StormGuard™
Climate-Resilient Hemp for British Fields
Hardy plants that thrive through wild weather, anchoring the UK’s green transition.
The climate in the UK is changing, bringing wilder winds, sudden downpours, and searing summer droughts. For farmers betting on sustainable, profitable rotations, climate volatility isn’t a distant threat; it’s a fact of life. Unfortunately, most hemp varieties—bred for calmer, continental climates—are simply not up to the challenge.
StormGuard™ is our advanced trait-breeding initiative to change this story. By stacking cutting-edge genetic resilience traits, we are engineering our hemp varieties like LongLine Fibre™ and YieldMax Duo™ to thrive where ordinary crops fail. Our mission is to protect the UK’s sustainable material future, field by field, come rain, wind, or drought.
The Challenge: Farming in the Age of Extremes
Weather volatility is a growing risk for UK hemp cultivation.
- Wind and Gales: Tall hemp crops are particularly vulnerable to Britain’s infamous gales. One strong storm can “lodge” (flatten) whole fields, making harvest impossible.
- Unseasonal Downpours: Sudden floods and waterlogging can rot roots, stifle oxygen, and collapse plants just as they’re maturing.
- Severe Drought and Heat: Prolonged dry spells stunt growth, reduce fibre quality, and slash grain yields, threatening profits and rotational planning.
- Growing Unpredictability: With UK climate models forecasting more frequent extreme events, the risk to arable crops is only growing.
Our Vision: The StormGuard™ Solution
StormGuard™ is a comprehensive approach to engineer true resilience into our crops. We are developing new hemp lines that combine:
- Deep, Resilient Roots: To anchor crops in gale-force winds and keep water and nutrients flowing through dry spells.
- Flexible, Elastic Stems: To enable stems to bend, not break, under wind pressure and spring upright after major storms.
- Rapid Stress Response: To boost recovery and yield stability, no matter what the weather throws at the crop.
- Advanced Trait Stacking: Using precision breeding to deliver multiple resilience traits at once, so crops can withstand a combination of climate shocks.
The Journey: From Lab Proof to Field Powerhouse
Our commitment is to transparency and a data-driven development process. This is where the StormGuard™ initiative stands today:
- Lab Validation Achieved: We have successfully demonstrated that our precision-breeding technology works, giving us the tools to target and enhance the key genes for climate resilience.
- Baseline Trials & Trait Discovery Underway: Our control plots at Rothamsted Research are providing essential data on how standard genetics cope with UK weather. This allows us to identify the key gene networks governing root strength, stem elasticity, and stress tolerance.
- Precision Breeding for Resilience Next: The next, exciting phase will use CRISPR to simultaneously target and stack multiple resilience traits in our elite breeding lines. These new lines will then undergo rigorous testing in simulated wind, flood, and drought events before moving to field trials.
The Impact: Resilience Pays—For Farmers, Industry, and the Environment
- Drastically Reduced Crop Loss: Minimising losses from lodging, storms, or drought translates into more predictable yields and stable farm incomes.
- Higher and More Reliable Yields: Strong, upright crops result in cleaner, easier harvests and more carbon captured per hectare.
- Better Fit for Net-Zero & ELMS: Crops that persist through extreme weather keep carbon sequestration and soil health benefits on track.
- Supply Chain and Processor Confidence: Predictable performance encourages investment in British processing facilities and adds value across the supply chain.
Join the Collaboration
StormGuard™ is a true team effort, powered by geneticists, agronomists, and industry partners. We invite progressive farmers, processors, and researchers to join us in shaping these new, resilient varieties. Your input will ensure StormGuard™ crops aren’t just resilient on paper, but robust performers in the British countryside.