Fiber and Grain Focus of Lancaster County Hemp Field Days
New West Genetics CEO, Wendy Mosher attends King AgriSeeds and Penn State field days. Fiber and Grain Focus of Lancaster County Hemp Field Days
Kings AgriSeeds Field Day
New West Genetics CEO, Wendy Mosher attends the Kings AgriSeeds field day in Pennsylvania to share with farmers and industry folks about our breeding program, premium certified hemp seed varieties, and the research and development behind our top performing varieties.
NWG AMPLIFY™, A Hybrid Hemp Seed, is Poised to Transform the Hemp Supply Chain.
New West Genetics (NWG) is pleased to announce seed production for their hybrid trait, AMPLIFY, has begun this 2023 season. NWG’s AMPLIFY trait creates a non-GMO hybrid that doubles grain yield while offering the traditional benefits of a hybrid crop. This jump in yield and reliability will revolutionize the economics of hemp production, enabling hemp to compete with established crops like soy and canola, paving the way for hemp's entry into the food, feed, and sustainable fuels markets. The power of hybrid crops has transformed agricultural production, addressing the needs of the expanding population and the needs of farmers for more vigorous and reliable genetics. “Beyond yield increases that come with hybrids, the benefits also include faster growth, seedling vigor, better stress responses, and disease resistance,” reports NWG Chief Technology Officer Rich Fletcher. In challenging conditions, hybrid varieties can become better established than open-pollinated or conventional genetics. Hybrids like AMPLIFY also allow for more flexibility with planting timing, which is highly valuable for unpredictable weather patterns. Field of NWG AMPLIFY, a non-GMO hybrid trait and genetic gender skew that doubles yields. In the US, acceptance of hemp in traditional rotations requires that the crop is economically competitive with established crops, including soy and corn. NWG’s AMPLIFY technology combines genetic traits, hybrid vigor, and entirely female populations to drive hemp grain to reach and even exceed this threshold. Whereas a typical hybrid yield increase in row crops ranges from 10-30%, AMPLIFY enables a 2x yield increase. This innovative combination [...]
NWG Named Top Independent Seed Company
New West Genetics named a Top Independent Seed Company by AgriBusiness Review. The agriculture industry is facing many challenges due to climate change and a growing population. Hemp is a crop that offers superior sustainability advantages over traditional commercial crops, while possessing competitive protein, fiber, and oil profiles to serve the same markets. New West Genetics leverages a blend of expertise in traditional breeding techniques and modern genomics to create hybrids and varieties that offer uniformity, superior yields and ongoing adaptation to new regions. Our groundbreaking hybrid trait AMPLIFY™ provides yields competitive with soy, thus enabling competitive price points to serve the fiber, feed, fuel, and foods markets. Another key advantage of this trait is that it can be crossed with varieties across the globe, essentially doubling yields and improving vigor. AMPLIFY, with a commercial release next season, is just one example of our non-GMO cutting-edge traits to be released over the next few years. Breeding must be market-driven and customer responsive. In collaboration with clients, we create improved products based on data-driven processes. We are proud that these customer-centric and innovative methods have paved the way for a sound hemp industry, and a competitive rotational option for the agriculture industry. Full Article on AgriBusiness Review Top Seed Companies Seed Edition NWG Profile
Dual-Purpose Hemp Crop Production
NWG believes that this early in the hemp industry, you can not have a fiber industry without a grain industry, and vice versa. This is why we first created dual-purpose varieties. Depending on processor prices, these varieties can be grown for single purpose production, however when grown for both grain and fiber yields, the dual-crop approach allows hemp acres to compete economically with other large commodity crops. As farmers adopt hemp into their rotation, they find the highest profits are earned through dual-crop production. Utilizing good grain production varieties also lowers the cost of fiber seed production. Dual-crop hemp production is common in European production where they have successfully developed markets using well adapted dual-purpose genetics. Dual-cropping relies on genetics that raise crops tall enough to offer significant stalk yield while producing good grain yields. A great dual-purpose genetic is the NWG ABOUND family of genetics – bred and adapted in the US. Even a year ago , valorizing both stalk and grain was minimally feasible due to the lack of functioning, regional fiber processing infrastructure, but slowly and steadily regional constellations of fiber and grain processors are coming online across the US working with both grain and fiber. Numerous fiber specific processors have come online in the last year, mitigating the logistics costs associated with trucking massive hemp bales. A successful dual-purpose crop starts with good genetic selection and agronomic management. Existing on farm equipment for row cropping and alfalfa production can handle both of these processes. Fertility [...]
