By Carla Burgess

• Introduction
• Developing Markets: Greene Natural Fibers
• Advantages and Uses
• Limitations and Goals
• Kenaf Facts
• Download the full article as a

Developing Markets: Greene Natural Fibers

But the farmers in North Carolina are well on their way to changing that. These kenaf growers and their business partners are employing a ground-up farming approach: They are growing the crop, processing it and developing markets for their product. At the heart of this enterprise is Greene Natural Fibers with a 40,000-square-foot processing facility served by Pitt and Greene EMC. It’s in central Greene County just north of Snow Hill and employs 30 people full-time. Greene Natural Fibers represents a major financial commitment by a group of farmers and investors.

Right now, GNF is supplying two primary markets: the animal bedding and automotive industries. The kenaf plant has two distinct types of fiber. The outer layer or bark is called “bast,” and it is long and stringy like jute or hemp; the interior or “core” is light and spongy like balsa wood. North Carolina’s processed bast fiber is now supplying auto manufacturers, including Ford, Chrysler, General Motors, BMW and John Deere, for use in interior panels (doors and dashboards) and headliners. The core fiber is being marketed as premium animal bedding to horse owners all along the Atlantic seaboard.

“It’s the only major new crop to be introduced in North Carolina in the last few decades,” he says. “I think it will be more successful than cotton in the long run.”