Where is Hemp and Cannabis Grown?
Growing cannabis is an essential part of producing CBD, but where is cannabis grown? While it’s still a rarity to see hemp (cannabis) farms in the UK, there are a wide variety of locations worldwide where cannabis and hemp are cultivated. With legality rapidly changing regarding the farming of hemp, the locations where it is grown is constantly growing.
Where is Hemp Grown?
Based on total acres of land used for growing hemp, the top hemp cultivating countries are:
- Canada - 137,000 acres
- China - 114,000 acres
- France - 42,100 acres
- USA - 25,700 acres
Growing hemp is only set to become more popular as the demand for CBD increases. Depending on legality, any country that can grow it, is growing it! However, as you can see, there are a number of countries that have turned fairly small-scale industrial cultivation into a sizable export.
Is Hemp Legal?
Hemp plants and farming across the world is surrounded by many legal obligations. However there are some common themes.
It can become more complicated in countries where different internal states have different laws. A perfect example is the United States where the various states have different laws regarding the farming of cannabis. For example, in California if a grower is licensed then it is legal to cultivate and harvest cannabis. However in Idaho, it is still illegal to farm cannabis at any volume for any purpose.
Can You Grow Hemp in the UK?
Growing hemp in the UK requires a permit that must be renewed regularly. The type and parts of the plant grown is also of interest; UK growers can only harvest the seeds and the stalks, any flowers must be destroyed. Growers in the UK must provide information on THC content, the psychoactive compound found in cannabis that makes certain breeds illegal.
Growing hemp in the UK is very difficult because of these restrictions. To grow hemp on an industrial scale is currently almost impossible, which means that CBD must be imported from abroad in all but the most niche circumstances. Unfortunately, for time being, UK farmers are missing out on hemp, a crop that looks set to only become more lucrative.
Growing Hemp
Growing hemp is a regular question for CBD users and curious onlookers alike. Helpfully, the hemp that is grown industrially is quite versatile. The plant is largely unaffected by low temperatures, and can even withstand frost down to -5°C, though the plant won’t grow any further after this. Ideal growing temperatures are between 19-25°C, allowing it to be effectively grown in most countries.
Hemp requires around 20-30 inches of rainfall during it’s growing season. This can easily be guaranteed with modern irrigation methods and can yield some impressive results indeed. With the correct amount of water and soil conditions, plants as tall as 15 feet can be grown!
Furthermore and just like every other crop, hemp too has a lot of effects on the area it’s grown. However, in recent times people are rightly more interested in the environmental impacts of the products they use. The future of where these plants are grown and what they need, can affect our planet; critical information in such a rapidly growing industry.
Growing Hemp Environmental Effects
Fortunately, the growing of cannabis can be considered environmentally friendly. The plant can easily be integrated into normal crop rotation patterns used by farmers, and can even improve the area it is grown in.
One major advantage of cultivating cannabis is that it requires fewer pesticides than other plants such as cotton. This means that all of the harmful chemicals that can be released into the environment to protect crops can be reduced, improving the health of local wild plants and waterways. This is equally important in smaller countries like the UK, where avoiding pesticides entering waterways can be difficult.
Industrial hemp has also been shown to also improve local soil quality. As matter from the hemp plant naturally falls to the ground and decomposes, it in turn enriches the soil. This is greatly advantageous for crop rotation, as it means that crops grown after the hemp plants will have superior soil to grow in, resulting in higher quality harvests.
Perhaps most interestingly, is hemp’s ability to remove toxic metals from the soil. Cannabis plants have been shown to extract heavy metals from the soil that would otherwise inhibit plant growth. In one famous case, hemp was planted following the Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine to remove radioactive materials from the earth: strontium and caesium.
Where we source our CBD
Here at Vitality CBD we are proud to source our CBD from Colorado, USA. The hemp cultivated by our suppliers is totally organically grown, guaranteeing our signature premium product. Furthermore, after being refined in the USA into top quality broad spectrum CBD or CBD isolate, our suppliers can guarantee 0% THC content for a completely safe and legal product.
After being grown and harvested in Colorado, our natural CBD extract is used to create our unique and fantastic range of CBD products. Our CBD Oils, popular CBD skin cream, CBD E-Liquids and our CBD Edibles all contain high-quality Colorado sourced CBD. For any additional information on where our CBD is sourced or anything else we have touched on, send us an email on our CBD contact page.