Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Wednesday, 27 April 2022
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Hemp Industry: Discussion
Mr. John Spink:
We have grown hemp in Oak Park. We did not specifically include it in a rotational experiment but introducing any non-cereal crop into a cereal rotation will result in an improvement in the following year's crop, usually just over a tonne a hectare. That is the result of a break in cereal diseases in the rotation. We would not expect crops such as hemp, beans or oilseed rape to be particularly different from each other. Invariably, using such crops will reduce fertiliser requirements and increase yield following a non-cereal crop. It would have a value in a cereal rotation in the same way as other non-cereal crops.