I have also undertaken a major clean-up of all the unwanted feedback postings -- currently, the site will not allow additional postings (by anyone).

Thanks,
M

What's unfortunate in this ruling is that the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals had one very supportive judge...namely, Judge Beam. As previously reported in HemperFi, Judge Beam really let the DEA have it in a previous statement (regarding this case) calling the ban to grow hemp "assinine". This group of judges was probably hemp farming's best best in the U.S.

Althought the ruling was not in favor of the American Indians, it should be noted that the court certainly echoed a sympathetic tone. Per the rulling:

"We are not unmindful of the challenges faced by members of the Tribe to engage in sustainable farming on federal trust lands. It may be that the growing of hemp for industrial uses is the most viable agricultural commodity for that region. And we do not doubt that there are a countless number of beneficial products which utilize hemp in some fashion...But these are policy arguments better suited for the congressional hearing room than the courtroom."

The Pine Ridge Reservation is host to the poorest county in all of the United States. Given that there's little to lose, I suspect hat the Lakota Indians will continue their hemp protest next growing season.

1. Charles Poochigian (say it four times fast) is a Republican vice-chair of the committee, and he’s reached his term limit this year. Guess where he’s applying for a new job: He wants to be the next Attorney General! He’ll face a tough opponent in former governor and Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown, now the grand old man of California politics. But would he want to take a risk in being called soft on drug crime by allowing the hemp bill to get to the Senate
floor?
2. There are two others up for reelection in November, Gil Cedillo and Gloria Romero (both districts in the Los Angeles area). Yes, these are both safe districts (over 50 percent Democratic registration), but they both also have to deal with 20 percent “Decline to State” voters, who can fall into the Republican column very easily over a single issue. Would the hemp bill really threaten these districts? Maybe not, but there’s an element of political risk for these two.
3. Two Democrats in the Assembly joined 28 Republicans in the “No” column. Both are from fairly conservative districts in the Central Valley and Orange County. Senate Democrats, if this bill ever makes it to the floor, will have to make sure they keep these defections to a minimum. If five Dems decide to vote with the other side, the bill is history.

The bottom line is this: The hemp bill might make all the sense in the world, and it could help California make hemp a viable, money-making crop someday. But without the right political conditions, bills like AB1147 will remain in political imbo. Keep an eye on this bill after November, when the election storm is over.

Tagging ethanol and other biofuels as a risk to pipeline operators will present transportation challenges for ethanol producers trying to get their product to filling stations. Without at doubt, limiting ethanol to truck or rail tanker transport will change the profitability of biofuel economics. At the same time, just about everything going through today's pipelines (e.g. the sulfur-rich heavy oil and sour gas) is more corrosive compared to the "sweeter" alternatives of years past.

On a different note...

The amount of press coverage ethanol and other biofuel alternatives have captured recetnly leads me to suspect that North America and Europe are on the cusp of a broad "biofuel awakening." I should add that even CSPAN has given ethanol substantial airtime (although I'm disappinted to report that no-one metntioned industrial hemp in the segment I watched)

NPR's story on Peak Oil. formally titled: "Experts Ponder Peak of Global Oil Production" provides a balanced view. In the piece, NPR cites the (optimistic) views of Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA). Given that CERA's track record is highly regarded in the industry, their perspective should not be readily discounted.

No hearing date has been scheduled yet, and it’s unclear precisely why. But if you check the committee membership and the political context in 2006, you get the big picture (and it’s not a pretty one). It’s an election year: If you’re a senator worried about whether or not you’ll keep your cushy office in Sacramento this year, why take a risk in passing through a hemp bill that could give you bad press?

Check the history of AB1147, including who voted for and against, here. Next time: A member-by-member analysis of the committee and who might have an incentive to block the bill.

The missing ingredient in all this is Congress. At this point, Congress needs to step in and help draw a legally recognized distinction between industrial hemp and marijuana. I'm guessing, passing a quick and dirty statement published in the Federal Register (that clarifies the U.S. Code) would suffice...there's probably no need to pass a bill.

Once that occurs, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) would no longer have authority to block permit issuance by the states, given that industrial hemp would no longer be defined as a "drug".

I say, hats off to North Dakota! Agricultural Commissioner Roger Johnson, along with the state legislature, have laid down an important milestone for industrial hemp cultivation in the United States.

