Australia has crossed a threshold that every emerging agricultural sector must eventually reach: it now has a national, evidence-based guide for selecting industrial hemp planting seed.
With the release of a final report on the country’s Industrial Hemp Variety Trials (IHVT) by AgriFutures, Australia’s agricultural R&D and industry-development corporation, the country has completed a three-year, coordinated set of trials across nine growing regions, from the tropics to Tasmania. Growers, processors and investors now have hard data on where hemp performs, how it performs, and under what conditions.
How adaptable?
The IHVT results confirmed that hemp is globally adaptable in principle, but environmentally specific in practice. Genetics developed in China consistently outperformed in northern tropical and sub-tropical regions of the country, delivering the strongest biomass and grain yields, while genetics from Europe and Canada dominated in southern temperate zones, offering greater stability and reliable quality under cooler conditions.
Locally selected seed lines — varieties trialed and adapted within Australia — showed promise in mid-latitude regions, pointing to future opportunities for domestic breeding.
In addition to varietal outcomes, researchers standardized agronomic settings, including recommended planting densities and guidance on irrigation systems, which were all found suitable with site-level adjustments.
Other key factors
Time of sowing reinforced the regional distinctions, according to the report. In the north, planting in April to May produced the best stands and grain formation; in southern states, November to December sowings delivered optimal performance.
Seed quality proved to be a systemic constraint, with some imported seed lots recording germination rates as low as 14 percent and quarantine delays interrupting planting schedules, the report notes.
THC monitoring showed that most genetics stayed below the 1.0 percent limit, but one imported line exceeded the legal threshold, leading to crop destruction — a clear signal that provenance and environmental fit matter. The report notes that varietal THC expression can shift under local conditions, meaning commercial cultivation must include monitoring, not just paperwork.
What’s needed now?
Strategically, the report argues that Australia cannot scale hemp without fixing three structural issues: national seed certification, investment in regionally adapted breeding, and regulatory harmonization across states, including THC sampling and movement of seed. The reports also underline that the sector’s future depends on consistent supply — growers need reliable genetics, and processors need predictable production volumes.
These themes echo what industry leaders told HempToday during a survey for the upcoming Australia & New Zealand Hemp Report: growers cannot make long-term decisions if each season depends on imported genetics, inconsistent rules or seed of unknown quality. The IHVT changes that dynamic. It replaces “trial first, learn later” with “data first, invest with confidence.”
To close out the hemp research trials, AgriFutures will host a national webinar to present final report results, regional learnings and next-phase research: Thursday, 27 November 2025, 11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. AEDT.