Bija Hemp Propagating Hundreds of Acres of Certified Industrial Hemp Seed in Colorado

International Hemp Solutions' Global Supply Chain

Denver, CO (June 30, 2019) - Denver-based Bija Hemp is working with several farmers across Colorado in Phillips, Sedgwick, and Baca counties to develop the largest American-grown lots of certified industrial hemp seeds with Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA) Approval.

Hemp is often confused with its genetic cousin, marijuana, because the two plants look similar. While marijuana typically has level of THC - the chemical compound that gets you “high” - between 15-30 percent, industrial hemp must have a THC level below .3 percent to legally comply with the directives of the 2014 and 2018 U.S. Farm Bills.

For hemp seed to be granted a state certification, a variety must be grown in test plots by the State of Colorado and independently tested to confirm a chemical concentration below .3 percent THC. This process earns a variety of hemp seed the “approved to-be certified” recognition by both an AOSCA member agency and the State of Colorado.

Bija is producing two monoecious industrial hemp varieties in Colorado: Bialobrezskie and Henola, both originating from Poland’s Institute of Fibres and Medicinal Plants. Each variety was first certified in Europe under OECD Seed Schemes (where THC levels must be under .2 percent), and were “approved to be certified” by CSGA in 2017 and 2018.

In the fall of 2018, Bija successfully harvested 161 acres of AOSCA certified Bialobreskie hemp seed, the largest domestically grown lot in the United States since the adoption of the 2014 Farm Bill. This year, Bija is producing significantly bigger quantities of Bialobrezskie and Henola, to help meet a growing demand.
Why the increased demand? Besides the fact that hemp was legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill, the crops has thousands of industrial uses - from fiber for clothing and ropes to CBD, used in numerous over-the-counter products - which are driving projections of the emerging U.S. hemp industry. An added appeal for growers is that hemp uses less water than other industrial crops, like cotton and corn.

Bija’s Director of Operations, Terry Moran, said, “With large commercial quantities of Bialobrezskie and Henola in Colorado, we can provide growers with top yielding monoecious hemp varieties for grain and fiber, as all plants produce grain and mature evenly.” Moran added, “Bija Hemp is positioned to be the supplier of choice for state certified hemp seed for North America in 2020. Hemp acreage continues to double and triple each year in Colorado and across the country as progressive farmers are embracing the old crop, which is newly legal. Industrial hemp is hemp. It is not psychoactive marijuana.”

As additional investments are made in processing and infrastructure, large scale seed production is critical. Hemp farmers need certified seed to supply processors with consistent yields of high-quality hemp. A stable, state-approved certified seed supply is required to spur continued expansion of the industry, with U.S. industrial hemp production projected to grow steadily in the coming years.

Bija Hemp, a subsidiary of International Hemp Solutions, is a hemp seed company specializing in offering regionally-adapted AOSCA certified seed. Bija has worked alongside state and federal agencies to be an industry leader in the procurement, genetics, and cultivation of industrial hemp.