This summer, some greenhouses in the Netherlands are trying to grow tomatoes, peppers and eggplant: the sheets of organic substrates made with jute. The Holand is an important step for bioproducts, which is a traditional greenhouse. So far, the company has had the greatest success with Jute-based substrates in hydroponics and vertical agriculture.
At Greentech Amsterdam, the Holland Bioproducts presented its range of products, for greenhouse crops, jute pads as well as microgreens and jute plugs. “Right now, our main focus is hydroponics and vertical agriculture,” says sales director Sales de Haan, talking from the company’s office at the World Horti Center.
Holland Bioproducts were founded in 2017, but it brings more than fifteen years of experience to process jute. With this experience, the company develops a high quality compostable alternatives, with traditional substrates like peats and rockwools. Their products are made from a specific part of the jute plant fibers, asian (combined with other European raw materials).
Elastic crop Jute plugs have a unique conical form and sowing sowing, because they are designed to sow and disseminate hydroponic systems. Sometimes, while they need small adjustments, accessing existing configurations, large international customers are widely used, Arjen explained. Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States, Middle East, and Australia are successfully growing in the substrates of Holland bioproducts.
For microphen farms, the Holland bioproducts provides a completely organic blue line series, adapted to the pads, crop types and harvesting method, with or without roots.
The current movement of the more elastic crop is playing in the hands of the company. Piper production, increasingly increasingly changing alternatives from traditional substrates. For this market, Holland Bioproducts has developed a substrate sheet made with jute, mixed with miscthus and other herbs.
“It’s a really mix of organic fibers,” Arjen explained. “Jute gives strength, miscanthus adds aimena and the grass gives the volume. All components are sterilized to ensure safe crop.” Parts are more suitable than peppers, tomatoes and eggplants can also grow in them.
In collaboration with the manufacturers of the system Holland Bioproducts entered worldwide as a recently participant and became a member of the Dutch Greenhouse Delta, a network that contains many technical suppliers. “It’s very valuable for us,” Arjen says. “We explore how to adapt the system manufacturers together to make sure the systems can operate successfully with our substrates.”
Within the Dutch Delta Greenhouse, it has become an active company in the Middle East module. “We see strong growth there, like the use of peat in the pressure under pressure, is another important region of Scandinavia, where the Middle East is a key sustainability driver.”
Footprint To measure sustainability, Holand Bioproducts had its substrates evaluated by the universities and research of Wagening. “The results showed that our substrates are very well compared. Our footprint is significantly lower,” Arjen confirmed.
The numbers are very promising, especially for sheets used in fruit vegetables. “These slabs combine the grass and miscanthus. About 70% and 80% of raw materials help maintain a low footprint.”
Scaling with a slab Holland bioproduces are making continuous progress with its plugs and microgreen substratum, following new tests on the vegetable substrate slab. Soon, they will meet the farms to review the results of the season. “So far, the crops are growing well. Lately in heat containers, the breeders did not need to add more irrigation,” Arjen says. Looking up to 2026, the Netherlands expects to test four growers, that the slabs will be expanded to use a larger scale, and other breeders will begin with smaller rehearsals.
Arjen explained that the initial phase of the farming requires special attention. The growers cannot use the same methods applied with old substrates. However, as they are testing more crops, the growers are beginning to see the benefits of changing alternative materials. An example of jute, after use is completely composting. “This saves money to throw money costs,” Arjen says. Jute has a lower environmental impact, requiring less water than coca, and is certified according to the regulation of fertility products (FPR).
Pre-cultivated slab To fulfill the growing request and improve local availability, the Holland bioproducts is opening a new facility in the Middle East. Here, Jute will be sterilized and processed from India and Bangladesh, improving logistics and efficiency. In the future, the company also grows the opportunity to produce plugs on the site, helping to reduce costs even more.
“But first, our priority is to know more breeders to grow jute options,” Arjen says. It is an attractive product that can help you, the Holland bioprons has just added to its range. These slabs are aimed at other garden centers and other consumer vendors, but it is the surprise of Arjen, as well as interest in professional producers. “It really wasn’t something I expected,” he admits with a smile.
After fifteen years of successful cooperation, managing director Moritz Böcking and the shareholders of Klasmann-Deilmann GmbH have mutually agreed to part ways. As of May 1, 2026, Moritz Böcking will hand over the position of managing director to Jan Astrup, who served as the company’s CEO in 2021/2022. Jan Astrup and Damian Ikemann will form the Board of Directors of the Klasmann-Deilmann Group from now on.
Klasmann-Deilmann thanks Moritz Böcking for his cooperation and the progress achieved in the transformation of the Klasmann-Deilmann Group. Moritz Böcking expanded Klasmann-Deilmann beyond the growing media business into new areas of commercial horticulture and promoted innovation and digitalization within the company. In addition, its achievements include the expansion of resources derived from renewable raw materials, as well as the acquisition of a subsidiary in Australia and production facilities in France and Canada, which operate in cooperation with external partners. He also significantly advanced Klasmann-Deilmann’s positioning as a global pioneer of sustainable development in the growing media industry, thereby making a decisive contribution to the company’s economic growth.
With Jan Astrup, Klasmann-Deilmann is getting an internationally experienced manager who has proven himself in the company and has extensive experience in raw materials, production, process optimization and technology. With the new CEO, raw materials and technology-driven areas for the substrate industry are now increasingly important at senior management level. Jan Astrup will strengthen the core commercial horticulture business and help develop the company for the future.
