Hemp as an Indicator Species: Mapping the Future of Bio-Based Building

Hemp as an Indicator Species: Mapping the Future of Bio-Based Building

Author: Eric Hurlock, Digital Editor February 19, 2026 Duration: 44:53

This week on the Hemp Show, we widen the lens. Hemp is more than a crop — it's part of a larger material system that connects farms, forests, manufacturers, builders and cities.

Architect and urban researcher Kaja Kühl joins the podcast to explain why she calls hemp and straw "indicator species" — materials that signal the health of a regional building ecosystem. Through her Bio-Based Materials & Construction Resources Map, she has been documenting the farms, processors and builders already working across the Northeast.

In this conversation, we explore what it would take to scale regenerative construction from rural landscapes into dense urban markets — and why regional supply chains may matter more than centralized industrial models.

We discuss:

• Hempcrete as a carbon-storing wall system

• Why moisture regulation and indoor air quality may be hemp's most overlooked strengths

• Straw panel manufacturing and collaborative scaling models

• The advantages — and challenges — of building in a dense Northeastern region

• Housing as long-term carbon storage infrastructure

Kühl also reflects on building two carbon-zero hemp homes in New York's Hudson Valley and what she learned working alongside early-stage material startups.

As federal climate policy shifts, atmospheric carbon does not. If emissions oversight weakens, land-based carbon strategies — including fiber crops like hemp — only grow more consequential.

This episode situates hemp inside a broader conversation about how we build, where materials come from and how regional economies can store carbon in the walls around us.

News Nuggets

Farm Bill / Hemp Language

U.S. House Agriculture Committee – Farm, Food and National Security Act of 2026 (Draft Bill Information)

National Hemp Association – Industry Response & Policy Updates

USDA Hemp Production Program

EPA Endangerment Finding

EPA 2009 Endangerment Finding (Clean Air Act)

Clean Air Act Overview (EPA)

Learn More

You Are the City – Kaja Kühl's Practice

Bio-Based Materials & Construction Resources Map

City College of New York – Architecture

Columbia University GSAPP

Bio-Based Materials Collective

https://biobasedcollective.org

Thanks to our Sponsor

IND HEMP 


There’s a quiet revolution happening in fields and factories, and it’s centered on a single, versatile plant. Industrial Hemp Podcast, guided by Eric Hurlock, the Digital Editor at Lancaster Farming, moves beyond the headlines to explore what’s actually happening on the ground. This isn’t just theoretical discussion; it’s a direct line to the people driving the industry forward. Each episode features conversations with the farmers who are planting and harvesting these crops, facing very real agronomic challenges and opportunities. You’ll also hear from researchers, processors, and policy experts who are shaping the future of hemp for fiber, grain, and other industrial applications. The dialogue digs into the practicalities-from planting techniques and harvesting equipment to market trends, regulatory hurdles, and technological innovations that are changing the game. It’s a clear-eyed look at an agricultural sector finding its footing, reported by journalists with deep roots in farming communities. For anyone curious about the business, science, and sheer hard work behind industrial hemp, this podcast serves as an essential, grounded resource. Tune in for honest talk that cuts through the hype and gets to the root of this growing field.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

Industrial Hemp Podcast
Podcast Episodes
Building a Hemp Hub in Northern Illinois with Kifcure [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:54:03
This week on the Hemp Podcast, Lancaster Farming talks with Kelly Burke from Kifcure, an Illinois-based hemp company that is focused on developing the hemp industry in the Land of Lincoln. Burke, along with her husband J…
Hemp in Europe: Voices from the EHIA Conference and Expo in Prague [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:26:24
On this week's Hemp Podcast, I recap my recent visit to the Heart of Europe, the Golden City, the City of a Hundred Spires, the capital city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of the Kingdom of Bohemia — Pr…
Will the Hemp Industry Survive the Miller Amendment? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:19
On this week's hemp podcast we discuss a recent amendment to the House draft of the 2024 Farm Bill known as the Miller Amendment, which was introduced by Rep. Mary Miller, R-Ill. The amendment effectively bans all hemp p…
Czech Your Hemp with Hana Gabrielová [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:48
On this week's hemp podcast, Lancaster Farming talks to Czech hemp farmer, consultant and advocate Hana Gabrielová, who started her first hemp company, Hempoint, in 2010 and has been instrumental in developing the hemp i…
Bear Fiber Weaves American Textiles with Hemp [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:39
On this week's Hemp Podcast, we talk to Guy Carpenter, founder of Bear Fiber in North Carolina, where he is spinning a blend of hemp and cotton into yarn and making garments like hats, shirts, and socks. "The vision was…
Industrial Hemp on the National Mall [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:09
Apologies to Jimmy Stewart. I only went to Washington for one day. I took the train from Philadelphia May 6 to record a podcast episode at the Ag on the Mall event on the National Mall in D.C. The National Hemp Associati…
Hempcrete Workshop Lays Foundation to Build Industry and Community [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:34:41
This week's podcast takes us to a hempcrete workshop in Barto, Pennsylvania. That's where Cameron McIntosh of Americhanvre Cast-Hemp hosted a four-day hands-on training session to teach the basics of the spray-applied me…
Exploring Hemp Fiber Agronomy and Genetics [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:04
On this week's hemp podcast, we listen to a panel discussion from the NoCo Hemp Expo that took place in Colorado earlier this month. The panelists were Rachel Berry, a farmer and founder of the Illinois Hemp Growers Asso…
420 Special: Rumble Strip – John Rodgers Weed Farmer [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:48
On this 420 Bonus show, we share an episode of one of our favorite podcasts, Rumble Strip. It's made by Erica Heilman who tells stories of rural Vermont. On this episode she interviews Vermonter John Rodgers, a stonemaso…