Carrington, North Dakota – The path to approval of hemp as an animal feed ingredient is long and arduous, but a partnership between Healthy Oilseeds and the Hemp Feed Coalition has taken some giant steps forward by winning an APUC grant from the North Dakota Department of Agriculture.

The process to gain Federal approval for animal feed ingredients through the FDA-Center for Veterinary Medicine requires both; clinical animal feed trials for each target species and detailed analysis of the ingredient itself. This analysis includes: crude nutritional composition, vitamins, minerals, potential contaminates as well as fatty acid and amino acid concentrations. Our lab partner Eurofins has offered their expertise and a discount to the Hemp Feed Coalition to complete this work. But the tests combined are thousands of dollars for each ingredient and we are very happy to have gained the funding to cover this analysis; and not burden our farmers and processors with these costs. The grant will lay the ground work for the HFC to finalize its analysis of hemp seed cake and meal, and analyze hulls, screenings, pulp from post CBD extraction, sediment and seed oil below human grade for use as animal feed.

Hemp is already in high demand in the human food supply and gaining federal legal approval for animal feed means greater market opportunities by accessing cattle and poultry producers, feedlot managers and horse lovers in North Dakota and across the country. This grant is the next step in creating those markets and the impact on the hemp industry will be massive. Roger Gussiaas’ enthusiasm is massive too, “This grant means that the value of hemp itself will increase 10-15¢/pound; $100-150 more/acre, (based on a conservative estimated yield of 1000lbs/acre). The return on investment is very good on hemp and this means more jobs and more income generated by grain producing states.”

The funding was awarded from the North Dakota Ag Products Utilization Commission with the intention to drive economic development, job creation and enterprise in North Dakota by creating new streams of revenue for its farmers and creating value for by-products which are currently being wasted. Roger the Founder and owner of Healthy Oilseeds in Carrington North Dakota describes this, “As a huge deal for the hemp growers in America!”

Healthy Oilseeds started as a three-generation farm in Carrington, North Dakota. Their 4,500-acre family farm produced many crops including wheat, barley, soybeans, sunflowers, flax, borage and hemp. Healthy Oilseeds is a licensed and bonded grain buyer that contracts with North Dakota farmers.

Agricultural Products Utilization Commission (APUC) creates new wealth and employment opportunities through the development of new and expanded uses of North Dakota’s agricultural products through a grant program.

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