Rep. James Comer (R-KY) introduced the delay proposal as an amendment to the Farm Bill, while Rep. Mary Miller (R-IL) introduced an expedited approach. Neither will move forward, however, with Comer withdrawing his measure and the House Rules Committee failing to vote on Miller’s.
Hemp derivatives containing less than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC by weight of the drug were made federally legal under the 2018 Farm Bill signed by President Donald Trump in his first term. But late last year, Trump signed new legislation containing provisions that will redefine hemp so that only products with a total of 0.4 milligrams of THC per container will be legal starting Nov. 12.
Comer’s amendment, sponsored by Reps. Kelly Morrison (D-MN), Ilhan Omar (D-MN) and Morgan Griffith (R-VA), would have delayed the ban until November 2027.
According to Miller’s proposal, however, the ban will begin the day the new Farm Bill takes effect. However, it is unclear based on progress in Congress whether the large-scale farming legislation will actually become law, and the legislation could not pass until after the current recriminalization date.
Comer told the panel at Monday’s meeting that his amendment would “protect American farmers” and “help the hemp industry and the thousands of jobs that use and rely on these products.”
“It is clear that Congress needs more time to pass legislation that protects jobs, eliminates bad actors, standardizes labeling and requires third-party testing,” he said. “My amendment would give Congress another year, until November 2027, to develop this solution.”
It is not clear why he decided to remove it from the annex to the proposal Farm BillAlso known as the Farm, Food, and National Security Act of 2026, or HR 7567.
Griffith, a member of the Rules Committee who sponsored Comer’s amendment, noted that there are “a lot of hemp products from overseas that don’t have third-party testing” on the market, “frankly all kinds of junk.”
He said the real solution is for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate the products, citing a separate bill he has introduced on the issue, but argued that “we have to have time to adjust,” which he said would provide the delay amendment.
Meanwhile, Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY) also introduced an amendment to the bill that, according to the sponsor’s summary, “changes the definition of hemp to protect the legal hemp market, creating a regulatory framework that protects children, bans synthetics, and ensures that products on the market are of American origin.”
The congressman later withdrew the proposal for undisclosed reasons.
Last week, Vince Haley, director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, and James Braid, assistant to the president for legislative affairs, sent hemp policy suggestions to Barr, who is helping lead efforts to establish regulations for the plant as an alternative to prohibition.
“We appreciate your work to advance policy,” the executive order Trump signed in December, which included provisions to protect Americans’ access to CBD products, the staff wrote in a letter to Congress.
“We are submitting draft legislation and comments to your account to address the final statutory definition of hemp-derived cannabinoid products to ensure that Americans have access to adequate full-spectrum CBD products while maintaining Congress’ intent to limit the sale of products that pose serious health risks,” White House officials said, according to a social media screencast. “We are open to discussion and further technical assistance.”
The annex to the administration’s proposed legislative text has not been released publicly, and the White House and Barr’s office did not immediately respond to Marihuana Moment’s request for more details.
It’s not clear from the text of the letter whether the White House was proactively sending legislative proposals to the lawmaker or whether they were responding to something sent by his office, though two cannabis industry sources suggested to Marihuana Moment that Barr was sending the language to the administration, and then providing technical feedback.
“I’m calling on Congress to update the Act so Americans can continue to have access to the full-spectrum CBD products they trust and support, while maintaining Congress’ intent to restrict the sale of products that pose health risks,” the president said in a Truth Social message Thursday, the same day his administration announced it is moving forward to re-regulate marijuana.
“We need to do this RIGHT and FAST, especially for those who have found CBD to help them,” he said. “Also, I’m told it will help our BIG FARMERS that we love and will always be around.”
The Farm Bill passed by the previous committee includes provisions to help the hemp industry and farmers who grow cannabis for industrial purposes, such as fiber and grain. For example, the legislation would amend statutes related to states and tribes developing regulatory plans for industrial hemp production, including policies on testing, sampling, background checks and record keeping.
Other bipartisan hemp reform bills are pending in Congress.
Ernst withdrew his name, however, as a sponsor of the legislation. His office did not respond to Marihuana Moment’s request for clarification on the move.
As hemp products become more popular among consumers, some big brands are trying to get in on the action.
The main retailer Target, for example, is expanding its involvement in the hemp-derived THC beverage market. Last year, the company began a pilot program in 10 stores in Minnesota that sell cannabis drinks. That apparently went well, and now the company has secured licenses from Minnesota regulators to sell lower-potency edible hemp products — including THC drinks — in 72 stores in the state.
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North Carolina lawmakers say they’re fueling debate over the state’s marijuana laws — a move by the Trump administration to reclassify it as a less dangerous drug.
Across the country, a set of laws and enforcements regulate marijuana. The drug is illegal under federal law, but dozens of US states have legalized it. And almost all states have legalized medical marijuana prescriptions for certain ailments. North Carolina is among the remaining states to resist any form of legalization. Republican politicians in North Carolina have resisted passing any bills to legalize or decriminalize marijuana, despite public opinion polls showing broad public support for such changes.
Senate President Phil Berger said he expects his chamber to revisit efforts to legalize medical marijuana this week. “We will have a conversation within our caucus if they are interested in whether we do something,” Berger told reporters Tuesday.
The recent actions of Republican President Donald Trump may add a new dimension to these conversations. Trump’s acting attorney general on Thursday signed the drug classification as a less dangerous and less strictly regulated drug than marijuana. Federal law does not legalize marijuana for medical or recreational use.