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Hemp database seeking grower participation
Midwest hemp growers interested in improving agronomic resources can now apply to participate in the Midwestern Hemp Database.
Phillip Alberti with the University of Illinois Extension is the gatekeeper of the database.
“As we’re building this out, it’s gone from zero to 60 in the last nine months and it’s been very exciting to watch grow,” he says.
The database collects agronomic and management information from growers in Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and Iowa.
Kurt Thelen with Michigan State University says the insights can help growers collectively manage against pests, diseases, and weeds.
“We don’t have as quite as many tools in the toolbox with hemp as we do for some of our other crops, so I think that’s going to be a challenge for a while,” he says.
Both discussed agronomic and pest challenges which the partnership is working to solve during the recent Midwest iHemp Expo.
The database is a collaborative project between four Midwestern land grant universities including Michigan State University, University of Illinois, University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Purdue University.
