Why certified Seed out of France?

With this seasons seed about to land on our shores it is probably a good time to explain why we import from France and our aim for the future.

French seed, from Hemp-it,  is clean, certified seed.  I know that does not sound like much but when an industry is new, as hemp is,  seed is often overlooked as a critical component.  With hemp - this is a mistake.  

Clean seed - means that we are not bringing in overseas seed burdens which can turn into weed burdens in our paddocks.  

Certified - means you get what you pay for.  Years of research into making this seed the best quality industrial hemp seed in the world.  The French have been cultivating and developing seed varieties since the 1960's and they are constantly developing new strains for the market.

Their seeds are guaranteed 89% germination, they are 100% industrial hemp and have proven to remain below 0.02% THC on cultivation, and they are variety tested so there are no rogue Industrial Hemp plants amongst the crop. They are all monoecious seeds so with only a few male crops (around 3%) in the paddock, the majority of the stems produce seed.

The seed we purchase is also from an area where there are no fungus or soil contaminants so that the seed does not need to be treated with chemicals which can reduce the wonderful fungi/microbiology in our soils. 

The Co-op has now imported 9 different varieties of French seed and we are slowly developing a picture of what works well in WA.  This season there are three seeds - not because we only wanted 3 seeds but because one of the most interesting varieties was contaminated with Sunflower seeds and could not be imported.  

We have Fedora 17 which has grown successfully in a number of farms in the Great Southern.  It was a consistently sound seed in our seed trials and is performing consistently in the Manjimup trails as well.  It is a dual purpose seed so a good starter seed for people learning how to grow hemp.

Fibror 79 has also proven itself to be a tough plant, surviving in a paddock with 4.5pH scale and also maturing well in the first seed trials in Capel and Esperance.  It is not a large plant but it has an amazing citrus smell and has a good seed head and lovely soft fibre.

Orion 33 is the new kid on the block.  It was chosen to be a stronger seed growing plant and also because the French report that it will grow in drier climates.  This is yet to be proven but so far the information out of France on their seeds is usually sound.  

Hopefully, this 'informational' has been interesting.
https://www.hemp-it.coop/en/

Here is a link to Hemp-it in France, you wish to see what they are doing.  We will be ordering for next year soon so that they can set aside paddocks for us... seems strange, I know but that is what seasonal growing is all about.

If you see a variety, and would like to purchase at least one tonne of it - maybe the organic seed, then we need to know now - to have them start thinking about clean weed/seed paddocks that are good for WA. 
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Published Sep 10, 2021

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