Last month Jeremy Buckingham hit the road to Moree with Minister Tara Moriarty to visit Keytah, the remarkable property of David and Danielle Statham, for a deep dive into the future of sustainable agriculture: industrial hemp. Hosted by Jaimie Milling and the team at Terra Tech Fibre, the visit was more than just a tour, it was a glimpse into what a smarter, cleaner and fairer regional economy could look like.

Their plan is bold: recommission the old Gunnedah Cotton Gin and turn it into one of the largest hemp and flax fibre processing plants in the world. We’re talking 300 tonnes a day, 12,000 hectares of industrial hemp under cultivation and the potential to pull more than 260,000 tonnes of CO₂ out of the atmosphere every year, all while creating regional jobs and export opportunities.

This is what a green industrial revolution looks like, Australian-made, regionally led and globally significant. Hemp doesn’t just grow; it gives back. It rebuilds soil, locks up carbon and replaces high-emission materials like timber and plastic. The team at Terra Tech Fibre are proving that innovation and regeneration can go hand in hand and that the bush can lead the way.

Jeremy would like to thank Jaimie Milling, David and Danielle Statham, and everyone at Terra Tech for their vision and drive. This is the kind of project that makes you proud to fight for regional New South Wales, where the next chapter of clean industry is being written, one hemp stalk at a time.