HudsonAlpha and New West Genetics collaborate on USDA-NIFA grant
Faculty Investigator Alex Harkess’ laboratory at HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology, and their collaborators New West Genetics, were recently awarded a three-year, $650,000 United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA) grant that aims to unlock the full potential of industrial hemp, a versatile plant used for centuries as a source of industrial fiber, seed oil, food, and medicine. In our changing climate, there is a growing need for more adapted and sustainable crops. Industrial hemp is a promising candidate for sustainable fiber, protein, and oil because it has a deep, massive root structure that sequesters more carbon than typical row crops, requires lower inputs, and has greater drought and pest resistance. Hemp plants are also interesting from a biological standpoint because they have separate male and female sexes. Among the two, female hemp plants possess greater commercial value due to their higher biomass production and exclusive ability to yield seeds that are rich in beneficial lipids and proteins. As a result, hemp breeders strive to achieve a substantial proportion of female plants thriving in their cultivated areas. This emphasis on maximizing female hemp plants aligns with the broader objective of harnessing the crop's sustainable qualities to thrive in our changing climate. HudsonAlpha Faculty Investigator Alex Harkess, PhD, and his lab are experts at studying the genetic basis of sex in plants. Through this USDA-NIFA grant, Harkess and his lab will build several high-quality hemp genomes and use them to identify and analyze the hemp sex chromosome [...]
NWG Awarded Grant from OEDIT’s Advanced Industries Accelerator Program
New West Genetics has been awarded a grant as part of the Advanced Industries Accelerator Programs! We are honored to be among the Colorado startups and researchers selected to receive this award for our groundbreaking work. New West is committed to addressing the challenges facing agriculture through hemp. The grant award, administered by the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade (OEDIT), underscores our commitment to pushing the boundaries of scientific innovation. Specifically, this grant will play a pivotal role in propelling our commercialization efforts for AMPLIFY™ to new heights. Our newest genetic technology, AMPLIFY, a genetic hybrid and gender skew trait is being produced on Colorado soil this season in preparation for commercial launch. The hybrid vigor and gender skew doubles grain and flower yield, as well as greatly increases the uniformity of stalks in the field. This dramatic yield increase and uniformity allows hemp grain to compete with the likes of soy and cotton, opening the door to adoption for food, feed, fiber, and sustainable fuels markets. AMPLIFY will revolutionize the hemp industry. We are grateful for the opportunity to further our mission. We would like to express our gratitude to the state of Colorado, our Governor for his focus on innovation through the private sector, and the Advanced Industries Accelerator Programs of OEDIT for their trust in our team and our work. Moreover, we would like to extend our appreciation to all of our NWG team members whose dedication and hard work made this achievement possible. Their [...]
Planting Density & NWG Fiber Varieties
This 2023 season, NWG will enter trials that asses fiber quality across varieties for various applications. Many unknowns still exist in fiber specifications and genetic performance across varieties, but what we do know is that NWG varieties are compliant, harvestable, and more uniform than most. Another recent study out of Turkey, Optimizing plant density for fiber and seed production in industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.), looked at hemp planting densities and their relation to stem diameter and fiber quality - there is high variation within the genetics. “Stem diameter was significantly altered by cultivars…The highest stem diameter was noted under 100 and 150 plants m−2 planting densities, whereas planting at 250 plants m−2 resulted in the lowest values.” (The trial planting densities range from 400k - 1M plants/ac.) NWG is constantly improving and adapting genetics to US environments- we have a rich pipeline that is responsive to market needs. NWG varieties can be planted at lower densities, and due to well-bred genetics, the stalk diameter remains low. This translates to less seed needed per acre, rendering a competitive price point/acre. In the right latitude, NWG varieties flower in a timely manner, lowering seed production costs, and keeping seed production in the US, adding value and know-how to our US supply chain. Seed production costs to commercial yield calculations should be assessed in every model. We value working with and understanding processor models. There are many models out there; we’re always happy to discuss and see if NWG [...]
Pre-emergent Herbicide Labeled for Hemp
Pre-emergent Herbicide Labeled for Hemp The New West Genetics Agronomy team advises that hemp now has a labeled pre-emergent herbicide available. Hemp producers can benefit from soil-applied residual weed control, providing a head start for the hemp crop to reach canopy and suppress weeds. “This effort included extensive trial work with private cooperators and universities and IR-4’s work in Hemp, Stevia, and crop group expansion. This registration also marks the first U.S. tolerance of a herbicide for use in hemp.”
April Newsletter 2023
Planting Season Support NWG is invested in building the US hemp industry, and ensuring a future with knowledgeable, experienced, and successful hemp farmers. Our agronomic support package is designed to educate and empower farmers to maximize hemp yields and optimize hemp in their crop rotation. Our agronomy team is sitting down with producers discussing soil tests, field selection & preparation, grain drill settings, fertility requirements and optimal planting conditions to target. Getting hemp planted and establishing a stand can be a challenge, but with good agronomic management you can achieve great emergence and set your field up for successful yields. NWG Agronomic Excellence Program Our premium, US bred seed is backed by 9 years of breeding AND agronomic support from experienced agronomists to maximize your production success. Processors and producers alike appreciate peace of mind having a team at their side. We support you through learning a new crop and achieving grain and fiber yields to meet specifications. Find out more about our agronomic support package and get connected with an NWG agronomist today. NWG Agronomy Package