GREAT FALLS — This week, IND HEMP of Fort Benton hosted their third annual Montana Hemp Summer Summit, to help educate the community about the hemp industry. Their mission is to provide new opportunities for farmers and rural communities in Montana and across the American West.
The first Montana Hemp Summer Summit was a one-day event that only took place in Fort Benton. Due to the popularity of the event, they expanded this year into a three-day event, with the first day taking place in Great Falls at the University of Providence on Tuesday.
More than 100 people were in attendance as they listened to various speakers in the industrial hemp industry. Topics included hemp's role in regenerative agriculture, hemp's role in construction, farming hemp, hemp agronomy, and more.
Axel Hinrichs of Polyvlies, a group that develops and produces innovative technical nonwovens in North Carolina, explained what his business does.
Hinrichs said, "Nonwovens is a cheap way to produce textile, which is used very often in industrial processes. So, we are focusing on automotive mainly because the nonwovens are a staple fiber needle punched as we do them. They are very lightweight and that's a big advantage in automotive."
Sam Sullivan works at a specialty chemical distributor in the plastics, PVC, and sustainability market in Cleveland, Ohio. She stated the reason for making her way to the Treasure State for an event such as this.
"We like to make sure that we have partners that are really progressive in industries, specifically sustainability," Sullivan said. "We have a partnership with IND HEMP to bring sustainable solutions to the plastics market and compounding."
IND HEMP also invited the community to tour their fiber processing facility in Fort Benton. The tour offers a closer look at how bales of locally grown hemp fiber are processed into a versatile material ranging from animal bedding to textiles.
IND HEMP hosts the event in mid-to-late summer in aligning with hemp's growing season.
To learn more about IND HEMP and their mission, click here.
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