From verdant@student.umass.edu Sun Jun 6 23:44:09 1993 Date: 05 Jun 1993 23:58:57 -0400 (EDT) From: Sol Lightman Subject: Re: Earth Journal, Part 9 To: london@SunSite.unc.edu > I assume that kenaf is superior to hemp for paper production but hemp Actually, as today's postings by Paul Stanford at Tree Free EcoPaper pointed out, Kenaf is in no way superior to hemp. Of course, hemp is illegal, so even so it might be viable. I will be requesting a source for his claims (he says there was a Dutch study comparing the two agriculturally.) The key lies in the two types of fibre which hemp produces -- the bast is good for fibre paper, but high quality pulp paper is best made from the hurd. Cannabis hemp, according to Mr. Stanford, produces more hurd than kenaf produces fibre. Kenaf apparently produces little cellulose `hurd', if any. So Kenaf would be used for newspaper and other temporary papers. > offers food, fuel and other uses in addition to paper, which I assume > kenaf does not since I haven't seen mention of them. I'm wondering if > small organic growers could produce kenaf as sideline cash crop as part of > soil improvement/weed elimination program on land being prepared for > intensive cultivation of cash crops. Kenaf could be the cover crop to > build tilth and fertility as well as elimibate weeds and bring in > much needed income at the same time. This would provide cost recovery > for outlay of capital for tillage, fertilizer and seed. Possibly one of the struggling Kenaf paper companies would buy it if you were closer to them than Canada, which is where they are growing it now -- but you'd better hurry before they all go bankrupt :-( > There could be an allotment system for kenaf production, if needed. It > could serve, for example, to equalize income generation opportunities > between large and small growers. Maybe tobacco farmers would want to swap > their tobacco allotment for a kenaf allotment. :-) > I'd be happy to see them substitute just about anything for tobacco. Even useless stuff like flowers -- x-cuse, I mean `ornamentals' :-) Sounds like a plan... > > Please do notify me if you turn anything up, as I am interested as well. > > I'll sure do it. Thanks. I'll post what I find to alt.agriculture.misc and alt.sustainable.agriculture. Good luck! Brian -- The University of Massachusetts at Amherst | _________,^-. Cannabis Reform Coalition ( | ) ,> S.A.O. Box #2 \|/ { 415 Student Union Building `-^-' ? ) UMASS, Amherst MA 01003 verdant@titan.ucs.umass.edu |____________ `--~ ; \_,-__/ * To find out about our on-line library, mail a message with the * pattern "{{{readme}}}" contained IN THE SUBJECT LINE. * You will be mailed instructions; your message will be otherwise ignored