Hemp holds big promise for farms in Indiana and Michigan, and maybe other industries

Just 10 miles down the road, PHM Brands, a food manufacturer based in Denver, plans to invest more than $6 million in an old plant to be used to process cannabidiol or CBD from hemp plants, creating 32 new jobs averaging $20 per hour, said Clarence Hulse, executive director of the Michigan City Economic Development Corp.

Initially, the business likely will have to import the hemp it processes into CBD, but eventually PHM Brands will likely buy from growers in the region who opt to plant varieties developed for CBD content while others choose to cultivate hemp developed for its seed, fiber, protein or other uses.

Whatever its end use, the prospect of having another crop to grow is music to the ears of farmers, who have been under increasing pressure in recent years because of efficiency gains as well as market erosion caused by tariffs and other issues.

“We need to protect our farmers, and the best way to protect them is to promote and educate them on the possibilities for hemp production,” said Justin Swanson, an Indianapolis attorney with the firm Bose McKinney & Evans and co-founder of the Midwest Hemp Council.

Swanson became interested in the possibilities of the once-maligned plant while attending a field day on industrial hemp production at Purdue University in 2015 and was immediately sold on its possibilities. “We have the best soil, the best farmers and we’re at the crossroads of America,” he explained.

For decades, hemp was lumped together with marijuana, its cousin that is cultivated for the THC content — the psychoactive component — in its flowers. Until recently, the plant was eradicated by authorities if it was found growing along roads in Indiana and other states.