At the same time let's not underestimate the creativity of humankind. In the early 1990s many believed that drilling in offshore depths of over 500 meters would prove impossible. Today, companies are positioning rigs on open water that are able to sit up to 2700 meters above the ocean floor, allowing access to reserves long thought unreachable.

The cost of production has certainly skyrocketed while the quality of crude extracted from the ground is of poorer quality. This, along with questionable claimed reserves, geopolitical instability, increasing demand and a host of other factors, will continue to ensure high prices at the pump. In short, there's very little "easy oil" left.

The good news is that the earlier the majority accepts "peak oil", the faster we will be able to move to alternate fuels. My hope is that national oil companies along with "the Majors" adopt a multi-faceted exploration and production strategy which includes R&D dollars for bio fuels as opposed to "hard to find oil". I contend that a new switch from exploration to bio fuel refining is long overdue.

An industry insider recently told me that there are some 70 refinery construction projects planned worldwide in 2006...over five in the United States alone. I'm told those numbers are unheard of in oil & gas. Let's hope that includes ethanol and other bio fuel refining as well.

Congratulations on your new post as CEO of Archer Daniels Midland. It's a notable switch for ADM to bring on a female from the Oil & Gas industry, and I was pleased to hear the news that ADM is serious about becoming a leader in the carbohydrate economy.

That said, HemperFi has not exactly praised ADM in previous posts. Given ADM's unmitigated pursuit for profit maximization with disregard towards the small-scale famer, it's unlikely that favorable entries will suddenly appear.

However, I'm hopeful that ADM sits at a historic crossroads. Here's a wonderful opportunity to fix a less-than-perfect (and I'm being gracious here) company history. Your noted advocacy against MTBE in the 1990s and your clear commitment to biofuels leads me to believe that perhaps we can look forward to more grounded, fairer, better governed, ADM.

And lastly, a favor. We need your help in the misguided, non-fact-based, anti industrial hemp campaign the current administration has brought to bear on the American public. It's not right for farmers and other would-be entrepreneurs, not to mention the environment and the public.

Thank You,
HemperFi

Manitoba has been repeatedly cited as a good example of how government and farmers can cooperate to ensure effect market outlets for farmers. Multiple processing options and plenty of contracted acreage, practically ensures an economically viable seaons for farmers. Currently, Canadian authorities estimate some 30,000 acres of hemp will be planted this season.

The article points out that broader acceptance of hemp-based products in the United States, coupled with the DEA's irrational reluctance to issue cultivation permits, has helped restart Canada's industrial hemp industry.

In the 1950s, the Department of Agriculture undertook a study of more than 500 plants to determine the most-promising non-wood plant for use in paper (including printed money). Kenaf eeked out a win in that study. Much like industrial hemp, Kenaf bast and core fibres can also be used in cardboard and other paper products. However, Kenaf enjoys the benefit that most paper mill equipment does not need to be modified. That alone makes it an interesting alternative to wood pulp-based newspaper for mills. Per the University of Wisconsin-Extension:

newspapers made from kenaf pulp have been shown to be brighter and better looking, with better ink laydown, reduced ruboff, richer color photo reproduction and good print contrast. Quality analyses showed kenaf newsprint to have superior tear, tensile and burst ratings.

Like so many other non-wood fibre crops, Kenaf's success is deeply lilnked with local processing options for farmers. Transportation costs of getting the fibre to a processing facility determine the profitability of this crop. However, Kenaf "...plants provide about three-five times more fiber per harvest than southern pine trees, which can take 7-40 years before they can be harvested." At least one paper company --Vision Paper-- has fully embraced Kenaf...their "About" page is worth checking out>. Among other things, it states: "We use the kenaf as our raw material instead of trees. We manufacture pulp and paper, without using any chlorine compounds, and we sell the paper to printers, companies, and organizations nationally."

As reported in the Toronto Star: "In eight months, they cover 25,750 kilometres and 30 states using bio-diesel, pure vegetable oil, corn whiskey, hot rocks (thermal energy), and, yes, cow dung and Froot Loops. Just about anything but gasoline."

