Dr. Walker inquires about the progress of a project testing hemp as livestock feed, and the Minister provides an update, noting the extension of Phase 2 and plans for future research contingent on its results.

AnsweredQoN 440Legislative Council
Asked
9 May 2023
Portfolio
Agriculture and Food

QuestionView source ↗

HEMP — LIVESTOCK FEED
440. Hon Dr BRIAN WALKER to the Minister for Agriculture and
Food:
I refer the minister to the
Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development release issued in
December entitled ''Opening the gates to hemp fed livestock in Australia'',
which gave details of a plan to test hemp as a new summer forage option for
ruminants. Welcoming the move, I ask the following.
(1) Can the
minister update the house on this project and any outcomes that may have
emerged from the second phase of testing, which was scheduled to conclude in
March this year?
(2) Can she outline any plans for
further research, presuming the second phase concluded successfully?

AnswerView source ↗

I thank the member for some notice
of the question.
(1) Opening the
gates to hemp-fed livestock in Australia is a Department of Primary Industries
and Regional Development–led project, with the aim to provide data on
the nutritional value of hemp and THC residues in tissues from sheep fed
industrial hemp to assist the development of regulations on its use as a forage
crop. Phase 2 has been extended and is now due for completion in November 2023.
It will provide information on the half-life, or breakdown, of THC in
livestock.
(2) The direction
of future research will be dependent on the outcomes and results of phase 2 of
the project.

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