Brett Boag holds a small square of what appears to be ordinary wooden, 20-millimetre-thick chipboard.
Only this material is heavier and startlingly stronger.
Bulletproof in fact.
During a recent test in the United States, it withstood even a burst from a high-powered AK-47.
“It’s phenomenally tough. We’re making products that are even way in excess of the hardest hardwoods, very high impact resistance as well,” said Mr Boag, who manufactures construction materials at a factory east of Melbourne.
The products are made from hemp — one of the toughest plants on the planet.
‘Chalk and cheese’
For thousands of years, hemp ranked highly among civilisation’s most useful plants.
The futuristic-thinking car mogul Henry Ford even built an entire prototype car from hemp.
But hemp went the way of sailing ships, falling from favour with the declining demand for hempen ropes and cordage and the rise of synthetics.
In America it was confused with its psycho-active cousin marijuana, demonised and prohibited from being grown.
“Industrial hemp and marijuana are very different, they’re chalk and cheese,” Mr Boag explained.
“They look the same or very similar and that’s the reason there’s been so much animosity towards industrial hemp.”
Industrial hemp varieties are very low in psycho-active compounds.
“Hemp is cannabis with less than 1 per cent THC [tetrahydrocannabinol],” said Tim Schmidt of the Australian Hemp Council.
“With more than 1 per cent THC we refer to it either as marijuana, because everyone knows what that is, or high-THC cannabis.”
Hemp’s potential
The council wants to see industrial hemp develop into a major Australian agricultural industry.
That ambition is supported by AgriFutures, the federal government agency that identifies and finances the research and development of Australian rural industries.
It has nine hemp trials across Australia — evaluating hemp varieties and growing potential — from the tropics to temperate Tasmania.
Most states have now repealed laws that formerly prohibited or restricted hemp growing.
“There’s such a wide range of uses. Of course we’re going to be looking at what’s most profitable, but that versatility is very appealing,” said Olivia Reynolds of AgriFutures.
Waterproof flooring, pipes and beams
Hemp’s potential uses go well beyond making bulletproof vests in gun-toting America.
Its real promise is much closer to home.
Brett Boag has a two-decade-long track record, in China and North America, manufacturing hemp into a range of very robust building and related products.
Now he has brought that knowledge and technology back to Australia.
“It can be flooring which is waterproof, which can be used in laundry applications, kitchens, etc. We do panels for housing that can be used as external walls,” Mr Boag said.
He also plans to produce hemp beams that are lighter and as strong as steel, hemp pipes that could replace PVC, and hemp building blocks for constructing easily erectable, energy-efficient, fire-resistant houses.
One of the toughest plant fibres on the planet
In simple terms, hemp is an easy crop to grow, a headache to harvest and a finicky one to process.
But some recent technological breakthroughs are surmounting those hurdles.
AgriFutures has run a successful trial using a cotton gin to process a hemp crop.
As one of the toughest plant fibres on Earth, its principal virtue has till recently been its major impediment, but there’s been progress in the field as well.
At Wentworth in New South Wales, Gavin Hopkins has adapted a massive 510-horsepower harvester fitted with tungsten steel blades, to harvest his industrial hemp crop.
“This crop is probably one of the toughest things I’ve had to deal with in farming,” said Mr Hopkins, who planted a 40-hectare, irrigated trial crop.
Hemp houses
All of the harvested crop has been sold to the hemp building industry.
Traditional hemp buildings are made from hempcrete — a sustainable alternative to concrete made from a mixture of hemp hurd, from the centre of the hemp stalk, lime and water.
To date, there are about 300 such houses nationwide and this style of building, which affords wonderful insulation, is becoming more popular.
“As energy prices increase, the demand for hemp houses is going to keep increasing,” said David Brian, who has built 14 such houses.
“It’s a no-brainer as far as energy savings go, particularly with the sustainability.”
Recent shortages of building materials, exacerbated by the pandemic, have also given the fledgling industrial hemp industry additional momentum.
Many believe this ancient plant is set to grow into a large and important agricultural industry.
Brett Boag says no other crop can deliver such a tough, versatile fibre within 100 days from planting to harvesting.
“There’s a lot of education to happen, there’s a lot of mistakes are going to occur, but I think that you’ll see, say in 10 years’ time, there’ll be a significant hemp industry as a mainstream agricultural industry, creating value for farmers,” Mr Schmidt said.
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