The Fiber of Our Being: The NIHC Global Industrial Hemp Fiber Summit Recap

This week on the Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast, we're listening to a recap of the 2025 Global Industrial Hemp Fiber Summit, hosted by the National Industrial Hemp Council of America at the Wilson College of Textiles at NC State, that took place in Raleigh, NC, July 15-17, 2025. For three well-planned days, leaders from across the hemp value chain came together—from farmers and geneticists to processors, engineers, and global apparel brands. On this episode we follow the flow of the summit itself, threading together powerful takeaways from the TED-style talks across agriculture, processing, textiles, composites, and branding. We hear from nearly 40 speakers—some familiar voices from the hemp world, and some new collaborators—sharing what's working, what's needed, and how we build a domestic fiber industry that actually works. Special thanks to the NIHC for sponsoring our travel, and to NC State's AV team for sharing the audio from the event. And thanks to our show sponsors HEMI – the Hemp Education & Marketing Initiative – and the National Hemp Association. On this show you will hear (in order of appearance): Rachel Raineri – Wilson College of Textiles – [00:00:01] Guy Carpenter – President, Bear Fiber – [00:02:37] Dr. Andre West – NC State, Textile Innovation Engine – [00:03:11] Patrick Atagi – President & CEO, NIHC – [00:04:14] Agriculture Dr. David Suchoff – NC State Extension – [00:05:41] Dr. Larry Smart – Cornell University – [00:06:05] Terry Moran – Kanda Seeds – [00:07:12] Glenn Kayll – Hemp Plastic Company – [00:07:36] Melissa Nelson – South Bend Industrial Hemp – [00:09:09] Rick Brown – Brown Family Farms – [00:10:07] Steve Groff –Cedar Meadow Farm – [00:10:45] Processing Trey Riddle – IND HEMP (moderator) – [00:11:35] Sandra Marquardt – On the Mark PR – [00:12:18] Coleman Beale – BastCore – [00:13:43] Satish Hodage – YUJ Labs – [00:14:42] Siyan Wang– PhD Researcher, NC State – [00:15:39] John Peterson – Dakota Hemp – [00:17:24] John Lupien – Consolidated Carbon – [00:18:52] Naiden Kremenliev – Argon Fiber / Tryon Finishing – [00:19:57] David Culp – Andritz / LaRoche – [00:21:29] Elias Junker – Andritz / LaRoche – [00:21:47] Textiles Ding Hongliang – Hemp Fortex – [00:22:44] Maciej Kowalski – Kombinat Konopny – [00:24:57] Dave Cook – Tuscarora Mills – [00:26:36] Dr. Andre West – NC State (follow-up) – [00:28:05] Arlo Estill – Hempsmith Clothing – [00:28:57] Composites & Building Materials Matty Mead – Hempitecture – [00:30:49] Trey Riddle – IND HEMP – [00:31:59] Dr. Daniel Walczyk – Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute – [00:33:41] Katie Coppenhaver – Oak Ridge National Lab (ORNL) – [00:35:12] Value Chain & Industry Strategy  Patrick Atagi – NIHC (again) – [00:38:59] Mark D'Sa – Panda Biotech – [00:39:50] Joseph Carringer – Sound Strategy / Hemp 3.0 – [00:42:23] Larry Serbin – Hemp Traders – [00:43:52] Gabriella Fioravanti – Jefferson University – [00:45:15] Olaf Jezela – Trace Femcare – [00:45:45] Pierre Berard – HEMI – [00:46:32] Erica Stark – National Hemp Association – [00:46:57]