A crop that works
for the farm,
not just the market.
Hemp is not a lifestyle crop. It is a rotational break crop with measurable agronomic benefits, a clear licensing pathway, and — through the Hemp Growers Co-operative — a route to retaining the processing margin on the farm balance sheet.
Agronomeg · Agronomics
What hemp does
to your land.
Hemp's canopy closes within three to four weeks of emergence, suppressing weed competition without herbicide. This reduces input costs and supports the transition to lower-chemical farming systems — a key requirement of the Sustainable Farming Scheme.
The root system — which can reach two metres in depth — breaks up compaction, improves drainage, and increases organic matter in the topsoil. Subsequent cereal crops in rotations that include hemp consistently show yield improvements.
Hemp also has documented phytoremediation properties — the ability to draw heavy metals and other contaminants from contaminated soils. For Welsh farmland affected by historic industrial activity, this presents an additional use case beyond commercial production.
Trwyddedu · Licensing
The licensing process
is navigable.
We have done it.
Industrial hemp cultivation in the UK requires a Home Office licence under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. Approved varieties — those containing less than 0.2% THC — are listed on the EU common catalogue and recognised by the Home Office.
Applications are submitted to the Home Office Drugs and Firearms Licensing Unit. They typically take eight to twelve weeks to process. Licences are granted for one year and are renewable. There is no limit on acreage.
Hemp Cymru works with growers through the application process — providing documentation support, variety selection guidance, and liaison with the licensing authority where required.
Co-operative members will benefit from a shared licensing framework developed for group growing structures — reducing the administrative burden on individual farms and standardising the compliance process across the grower network.
Y Gymdeithas Gydweithredol · The Co-operative
Own the processing margin.
Not just the crop.
The fundamental problem with commodity farming is that the value is created downstream — in processing, manufacturing, and retail — while the farmer absorbs the input costs and weather risk at the farm gate. Hemp is no different, unless the farmer owns the processing infrastructure.
The Hemp Growers Co-operative is structured to give founding members a direct equity stake in the processing operation. When the decortication facility processes your hemp, you receive a share of the processing margin — not just the farm gate price for raw straw.
The Co-operative instrument is currently in formation. Founding membership is open to Welsh farmers who commit to growing hemp in the first season. Commitment does not require acreage decisions at this stage — it secures your place in the founding membership structure before it closes.
The Co-operative will be democratically governed — one member, one vote — with surplus distributed in proportion to the volume of crop delivered to the processing facility each season.
No commitment required at this stage. Founding membership closes when the Co-operative instrument is finalised.