American Political Definitions....help! 990

Colonel Forbin

hemp-for-fiber

That sounds right.

I would think that it could be "mechanized" enough so labor wouldn't be a problem. Producing fiber from wood can't be an especially easy process, either. Do they still stuff cotton into an "eleven foot sack" (twelve gauge shotgun at my back...)?

I understand that hemp is a relatively "light feeder".

Greymaus says that Mr. Cougar says the stubble chews up tires on equipment. I grew enough one year (not for fiber) that I had to bring the truck out to the garden to harvest it. I didn't drive around on the stubble enough to confirm this.

I always just plowed 'em in. Relatively slow to decompose, as I recall. It was a while ago... eventually the "black helicopters" deterred me. (my resident expert on conspiracy theory informs me that the color is "CARC" - Chemical Agent Resistant Coating - not black. All helicopters look black against the sky anyway.) They really *do* exist - in Maine, they're called "CAMP helicopters" - Campaign Against sugar Production. Dunno what they're called in New Hampshire. When you see a helicopter circling your property at low albreastude, with a guy with a long camera lens leaning out the open side door, you don't worry about the color much. (Wonder if "Chemical Agent" includes lead? :)

Depends on how much natural water you've got, I imagine. I don't think hemp is an especially thirsty plant. I don't know how it compares to other sources of fiber (we're back to talking about fiber, right?)

Farmers in the US are prevented by law from finding out if hemp would be a profitable crop for them.

Best, Frank