This week on the Hemp Show, we talk to Kehrt Reyher, CEO and publisher of HempToday, a leading source of global hemp news.
An American expat from Indiana who has lived in Poland for more than 30 years, Reyher cut his teeth in journalism at U.S. newspapers like the Providence Journal and USA Today before moving overseas and launching a successful media company in Warsaw.
Since founding HempToday in 2015, he has become a trusted voice covering industrial hemp policy, international markets, CBD regulation and the ongoing fight to define what "true hemp" really means.
In this episode, we dig into the Lawful Hemp Protection Act introduced by Kentucky congressman Andy Barr, the future of CBD regulation in both the U.S. and Europe and why intoxicating hemp products have done lasting damage to the broader hemp industry.
We discuss Poland's Institute of Natural Fibers and Medicinal Plants, the upcoming European Industrial Hemp Association conference in Poznań, Australia and New Zealand's more practical hemp policies, hemp construction materials, micro-decorticators and why hemp must find its place inside larger natural fiber and biobased building markets.
As Kehrt puts it: true hemp is about fiber, food, and real industrial systems — not gas-station gummies.
This episode is a wide-ranging conversation about journalism, policy, construction, agriculture and the long unfinished work of building a real hemp economy.
Learn More
HempToday
hemptoday.net
European Industrial Hemp Association Conference
eiha-conference.org
Institute of Natural Fibers and Medicinal Plants
iwnirz.pl
News Nuggets
Draft bill in U.S. would wipe out intoxicants, rescue CBD, but what about 'true hemp'?
hemptoday.net/draft-bill-in-u-s-would-wipe-out-intoxicants-rescue-cbd-but-what-about-true-hemp
Sponsor Links
IND HEMP
indhemp.com
King's Agriseeds
kingsagriseeds.com
Robot Food:
In this episode of the Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast, host Eric Hurlock sits down with Kehrt Reyher, publisher of HempToday and a longtime journalist covering the global industrial hemp industry. An American expat living in Poland for more than 30 years, Kehrt brings decades of experience from U.S. newspapers like the Providence Journal, Detroit News, and USA Today, along with deep international knowledge of hemp policy, CBD regulation, and industrial hemp supply chains across Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States.
The conversation focuses on the growing divide between "true hemp" and the intoxicating hemp market. Eric and Kehrt discuss the Lawful Hemp Protection Act introduced by Kentucky Congressman Andy Barr, which aims to regulate synthetic intoxicating hemp products while preserving a legal path for wellness CBD. They examine how gas-station THC products and unregulated intoxicants have damaged the hemp brand and distracted policymakers from the original promise of the 2018 Farm Bill: building markets for hemp fiber, hemp grain, animal feed, and industrial hemp processing infrastructure.
Kehrt explains why he defines true hemp as the stalk and the seed—fiber, food, and industrial applications rather than cannabinoids alone. The episode explores the future of hemp construction materials, hempcrete, prefab building systems, and hemp-based bricks, along with broader conversations about biobased building materials and sustainable agriculture. They also discuss small-scale decortication systems, modular hemp processing, and why industrial hemp must compete within the larger natural fiber economy alongside flax, jute, and other bast fibers.
The episode also highlights the upcoming European Industrial Hemp Association conference in Poznań, Poland, hosted at the historic Institute of Natural Fibers and Medicinal Plants. Kehrt shares why he believes Australia and New Zealand are currently leading the world in sensible hemp policy and why Europe continues to offer stronger support for bio-based materials and industrial hemp development. This is a wide-ranging conversation about journalism, regulation, sustainability, and the long-term future of industrial hemp as a serious agricultural and manufacturing sector.
