We talked with Dan Wiese, he's the Agronomy Operations and Dairy Maintenance Manager at Wiese Brothers Farm in Greenleaf, WI. He, just like a lot of other farmers, has been experimenting in the industrial hemp world. But unlike others, he was willing to share some pictures and videos of his operation with us so we could show everyone else.
Dan gave us pictures from the plants as seedlings, growing indoors, planting in the fields, and even full grown! Not gonna lie, this is pretty cool stuff.
So here we go, starting right from the beginning.
At this point, nothings happened yet.
Here they're picking up the seeds and planting them so they can grow inside for awhile. This is the beginning of the whole deal. Next up, you have to be patient and let them grow.
They don't look like much right here, but it doesn't take long to realize what these plants really are. You just have to have patience!
Ahhh, there we go, they're starting to take shape.
After that stage, it doesn't take too long before they're ready to be transplanted outside. They grow up so fast! Here's what they look like when it's time for them to head out to the real world….the field.
Now this is where the fun part starts, planting!
Since the hemp is already sprouted, it has to be planted differently than you would corn or most other crops. This is basically the same tool that Christmas tree farmers use when planted seedlings. Check out the video of them planting these guys on our
Facebook page
.
This was the final product from the industrial hemp Dan test grew this past winter.
It'll be really interesting to see who all gets into the industrial hemp world and how big of a demand there is for it in Wisconsin over the next few years. The big question is, will this be a fad? Or will Wisconsin go back to being the largest producer of industrial hemp like we used to be? Only time will tell.
For more on industrial hemp, the tricky parts, and where the future could be headed, check out this article
“Not the high life, the hemp life.”
