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Originally Posted by forfismum
In the north of my country we once had a thriving linen industry,the flax used is a finer fibre than hemp and the oil yield is 25% higher at app. 480 lt/ha ,hemp giving app. 360lt/ha. Corn comes in at 170lt/ha.Yields are of course likely to vary according to growing conditions but the importance of "older" species of plant tends to be overlooked and underestimated.
Rape [or Canola if you insist] comes in at about 1200lt/ha and right now this is in flower in the countryside around me.Is it illegal to grow this crop within 2 miles of a school ? I think ,and may be wrong here,that it is a forbidden crop near schools in the UK?
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You wouldn’t grow corn for oil. Cereal grains are usually low in oil. Corn is grown for the carbohydrates, which are then fermented to ethanol. Flax has oil content similar or slightly lower than canola (up to 40%). Trouble with flax is that it is harder to grow and yields 1-2 T/ha, often closer to 1.5 than 2 T/ha.
Yields of course depends on water, fertilizer, soil and climate. Industrial hemp requires nitrogen inputs – quite a lot if you want to maximise yields. You could grow it on waste land with no inputs, but should expect the yield to suffer accordingly. It is not as sensitive to weed competition as sunflowers and less affected by insects compared to canola. Again, if you wanted maximize yields you would need to invest in weed control and control of some pests. Of course if you wanted enough hemp oil to do anything significant with, you would need to displace other land uses – e.g. other crops, pasture or native vegetation.
I don’t know that it has ever been illegal to grow oilseed rape near schools. Must be a funny place where you live.