Hemp harvesting and processing

• Download report PDF

  Download

Australia has the potential to become a global leader in hemp production. However, the industry remains small, partly due to the lack of machinery needed to efficiently process hemp fibre and hurd on a large scale. In a bid to support industry development, this project aimed to develop improved processes and modify machinery to enable the large-scale harvesting, decortication and packaging of hemp.

Inventor and hemp grower Gavin Hopkins, in collaboration with The Rennie Group’s Paul Rennie, developed an economical in-field decortication system that separates hemp fibre and hurd. The system, made possible through modifying a Case combine harvester, allows farmers to convert their hemp biomass into marketable products.

Additionally, they designed a process to fit a double-cut front to a Case combine harvester, enabling cost-effective hemp harvesting. Through being able to harvest hemp more efficiently and reliably, growers, particularly in New South Wales and Victoria, are incentivised to consider hemp as a viable crop. As interest in hemp cultivation grows, production volumes and the total area under production in Australia are anticipated to increase.