The USDA newest paper 'Hemp Research Needs Roadmap' identifies four areas of opportunities and challenges for industrial hemp, which are all important. But one of these challenges, "biobased products manufacturing for end-uses," completely misses the mark on what is without a doubt the biggest challenge the industrial hemp industry faces today…secure supplychains.

While it is true that biobased products are manufactured for end-uses, are we to assume that new manufactures will go out looking for end-users, isn't that the equivalent of pushing a rope uphill?

The only sensible approach to this problem, is to start at the top of the hill and work our way down. And at the top are the national and international industry CEOs, whose decisions affect all downstream industries they rely on. And those CEOs collectively wield the power to effectively change when and how their #supplychains function.

The top is where the "chicken or egg" problem has to be solved, because when industry leaders sign purchase guarantees for biobased industrial hemp materials when competitive pricing, comparative quality are acceptable and secure supply chains are established, then everything immediately changes.

A purchase guarantee would immediately allow downstream industries to qualify for private financing and governmental assistance. This funding would be followed with contract guarantees for local farmers to product raw feedstock for those downstream industries.

Excuse reality for a minute and imagine you are the CEO of Apple, Ford, Toyota or BASF (we don't make your products, we make them better) and you have just guaranteed to purchase biobased industrial hemp for your particular industry.

As a media-savvy CEO, you recognize this as an incredible PR gold mine that highlights your companies as responsible corporate citizens supporting famers and helping to rebuild struggling rural economies. And best of all, that purchase guarantee you signed, didn't cost your company a dime. And that brilliant PR campaign you created, is as good today as it will be in ten years, when industrial hemp is your companies' main feedstock, and you are its hero.

So once purchase guarantees solve the present "chicken or egg" problem, we will know what came first…it was the national and international industry CEOs.