Hemp was planted in Iowa in 1943 and ] 944 as a war emergency crop under a program planned to meet expected shortages of cordage fibers resulting from the loss of the Philippines and the Dutch East Indies to Japan in 1942. There was no general previous experience with this crop in the state, and as much as 45,000 acres grouped around 11 mill sites in the north-central counties were called for in the first season. A small acreage of domestic hemp had been produced in Wisconsin and Kentucky for many years so that there was a considerable volume of information as to the cultural and management practices required. That soil and climatic conditions in Iowa. would be reasonably suitable for the growth of this crop was not doubted, and this was confirmed by successful small experimental plantings in 1942. There was some doubt, however, whether the moisture conditions in the fall would be as suitable for the retting of the straw as in the hemp area in Wisconsin.