Research Project: Incorporation of Industrial Hemp Into Western U.S. Agricultural Systems For Use in Non-Food and Food and Beverage Manufacturing

Location: Forage Seed and Cereal Research Unit

Project Number: 2072-21500-002-001-A
Project Type: Cooperative Agreement

Start Date: Sep 1, 2026
End Date: Aug 31, 2027

Objective:
The objective of this research is to develop custom-designed genetics for industrial hemp (IH) that match end-product specifications of commercial biobased industrial and food and beverage products manufacturers and are adapted to Western U.S. farmer agricultural production conditions. The approach is targeted across industrial hemp supply chains for the different market sectors. IH is defined as federally compliant Cannabis sativa grown for nonfood and food and beverage products. The success of the IH industry depends on developing commercially viable products from the multiple materials production streams with no remaining waste byproducts, just as has been successfully done by the cotton, corn, soybean, and timber industries. Having uses for all primary products and by-products produced after harvest and primary processing will help increase overall agricultural production and biobased manufacturing operation efficiencies and continuously improve entire supply chain profitability and create new job opportunities in the domestic biobased manufacturing economy. Our approach will advance regionally adapted genetics for use in the manufacture of packaging materials, industrial textiles, biopolymer composites, construction materials, high-performance textiles, and biochar carbon. Concurrently, we will develop hemp grain genetics for use in the manufacture of plant-based food and beverages and protein-rich ingredients, as well as edible food packaging film products and fiber for human consumption. We are leveraging the interdisciplinary expertise of the OSU Departments of Crop and Soil Sciences; Horticulture; Food Science and Technology (FST); Biological and Ecological Engineering; Chemical, Biological, and Environmental Engineering; Wood Science and Engineering; and Mechanical, Industrial, and Manufacturing Engineering. We coordinate our research with the ARS research centers including Cotton Structure and Quality Research Laboratory (CSQRL) in New Orleans, LA; Cotton Ginning Research (CGR) in Stoneville, MS; and Bioproducts Research Unit (BRU) and Healthy Processed Foods Unit (HPFU) in Albany, CA. A stakeholder advisory board and private-public partnerships have been established with commercial western U.S. industrial hemp producers and processors, private innovative technology providers, and first-mover industries around the country who are developing commercial products that utilize IH and other biobased materials and by-products. This project has three research objectives: 1. Production. Develop optimally performing industrial hemp germplasm for Western U.S. production regions with value-added improved physical and chemical properties suited non-food industrial and food and beverage uses. 2. Genomic and material properties characterization. Characterize industrial hemp material physical and chemical properties matched for use in biobased manufacturing end-product quality of industrial and food and beverage products. 3. Materials and by-product utilization. Develop novel non-food and alternative protein food and beverage uses of industrial hemp utilizing fiber, hemp hurds, grain, and other processing byproducts.

Approach:
A genes-to-plants-to-fields-to-manufactured products approach will match end-use specifications with custom-designed IH genetics adapted to Western U.S. production conditions. This research will help develop no-waste, whole-plant utilization systems, and determine overall production and biobased manufacturing systems operation efficiencies to continuously improve supply chain profitability. 1. Production. We are selecting germplasm adapted to the latitudinal range of Pacific Western U.S. environments with targeted improved industrial and food use traits. A novel approach will develop new varieties to reduce seed shattering while delivering high grain yields. All of efforts will use a classical plant breeding approach augmented by genomics and machine learning to accelerate progress. In our remote breeding nurseries, we will concurrently develop low-latitude-adapted germplasm that also provide opportunities for underserved Southeastern U.S. farmers participate in this emergent market. Together, these efforts will solve major issues with the currently available genetics that do not satisfy current demand for U.S. produced IH materials. Select characterized germplasm will be submitted to the National Plant Germplasm System for use by U.S. hemp breeders. 2. Genomic and materials properties characterization. We will incorporate large-scale genome and trait data plus emerging artificial intelligence (AI) approaches to accelerate breeding progress. Genetic line selections will be based on IH fiber size, density, cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin contents; microstructure; and thermal-mechanical properties. Grain chemical constituent composition will be determined for protein, lipid, carbohydrate content and food and beverage products anti-quality flavor characteristics. Genome sequencing, quantitative trait loci (QTL) analyses, and Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) will identify genes with small-to-large effects on phenotypes. GWAS and genomic prediction (GP) models will be extended by deep learning (DL) approaches to understand complex quantitative traits. DL will be applied to genotype and phenotype, environmental (latitude, temperature, production practices) data, and different primary processing methods on industrial materials, grain, and byproduct quality metrics. Genome data generated from this work will be submitted to the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) database. 3. Materials and by-product utilization. We will use processed bast fibers and hurd byproducts to create biodegradable and compostable packaging products using molded pulp technology and produce nano- or semi-nano scale cellulosic materials for packaging and other applications. Pilot-scale manufacturing systems will produce a wide range of molded-pulp packaging products including nursery pots, fresh produce boxes, and take-away trays. In addition, our biodegradable superhydrophobic coatings will be applied to improve water resistance by reducing hydrophilicity of molded products to meet packaging application needs.