Climate-Resilient Hemp for British Fields

Overview: Weatherproofing Britain’s Green Transition

The climate in the UK is changing fast, bringing wilder winds, sudden downpours, late frosts, and searing summer droughts—the kind of weather that can flatten, drown, or parch even the hardiest crops. For British 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 Precision Plants’ advanced trait breeding initiative to change this story. By stacking cutting-edge genetic resilience traits—from root anchorage to stem flexibility and rapid stress recovery—StormGuard lines like LongLine Fibre and YieldMax Duo are being engineered to thrive where ordinary crops fail. Our mission: protect the UK’s sustainable material future, field by field, come rain, wind, or drought.

The Challenge: Farming in the Age of Extremes

Weather Woes—A Growing Risk for Hemp

• 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 and devastating value.
• Unseasonal Downpours: Sudden floods and waterlogging 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 both profits and rotational planning.
• Intensity & Unpredictability: It’s no longer a question of “if” but “when”—and with UK climate models forecasting more frequent extreme events, risk to arable and fibre crops is only growing.

For processors and supply chains who need stable offtake, and for growers whose livelihoods hinge on harvest security, these risks multiply costs, insurance premiums, and uncertainty. Existing “continental” hemp simply wasn’t bred for the UK’s new normal.

The StormGuard Solution: Breeding True Resilience

Stacked Traits by Design

StormGuard is far more than a single-gene fix: it’s a comprehensive approach, drawing on the latest breakthroughs in genomics, trait discovery, and gene editing. We’re developing new hemp lines where resilience is engineered, not just hoped for—combining:

• Deep, Resilient Roots: Stronger, deeper root systems that anchor crops in gale-force winds and keep water and nutrients flowing through dry spells.
• Flexible, Elastic Stems: Enhanced cell-wall genes enable stems to bend (not break or snap) under wind or lodging pressure, with the ability to spring upright after major storms.
• Rapid Stress Response: Genes for heat-, drought-, and waterlogging-resilience boost recovery and yield stability, no matter what the weather throws at the crop.
• Stabilised Plant Height and Architecture: Balance between tall, productive plants and reduced wind exposure, fine-tuned for mechanical harvest and British farm conditions.
• Advanced Trait Stacking: Multiple resilience genes delivered together using precision breeding and CRISPR, so crops withstand all manner of climate shocks, not just one.

StormGuard lines represent a new class of ‘climate-adaptive’ hemp—British-born for British weather.

Project Roadmap: From Lab Proof to Field Powerhouse

2025: Baseline and Trait Discovery

• Non-edited, conventional hemp control plots at Rothamsted Research supply base data on how standard genetics cope with increasing UK weather volatility.
• Advanced genomics and phenotyping identify the key gene networks governing root strength, stem elasticity, and stress tolerance.

2026: Precision Breeding and Multi-Trait Editing

• Using CRISPR, we simultaneously target and stack multiple resilience traits in elite breeding lines, optimising combinations for different regions and risk-profiles.
• Greenhouse and controlled trials subject new lines to simulated wind, flood, and drought events, identifying the most robust candidates.

2027: Field Trials of StormGuard Lines

• Multi-location UK trials, including both fibre-led (e.g. LongLine Fibre) and dual-purpose (e.g. YieldMax Duo) StormGuard candidates.
• Side-by-side comparisons measure lodging, yield loss, and post-storm recovery—crunch data shared openly with growers, insurers, and processors.

2028 Onwards: Real-World Adoption and Impact

• Wider commercial pilots and knowledge-exchange workshops empower early adopter growers to de-risk rotations and secure contracts.
• Annual updates and trait-bundling offer region-tuned StormGuard lines, matched to local risks and ELMS stewardship needs.

The Benefits: Resilience Pays—For Farmers, Industry, and the Environment

1. Drastically Reduced Catastrophic Crop Loss

• Lodging, storm, or drought wipes out are minimised—translating into more predictable yields, reduced insurance claims, and lowered risk for all in the supply chain.
• Farm incomes stabilise, and processors can depend on British crops, not imports, for their fibre and food needs.

2. Higher and More Reliable Yields

• “Elastic” hemp means fewer fields lost to wind or rain; strong, upright crops result in cleaner, easier harvests and reduced food and fibre waste.
• More harvestable “hemp forest” per hectare means more carbon captured and stored annually.

