by JUDY SAUVE
President
Eganville and Area Horticultural Society
EGANVILLE — On Monday night, a crowd of 80 people listened intently as Cobden farmer
and business man Reuben Stone described the world of hemp production. He was invited to be the guest speaker at the monthly meeting of the Eganville and Area Horticultural Society at the Eganville Legion. That was a record-breaking crowd for this group and the president, Judy Sauve, attributes it to the interest in Reuben and his operation.
“We like to feature current topics such as climate change, genetically-modified food, year round greenhouse production and his work to expand this industry in the area was of great interest. He is a man with a vision,” she said.
He is the General Manager of Stone Farms, which he described as the “family farm”, located on Ross Road in Laurentian Valley Township. This farm has been in the family since 1901 and was primarily a beef operation, He has moved to crop farming and grows a variety of traditional grain crops as well as food-grade hemp. He is also President of his newer operation called Valley Bio, located along Highway 17 just outside of Cobden. Valley Bio is primarily a certified seed producer and is engaged in growing, harvesting, cleaning, storing and distributing the seed.
Mr. Stone grew up on the family farm, went away for his education and returned to face the challenges that modern farmers now handle. He decided to focus on hemp because he sees it as the next success story for farmers, hopefully following the path of soybeans which is a major income crop for farmers.
Hemp has a few hurdles to jump first because the crop was declared illegal in Canada in 1938, Mr.Stone said. That was because industrial hemp and marijuana both belong to the cannabis family so regulations lumped it all together. Industrial hemp has minute amounts of the ingredient that worried the government at that time (0.3% vs.15%) so hemp lost ground until it was declared legal in 1998. he continued.
Mr. Stone, and others like him, are working hard with regulatory bodies to help them understand the crop and to modify rules and regulations to properly fit the crop. He mentioned, for instance, that it is not legal to use this crop for livestock feed, but it is a healthy food for humans. That is simply because there hasn’t been enough testing done yet with livestock.
Mr. Stone believes the future is bright for hemp, partly because of its versatility, and also because it still isn’t legal in most of the United States. American farmers are getting anxious and some states are gradually allowing cultivation of the crop.
Hemp products are varied because they are made from the seeds, the fibre or the oil. Seeds are processed for human food, such as hemp hearts, fibre snacks and protein powders; the fibre is used for such things as fabrics, paper and rope to name a few; and the oil has great potential. The oil is already used for such products as environmentally friendly paint, body care items, detergents and foods like salad dressings and cooking oils. On the global horizon is the move away from petroleum-based fuels and hemp could play a major
part as a renewable fuel source, Mr. Stone believes.
Mr. Stone continues his advocacy for hemp, as he has for several years now. The previous week he was in a meeting south of Ottawa and the day after his Eganville presentation, he was heading to Gatineau for discussions with one of the regulatory bodies that is involved withhemp production. He wants this industry to appeal to Renfrew County farmers because he feels this could be an important crop for the area so he’s working hard at ensuring the major problems and inconsistencies are dealt with. It’s a way of insuring his own future, of course, because he passionately believes that with time, this crop will be a major success.
Mr. Stone also contributes to the local economy as an employer, including hiring approximately 30 students in the summer.
Ms. Sauve summed up the evening, “People who attended our meeting were so impressed with the work he’s doing. He’s an intelligent young man who has taken the initiative to help his industry develop.
“He’s a pioneer. He knows this crop inside and out and we all learned a great deal about the crop itself, the challenges with it, and the differences and benefits between it and other crops regarding factors like cost, licensing requirements, workload, growing period, diseases, profitability and much more. He covered a lot of material and it was
fascinating. I’ve had so much positive feedback.”
