The Legislative Assembly passed the Territory Government’s Hemp Industry Bill, paving the way for an exciting new opportunity for Territory farmers as soon as Dry Season 2020.
The legislation enables farmers and researchers to keep working together developing an NT hemp sector, facilitating investment and job creation opportunities in regional areas.
The Bill, introduced in May 2019, exists to create a required framework in order to regulate the development and operation of an industrial hemp industry in the Northern Territory, capitalising on emerging market opportunities.
Under the bill, a licensing system now exists for possession, cultivation, supply, processing and research of Industrial hemp, and covers the various prohibitions, necessary enforcement provisions, offences and miscellaneous arrangements to support this industry.
The industry will see two main opportunities grow from the passing of this new bill, both a fibre and grain industry (THC levels under 1%), and a viable seed industry (THC levels under 0.5%).*
The NT will have a competitive advantage in the emerging industrial hemp market in Australia, with the potential to supply a viable seed industry to other Australian jurisdictions via a dry season crop, supplying viable seed the rest of Australia for summer planting.
The potential for two dry season crops for Territory farms each Dry Season increases the potential return to farmers, with hemp grain currently garnering a farm-gate price of around $3,000 per tonne.
Other uses for industrial hemp fibre include line, rope, clothing, sunscreen, shampoo, lotions, soap, biofuels, stock feed, paper, building materials, and as a highly nutritious food source.
Source: NT Government