost every part can be used for food or other products.' The best way to start is to begin with standing up a no-waste system for hemp production - from gene-to-plant-to-field-to-factory. Yesterday, Skip Rochefort, Global Hemp Innovation Center (GHIC) consortium lead for Harvest, Handling & Materials Processing, met up with John Parmigiani (top) in the College of Engineering – Oregon State University's School of Mechanical, Industrial, and Manufacturing Engineering and Bill Kent, Director of Grown at City of Roses Disposal & Recycling (CoR), to discuss ways GHIC and CoR could link up to find uses for municipal solid wastes and hemp byproducts streams. Combining MSW with processed hemp byproducts could pencil-out to have economic benefits and industrial potential for replacing traditional plastics. With the right waste sorting, processing technologies, and infrastructure, such an approach could reduce landfill waste, lower carbon footprints, create cost-effective biodegradable alternatives, support a circular economy, and expand applications in packaging, construction, and automotive industries—ultimately accelerating the shift toward greater adoption of biobased materials. More discussions will follow - this was our second meeting - but bringing together both rural and urban resources and capacities could be a real plus for Pacific Northwest region economy.

Reunion. ‘A gathering of people who haven't seen each other in a while, often to catch up and reminisce’ Thank you to Dan Zinkand and Mark Mellbye for the invitation to today’s Kiwanis Club of Albany, Oregon meeting to hear Don Wirth present on farming innovation and his receipt of the 2023 Distinguished Service Award from the ACN- The Agricultural Communicators Network. Don (center), always a great OSU supporter, and Mark (L), Emeritus Oregon State University agronomy professor and Southern Willamette Valley Extension agent, were always willing to give their perspectives and pitch in to see our projects succeed. The three of us had not been in the same space together in at least 18 years. Thanks to Dan for making this reunion possible.

The USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture sponsors research and extension activities through grants to the states for 1862, 1890, and 1994 land-grant institutions to work together across agricultural regions and so have an impact beyond what any single state can do. One of these multi-state projects is S-1084, 'Industrial Hemp Production, Processing, and Marketing in the U.S.' One of these projects is S-1084, 'Industrial Hemp Production, Processing, and Marketing in the U.S.' This year's annual meeting of S-1084 was held in New Orleans, and as a part of the meeting, a tour was held at the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Southern Regional Research Center. Research was viewed of experimental scale equipment for evaluating both woven and non-woven materials used in various blends of hemp and cotton fibers. For the woven textiles, they are particularly interested in the abrasion resistance conferred by blending hemp with cotton – potential technical applications including military textiles. ARS researcher Doug Hinchliffe (L) led the tour which also included the work wayne swink (R) who is building a single stalk decorticator that will be invaluable for making selections from fiber hemp genetic materials. The Global Hemp Innovation Center was well represented by Gordon Jones, assistant director for field operations, and Robert Zemetra, a member of our Genetics/Genomics/Breeding research consortium.

What a great partner William Orts and the Biobased Products Research Unit are at the Western Regional Research Center in Albany, California - the best kept secret of a Berkeley enclave. Bill and James McManus, PhD, MBA lead the hemp carbon research portion of the Sustainable Agricultural Systems project funded to the Global Hemp Innovation Center by USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Hemp carbon is in our future.

Congratulations to Jim Dooley for this recognition by the National Academy of Engineering for the impact of your technical creativity and leadership. The Global Hemp Innovation Center is grateful to have you as one of our advisors. Your ongoing engagement with us is greatly appreciated.