Hemp plans unveiled for Aileron cattle station, as NT Government passes
legislation By Jack Price ABC Rural 16.08.2019
A cattle station in the middle of Australia has
unveiled its plans to grow industrial hemp,
with the industry given the green light by the
Northern Territory Government this week.
Aileron Station, about 130 kilometres north of
Alice Springs, is expecting to start hemp trials
within the next three months, and has long-
term plans to grow up to 100 hectares of the
crop.
Mr Barratt said the company expected two
harvests each year, with the first commercial
harvest expected in 18 months.
The station has a 2,000 megalitre per year
water license for horticulture purposes and Mr
Barratt said they planned on using it all to
grow hemp.
He said they would start with one pivot before
expanding out to two, taking no more than
three years to reach full production.
The company expects to invest about
$500,000 in the Aileron hemp project,
including labour and irrigation infrastructure.
The NT Government passed legislation which allows
for the growing and processing of industrial hemp.
The station's owner, Caason Group, bought
the property in 2015 with the intention of
growing hemp, and has been waiting for the
Government to make it legal.
Caason general manager of group operations
Andrew Barratt told ABC Rural the group had
conducted plenty of research into industrial
hemp production in south-west WA, and it
was now hoping to play a "big part" in the
NT's hemp industry.
"The legislation is long-awaited and
represents a fantastic opportunity for the NT,"
he said.
"Since 2015 we have been involved in hemp
and have been looking at opportunities to trial
and develop hemp as a crop at Aileron.
"To that end, we have reviewed existing
research and applied our own knowledge
gained in WA, and are confident that we have
the right varietals and farming techniques to
be successful here."
Research suggests hemp can be grown in
arid Central Australia
Mr Barratt said the company was confident
hemp would grow well in the arid zone, but
they would conduct trials at Aileron Station
before expanding into to full production.
Until the legislation was passed, Caason
Group had not been able to conduct the hemp
trials.
Mr Barratt said although the red centre was
relatively dry, soil in the region was hardy,
and their research indicated it would be a good
place for growing hemp.
"Soil as a medium is very good — we believe
we have the right mix of organic inputs to be
successful here," he said.
"We have conducted a number of soil tests
and have established protocols with respect to
water technologies, soil microbials, fertilizers
and seed varietals that we believe will make
this successful.
"We have gone about as far as we can without
field tests — this legislation should allow for
that."