b'GREEN REVOLUTIONWhether its the industrial hemp side or medical/recreational cannabis, this crop is reaching new heights in research and consumer appeal.Marc ZienkiewiczIN CANADA, the demand for high can- half a million acres of hemp were grownwhich are important to consumers.nabinoid hemp varieties has been steadilypredominantly for cannabinoids.In order to develop new cultivars, increasing over the past few years. WhileThe Canadian market, however, sta- the company uses consumer research industrial hemp varieties that werebilized after the initial spike. The hempand focus groups to help them make approved for cultivation in Canada in theindustry in the U.S. is still relatively new,choices. They also have a DNA lab and past had low levels of cannabinoids suchand the market is therefore volatile andrun genetic markers to screen materials as CBD or CBG, the demand for highnot well-established. The acres of hempand select genotypes that they like. They cannabinoid varieties has changed thebeing grown in Canada have stabilizedbreed for potency, which is currently game for the hemp industry in Canada. at a healthy level, with only 3% ofa very popular trait in the recreational Its just one recent innovation thatCanadian acres being dedicated to high- market.is fueling what might be called a greenCBD varieties. One of the companys recent suc-revolution in Canadas cannabis sector,As of April 2023, there are 84 indus- cesses is the launch of a new product whether that cannabis be in the formtrial hemp varieties allowed for commer- called Valour, launched into Auroras of industrial hemp or varieties used forcial cultivation in Canada, and about amedical program which serves veterans, medical or recreational purposes. dozen of them are high-CBD or high- among many others. The company had Between 2018 and 2021, there wasCBG varieties.a group of veterans come to their facility a significant increase in the productionto tour the greenhouse and give input and harvesting of flowers for cannabi- Taking Cannabis to New Heights on the kinds of things they liked. This noids extraction in Canada. ProcessorsCannabis is a hot topic in Canada theseinput helped the company choose the who extract cannabinoids from hempdays, especially since it became legal forproduct they eventually launched as requested varieties that have more thanrecreational use in 2018. On the recrea- Valour, which has been a huge success, one to 2% cannabinoids, which the graintional and medical side, Aurora Cannabissays Charles Pick, senior vice-president and fibre varieties typically lacked,is taking cannabis to the next level byscience and innovation at Aurora.notes Jan Slaski, principal researcher forusing science to breed and develop betterOn the hemp side, the industry InnoTech Alberta.cultivars of the plant. This companyhas been evolving rapidly over the past But then came April 21, 2021. Ithas the countrys largest research andfew years as well, driven by changing was a huge day for industrial hemp indevelopment facility in Comox, Britishconsumer demands and preferences. In Canada. It was on that day that HealthColumbia, with an impressive 20,0002021, the majority of hemp production Canada released its latest list of approvedsquare feet of space. They test nearlyin Canada was focused on food. In 2022, hemp cultivars, which for the first time10,000 unique genotypes each year. there was a shift towards dual-purpose or included high-cannabinoid varieties. Aurora is not only involved in breed- single fibre usage-type varieties, indi-The new varieties that were intro- ing cannabis, but it also grows, processes,cating a changing trend in consumer duced offered up to 12% cannabinoids,packages and sells it directly to patientspreferences.which led to a spike in production inand retailers. They focus on productionOne major driver of this change is 2020 and 2021. This boom in demandtraits, such as yield and disease resistance,sustainability. Consumers are increas-was similar to what happened in thewhich are important to growers, as well asingly concerned about the carbon U.S. market in 2019 and 2020 whenquality traits, such as aroma and potency,footprint of the products they use and are 40GERMINATION.CAJULY 2023'