Building a Resilient Organic Hemp Industry: Survey and Focus Groups Assess Research, Extension, and Education Needs
Project Overview
Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) is an attractive crop to producers because of its versatility. Some of the crop’s uses include fiber, seeds, oil, biofuel, beauty products, clothing, paper, and construction materials. After hemp’s legalization in the United States in 2018, production and acreage skyrocketed; however, significant knowledge gaps and production barriers persist, particularly with weed and disease management, nutrient management, and lingering legality issues in supply and distribution chains.
In this study, researchers from several academic institutions (Cornell, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Texas A&M, and North Carolina State) developed a national survey and organized focus groups with hemp researchers, extension agents, industry stakeholders, and organic hemp growers to determine the predominant knowledge gaps and industry barriers to U.S hemp production.
Farmer Takeaways
- Most U.S hemp producers currently grow hemp for cannabinoids, but are interested in exploring other hemp markets (i.e., fiber, seed).
- Organic hemp producers identified their top challenges as marketing/sales, regulations, and production costs (i.e., product testing and lending/banking costs).
- Focus groups revealed that hemp varieties with better traits (i.e., biomass potential and pest resistance) and regional adaptation were important for the future of organic hemp.
- Focus groups identified needing additional research on weed, insect, and disease management, as well as best practices on incorporating hemp into existing crop rotations.
Project Objectives and Approach
Conduct a national survey of current and prospective hemp growers to determine major hemp production challenges and identify resources needed within the industry.
- National survey questions were developed using information from peer-reviewed literature and consultations with hemp producers, researchers, and extension agents.
- The survey included 31 questions and a variety of question formats, including multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, likert-scale, and open-ended.
- The survey was sent to farmers in the Organic Integrity Database who listed ‘hemp’ as a crop produced on their farm (n= 686), as well as to farmers in the database who listed ‘major row crops’ (n= 2900).
Conduct a series of focus groups to gain insight into the hemp industry, with participants representing growers, educators, researchers, extension agents, business owners, and advocates.
- Focus groups were conducted both in-person and virtually and were split by hemp growers, industry professionals, and hemp educators. Questions were tailored to fit these specific groups (for example: grower focus groups were asked about barriers to adoption, industry focus groups were asked about market challenges, and education focus groups were asked about the inclusion of organic practices for hemp in their curricula).
Key Findings
Cannabinoids are the current end-use focus of the majority of hemp growers surveyed, although many are interested in other markets.
- 77% of respondents were currently growing hemp for cannabinoids.
- Approximately 25% of respondents indicated they were interested in growing the crop for other end uses in the future, such as fiber and seed.
Many challenges still exist in the hemp industry, ranging from physical production challenges (i.e., pest/nutrient management) to market/finance difficulties.
- Top challenges included low demand/saturated markets and sales, regulations, product testing, financing, and agronomic challenges (such as pest and nutrient management).
Organic hemp could benefit from breeding efforts to develop regional adaptations/traits to complement existing crop rotations.
- Farmers were interested in adding hemp into their existing crop rotation, but needed more research and extension information on best practices.
- Hemp varieties with greater biomass potential are needed, as are varieties with regional insect and disease resistance.
Resources
Moore, V., Fratz, E.,Baltensperger, D., Ellison, S., Grab, H., Sosnoskie, L., Suchoff, D., & Vergara, D. (2025). Building a resilient organic hemp industry: survey and focus groups assess research, extension, and education needs. Agrosystems, Geosciences & Environment, 8, e70018.
Read MoreLocation
New YorkCollaborators
Emily Fratz, Cornell University
David Baltensperger, Texas A&M University
Shelby Ellison, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Heather Grab, Cornell University
Lynn Sosnoskie, Cornell University
David Suchoff, North Carolina State University
Daniela Vergara, Cornell Cooperative Extension
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