Canterbury hemp grower David Musgrave is convinced there is big potential for hemp seed as a food ingredient.
Most of his focus in pioneering a crop of 10ha has been on producing hemp seed oil.
He already runs a successful business producing flax seed oil.
"Initially we were quite excited about the qualities
of the oil, but it wasn't until I went to Canada and tasted some of the food that I realised there's a whole lot more.
"We're very excited about it. I brought some samples back, and they didn't last very long round here."
He was able to sow the plants because the Government gave the go-ahead in April last year for two years of hemp trials.
Industrial hemp is the same species as cannabis, but with the active drug component (THC) at a level too low for it to be used as a drug. Mr Musgrave said hemp had a similar amino acid balance to soya beans, but in a slightly more digestible form.
"It's probably the best vegetable protein source of any seed."
He said people described the flavour as somewhere between almonds and sunflowers, nutty and tasty. He also said hemp had a good balance of essential fatty acids.
"They have enough flavour to eat directly, but practically anything you can make from soya beans can use hemp," he said.
Mr Musgrave's plans for this year's crop remain open.
"It very much depends on how much we get.
"We'll certainly be pressing some oil. One of the key things is getting a fatty acid profile.
"For flax [linseed] and borage, New Zealand is recognised as producing high levels of essential fatty acids. I would be disappointed if that's not the case for hemp.
"We hope there will be enough to do some food processing trials and some test marketing."
Based on how the varieties grow and their fatty acid profiles, he will determine which ones to continue with.
He said a Nelson company used the hemp fibre to blend with wool for housing insulation.
Mr Musgrave said New Zealand was in a unique position because demand for hemp was already established.
"I don't think any other country has been in that position. So if we can sort out some of the problems, we've got the potential to grow the industry quite fast."
- NZPA