Supposedly the show has received quite a bit of press. Along the way CoolFuel received help from Daryl Hannah who hosts Murphy during one episode at her fully sustainable ranch. In Episode 8, the team takes a Chevy S10 pickup truck running on hempoline (supplied by a Canadian company) across the Southern United States...as the CoolFuel web site recounts:

George Washington farmed it. Henry Ford built a car out of it. Levi Strauss made their original jeans from it. So why not fuel up with it? The COOLFUEL crew use hemp oil to make Hempoline, but their first batch is a disaster. It looks like horse manure. They manage to get moving, taking a journey through Montgomery and Selma, Alabama. Shaun sings with George Jackson (Ol’ Time Rock ‘n Roll) and the crew gets their hands on an $80,000 jet turbine engine truck. Refusing to use fossil fuel, the COOLFUEL Crew tries to run the truck on hempoline. Heading to Mississippi, the locals can’t believe the fuel; the crew can’t believe they’ve made it to the Deep South.

CoolFuel may just catch on in a big way...helping raise industrial hemp and biofuel awareness.

Although it's a lengthy read, I've recently stumbled upon David Morris' excellent article Ownership Matters: Three Steps to Ensure a Biofuels Industry That Truly Benefits Rural America. In Ownership Matters, Morris lays out three governing principles to ensure an ethanol economy with the rural farmer as an active participant. Quoted directly from his work, the three principles are:

-- First, create an aggressive and broad national and even international educational effort focused on the importance of and benefits of farmer and local ownership.
-- Second, establish mechanisms to allow farmer-owners of ethanol facilities to get their equity out of the biorefinery while enabling continued local ownership.
--Third, change the federal ethanol incentive into a producer payment that favors local and farmer ownership.

According to Morris, John F. Kennedy once described Farming as " the only business where you buy everything retail and sell everything wholesale." Profitable rural farming hinges on equitable participation in profit margins enjoyed at the retail-end of agricultural output, not at the wholesale end.

As Morris states in The Carbohydrate Economy, Biofuels and the Net Energy Debate:

For farmers and rural areas to truly reap the rewards of a carbohydrate economy they must gain some of the value created by processing the agricultural raw materials into finished products. That can occur only if the farmer and rural residents own a share in the processing or manufacturing facility.

Pennsylvania's roots in oil and coal run deep...very deep. In fact, two of the state's nicknames --"the Oil State" and "the Coal State" serve as a constant reminder of Pennsylvania's ties to hydrcarbon economy. In 1859, the birth of the modern oil industry occurred in Titusville, Pennsylvania when Colonel Edwin Drake successfully drilled on the banks of Oil Creek.

Given it's history and industrial base, I think it's profound that Pennsylvania has positioned itself as the leader of America's alternative fuels race.

It's unclear if Pennsylvania will allow one of the Big Ag guys come in and rule the roost or if incentives for distributing shares to farmers will be put into place to encourage equitable development. According the Associated Press: "The central Pennsylvania plant would start by fermenting ethanol from corn, McGinty said. But plans for the plant involve eventually using crop waste or dead forest timber to produce cellulosic ethanol, which is far more energy-efficient to produce."

Pennsylvania does not rank highly in crop production...the wheat and "feed grains" are the top agricultural exports, but the state's output for these two crops ranks 17th and 16th, respectively. Pennsylvania's agricultural output centers on dairy and cattle, not corn, soybean or other ethanol feedstocks.

So what gives? Why build an ethanol plant in a state whose farmers don't rely on offloading corn, soybean or other cellulosic content. I'm not sure, but my guess is that Pennsylvania sees itself as strategically located between the grain producing states East of the Mississippi River and the ethanol consuming markets on the United States East Coast.

The logistics challenge of transporting hemp fibre to Pennsylvania from pro-hemp states like Kentucky would probably make the Pennsylvania ethanol facility economically unviable for hemp producers in Kentucky and other nearby states.

It's truly mind-boggling why our society has not poured more intellectual might into creating a carbohydrate economy, supplied primarily by organic feedstock (including industrial hemp). "Western" society's future is inextricably linked with oil dependence and my hope is that higher oil prices will eventually serve as a energy-awakening "tipping point". It's true that current processing technology is still not at a level that makes industrial hemp based fuel, or other cellulitic-based fuels for that matter, an economic slam dunk. But for goodness sakes...we've grown ears on the back of fluorescent mice and figured out how to put rovers on Mars. With a little volition, we will figure this out as well.

Imagine an economy where cellulitic biofuel has 5% of the fuel market. The dampening effect of such a demand-led curve shift would ease oil reservoir supply-driven fears and stabilize prices. The world is depleting oil reseirvoirs at a rate of 5 to 10 percent per annum...having biofuel as a mitigating and stabilizing alternative would have profound implications for oil prices...and ultimately foreign policy.