3. Better Fit for Net-Zero, ELMS, and Carbon Markets

• Crops that thrive and persist, even after weather extremes, keep carbon-sequestration and soil-health benefits on track.
• Deep-rooted, fast-recovering hemp acts as a biodiversity and soil restoration tool within regenerative agricultural systems.

4. Supply Chain and Processor Confidence

• Predictable performance reduces contract penalties and spot-market price spikes, encouraging new investment in British processing facilities.
• Traceable, insurance-backed resilience credentials add value to food, fibre, textiles, and construction markets alike.

5. Grower Confidence and Sector Growth

• Farmers can invest and expand hemp confidently—knowing their risk profile aligns with the realities of modern British weather.
• A robust “resilience dividend” unlocks rotational flexibility and makes hemp an attractive, bankable option in mainstream agriculture.

Partnership at the Heart: Building Resilient Crops, Together

StormGuard is a true team effort, powered by:

• Plant geneticists and breeders at the University of Hertfordshire.
• Field agronomists from Rothamsted Research.
• Digital phenotyping and environmental stress experts, ensuring robust trait selection and validation.
• Supply chain and insurance partners, creating transparent, contract-ready risk metrics for British-grown hemp.
• Farmers, policymakers, and rural advisers, giving real-world feedback and helping tailor StormGuard lines to local needs and regulations.

Knowledge sharing is embedded from the start—trial data, management guides, andbest-practice protocols will be made openly available through workshops, online portals, and demonstration events. Our aim isn’t just to launch new seed varieties—it’s to create a resilient agricultural community equipped to face, and profit from, climate uncertainty.

Alignment with DEFRA, Innovate UK, and National Green Goals

StormGuard supports and accelerates several UK government priorities:

• Net Zero and Nature Recovery: By keeping high-biomass, deep-rooted crops thriving and actively pulling carbon from the atmosphere, StormGuard lines help meet the UK’s carbon sequestration and biodiversity restoration ambitions.
• Sustainable Intensification: Reliable yields, reduced input waste, and protection against catastrophic loss mean more output with fewer resources—a foundation of DEFRA’s vision for sustainable productivity.
• Climate-Resilient Rural Economies: With more robust rotations and dependable harvests, StormGuard supports farm incomes and rural jobs—even as weather volatility increases.
• Supply Chain Security: By stabilising UK-grown fibre and food supplies, StormGuard empowers homegrown businesses and reduces dependence on volatile imports, promoting food security and the UK’s position in sustainable materials.
• ELMS & Compliance: The resilience traits not only preserve yields but also ensure stewardship gains from year to year, so environmental schemes genuinely deliver the intended public goods.

Get Involved: Growing Resilience, Together

Are you:

• A progressive farmer wanting to reduce your weather risk and trial the next generation of climate-adapted hemp?
• A processor or supply chain partner interested in more reliable UK-grown fibre and crop contracts with resilience baked in?
• A policymaker, researcher, or advisor seeking practical models for climate change adaptation and rural prosperity?
• A new entrant to the sector wondering how to future-proof your business or enterprise from the ground up?

StormGuard is for you. We invite you to participate in pilot trials, knowledge exchanges, and feedback workshops, shaping these new lines as we bring them from lab to field to market. Your input will ensure StormGuard varieties aren’t just resilient on paper, but robust performers in the British countryside—with benefits for the whole rural economy.

The Big Picture: Future-Proofing British Hemp—and British Farming

Extreme weather may be here to stay, but with StormGuard, so are the opportunities. By combining science-led breeding with the realities of the British field, we’re building crops—and supply chains—that stand strong in the face of climate stress.

• Farmers gain peace of mind and renewed confidence to invest.
• Processors secure supply and unlock new value in low-carbon, traceable materials.
• Communities benefit from resilient rural economies and green new jobs.
• The environment gains from a sustainable landscape that captures more carbon, grows biodiversity, and weathers the storms of the next century.

“StormGuard sends a clear message: British farming isn’t just adapting to survive climate change—it’s innovating to thrive in it. With every resilient seed, we grow a greener, safer, and more productive countryside.”

StormGuard Hemp — Standing tall, whatever the weather, for British farmers and fields.