Agricultural Presentation by Mike Bowman February 11th

Mike Bowman

Mike Bowman, honored by the White House as a “Champion of Change” (April 2012), a Yuma county farmer, renewable energy activist, and currently serving on the “White House Rural Task Force”, will provide an informative presentation: INNOVATION: the Pathway to Jobs & Rural Bio-Fuel Economy; Monday, February 11th, 7:00pm at the Cow Palace – Colorado Room.  Bowman was recently featured in the Washington Post, Denver Post, Colorado Public Radio (CPR) , and National Public Radio (NPR), highlighting a new opportunity for Colorado farmers, with the passage of Amendment 64. — No, not marijuana, but “hemp” a genetic cannabis cousin to marijuana, with one major difference. Hemp contains traces (less than 1%) of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana that makes users high, with a 10% – 20% content of THC.

The United States is the world’s leading consumer of hemp products, with 90% of the consumption supplied by Canada. Total sales of food/cosmetic products are estimated to exceeded $100 Million in 2011. Yet, the U.S. is the only major industrialized country that bans growing it, even though 11 states have passed measures removing barriers to hemp production and research.

Hemp could be an enormous opportunity for Colorado, because we’re the first state to legalize cannabis products. Uses of industrialized hemp is used in the manufacturing of paper, textiles, clothing, biodegradable plastics, construction, body products, heath food and bio-fuels. Fiber from the stalks of hemp plants are used in clothing and industrial applications, including as a strengthening agent in concrete. Some estimates indicate that state-sanctioned marijuana sales initially could be as much as $270 million a year, producing state and local taxes of $47 million a year. However, a mature hemp industry — from farm to factory to storefront — might be 10 times larger than legal marijuana. Another important factor, hemp requires much less water than corn, thus providing a potential solution to over-pumped aquifers on the eastern plains.. Bowman intends to plant a test crop of 100 acres of hemp on his farm near Wray, possibly as early as this year, on land typically reserved for corn.

The potential of a new “hemp” industry for Colorado, as well as other updates on renewable bio-fuels projects, will be among the topics Mike Bowman will present at the upcoming February 11th meeting. The public is invited to attend.