FarmED Hemp in the News
May 12, 2026
FarmED’s new eco conference building constructed using hempcrete has been in the news. BBC reporter Martin Eastaugh came to film a feature for BBC South Today (broadcast on 30th April 2026), interviewing architect Tim Tasker and FarmED’s co-founder, Ian Wilkinson. Ian was also interviewed on BBC Radio Oxford’s Breakfast Show and a written online news piece (local news for Oxfordshire) was titled Cannabis Homes: The Future of Construction.
The feature on BBC South Today begins by asking, ‘could hemp be the future of homebuilding?’ and the item covers the history of farming hemp for rope and food before visiting a factory in Didcot that now turns the shiv into hempcrete, and then focusing on FarmED. With footage of the new building which is described as ‘a demonstration of what can be achieved with hemp,’ the feature explains how FarmED’s ‘£6 million research project’, shows ‘that we should be growing our own homes.’ Ian Wilkinson expands on the benefits of this ‘win-win crop’ which ‘needs few inputs.’ The item concludes that it’s a way for farmers to ‘diversify and tackle climate change’ with farmers themselves calling for simplification and relaxation of the rules regarding growing industrial hemp.
Gemma Hill, sitting in for Phil Mercer on the Breakfast Show on Radio Oxford, interviewed Ian Wilkinson, who said: ‘We need to get over the prejudice and start thinking of this as an opportunity for Oxfordshire and for farmers and for people who live in houses.’
BBC Radio Oxford
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002vczn (Scroll to 1:38)
BBC Online
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cly9ynjpyzjo
BBC South Today
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bBTrfxYQ79gRz88FUfOv75V3tZ8sZDNi/view?usp=drive_link
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