Industrial Hemp Research

Industrial Hemp became a legal crop in Wisconsin when the 2014 Farm Bill was signed into law. Research trials on CBD Hemp and Dual Purpose (Grain/ Fiber) Hemp has been on-going at the Michael Fields Research Program for the past four years. We have been testing CBD Hemp cultivars for their performance in an organic setting in WI and sharing information with producers, to help make informed choices in a situation where the crop is new and not much research data is out there! We also work in partnership with Universities in the Midwest and are a part of the Midwest Hemp Research Collaborative spearheaded by the University of Illinois. We feed our cultivar trial data into the industrial hemp partnership across the Midwest working in collaboration with UW- Madison, Michigan State University, University of Illinois and Purdue University.

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Read More

Hemp Cultivar Report 2021

Shekinah, E., 2021. “2021 MFAI- Wisconsin Hemp Cultivar Trial.” https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5ffe234190a9e60c8cb479b7/t/63bc792a6758866ed2fba62c/1673296220366/2021+MFAI+Hemp+Cultivar+Report

Hemp Cultivar Report 2020

Shekinah, E., 2020. “2020 MFAI- Wisconsin Hemp Cultivar Trial.” https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5ffe234190a9e60c8cb479b7/t/622f7206e4935149af9fb8cb/1647276959369/CBD+Hemp+Cultivar+Trial++Report+-2020+-+MFAI+site+.pdf

Additional Resources

OGRAIN Fact Sheet: Organic Industrial Hemp Production (2023)

Interested in diversifying your rotation with organic industrial hemp? This fact sheet presents the results of two research trials on organic industrial hemp production for grain in Wisconsin.

Hemp used to be an important crop in Wisconsin in the early 20th century and recent legal changes mean farmers can once again grow industrial hemp. The preliminary results of our research trials are presented here to help guide future work. Some of the initial results include:

  • Planting later (early June) may be beneficial for hemp production in Wisconsin.

  • While planting on 30” rows may have a positive impact on stand counts and weed biomass, it is not yet clear if farmers should move away from the standard production guidelines of drilling on 7.5” rows.

  • Methods for mechanical weed control may need to be adjusted based on planting depth.

  • Planting deeper may allow for more mechanical weed control without impacting stand counts.

key contact

Esther Shekinah, Research Agronomist

eshekinah@michaelfields.org