Drying Industrial Hemp
Hemp is an exceptionally versatile material with applications across a wide range of industries; in food production, construction (notably in Hempcrete), animal bedding, biofuels such as biodiesel and ethanol, and even hemp-based plastics. In its dried form, every part of the plant can be put to valuable use. For growers focused on CBD production, preserving cannabinoid content and potency is essential to maximising crop value. This is where FlowDrya plays a crucial role. Hemp is typically harvested with a moisture content of 55–70%, and if drying conditions are inadequate, significant post-harvest losses can occur due to mould, contamination, and cannabinoid degradation. By enabling rapid and controlled drying, FlowDrya allows growers to harvest at the optimal time, protect CBD quality, and maximise both extraction yields and overall profitability.
The FlowDrya hemp dryer is reliable, simple, robust and trusted by hemp growers across the globe, delivering a long-term, positive impact to hemp growing operations while enabling harvest hemp at optimal THC levels. Speak to our team to discuss your hemp drying requirements ›
Hemp harvested in optimal conditions – before drying in the FlowDrya.
How Does FlowDrya Increase the Value of Hemp?
During the late autumn harvest season, hemp crops are increasingly vulnerable to frost, mould, and rot, all of which can significantly reduce both quality and market value. Effective post-harvest management of wet biomass is therefore essential to protect the crop and preserve its suitability for CBD oil extraction. With FlowDrya equipment, growers can harvest and dry hemp on demand, ensuring the biomass is stabilised quickly and allowing them to bring high-quality CBD products to market when prices are at their strongest.
CBD processors and extraction facilities require hemp to be dried to a consistent moisture level before processing. Whether the crop is chopped or in long stems, reducing moisture content to below 10% not only preserves cannabinoid quality but also increases the crop's commercial value. Drying also reduces the overall volume of the material, making storage and transport more efficient, and extends the selling window well beyond the harvest season. This gives growers greater flexibility in timing their sales and strengthens their resilience in a competitive market.
5 Benefits of Drying Hemp
- Drying hemp stabilises the crop, preventing mould and spoilage
- Drying hemp preserves cannabinoid (CBD) and aromatic terpenes
- Drying hemp significantly increases the selling price of the crop
- Drying maximises market value / high-profit sales to CBD extractors
- Drying enables on-site control over harvest timing (insurance against adverse weather)
Protecting Cannabinoid Value During Drying
Did you know? High-airflow hemp dryers can carry plant material and fine CBD-rich trichomes out with the exhaust air, resulting in direct cannabinoid loss. Instead of preserving value, the system can strip and remove the most valuable part of the crop — effectively blowing yield and profit away.
Drying is often the key constraint during hemp harvest, as large volumes of moisture must be removed quickly while maintaining the low temperatures required to preserve crop quality for CBD oil extraction. Matching harvesting capacity with dryer throughput is essential to avoid bottlenecks and minimise post-harvest losses. FlowDrya's technical team is experienced in designing dryers that balance harvest speed, drying performance, and final product quality, ensuring efficient processing and maximum crop value.
FlowDrya hemp drying solutions are specifically engineered to operate at low temperatures, protecting cannabinoids from heat-related damage and preserving the chemical integrity of the oil. Excessive temperatures can cause decarboxylation of cannabinoids, loss of volatile compounds, and colour degradation through polymerisation. In addition, carefully controlled airflow is used to protect the delicate trichomes that contain the highest concentrations of CBD oil, helping to maintain both potency and overall product quality.
FlowDrya drying hemp on various sites across the globe – USA, Lithuania, Canada and beyond.
Benefits of Drying Industrial Hemp with FlowDrya
The FlowDrya technical team have proven expertise in drying harvested hemp with a moisture content of 70% down to below 10%, delivering consistent, high-quality results. Continuous hemp dryers offer a number of benefits over other drying equipment available in the market.
- Low temperature drying. FlowDrya is purpose-designed as a low temperature hemp dryer (material temperature does not exceed 68°C), protecting CBD oil chemistry from high temperatures.
- Gentle PulseWave™ agitation. FlowDrya is gentle on the hemp plant with slow moving PulseWave™ agitation down the drying bed, minimising leaf shatter while gently lifting and agitating the material to optimise drying efficiency.
- Consistent, low-pressure airflow. The PulseWave™ agitation motion reduces air pressure, generating consistent airflow, minimising dust and risk of light hemp leaves being blown-off the dryer, together with precious trichomes.
- Under-plenum captures CBD-rich fines. FlowDrya features an under-plenum which collects any valuable CBD-rich leaf or flower fines which drop down throughout the drying process. These fines are augured out dry.
- No belts, shafts, chains or sprockets. FlowDrya has no belts, shafts, chains or sprockets for hemp fibres to wrap on, enabling highly reliable drying with extremely low risk of complications.
- Flexible loading options. Flexible loading options are possible with in-feed bucket and conveying options. FlowDrya's high capacity, top-hopper is self-feeding onto the dryer floor, extending intervals between loading.
- Full process control. FlowDrya delivers full control over the hemp drying process. The DryStation™ control panel is intelligent, robust and easy to use, ensuring required moisture parameters are consistently achieved.
Hemp Harvest in Oregon, USA
When we began working with the farm featured in the video below, they were operating one of only four New Holland Agriculture coppice headers in the world specifically designed for harvesting hemp. This collaboration with experienced commercial hemp growers has given the FlowDrya team valuable, practical insight into the challenges and best practices of large-scale hemp harvesting. As a result, our specialists have developed extensive expertise in both harvesting and drying techniques. We work closely with hemp growers to optimise the entire post-harvest process, from field operations through to drying, helping to preserve cannabinoid quality, improve extraction yields, and maximise the profitability of the crop.
Timing Hemp Harvest to Perfection
Harvest timing is one of the most important factors for CBD levels because cannabinoid production increases as the plant matures, then eventually levels off. The chart below shows that CBD yield rises sharply from early flowering through to around 9 weeks, where the plant reaches its peak production stage. Harvesting too early means the plant hasn't fully developed its cannabinoid content, leading to significantly lower CBD yield. However, waiting beyond the optimal window doesn't produce much additional gain, as the plant enters a plateau phase where CBD increases only slightly. This means the goal of optimal harvesting is to capture the plant at its peak biological activity, when CBD concentration and total yield are both at their highest before diminishing returns and introducing risk of losing entire crop (poor weather).
Taking the decision to invest in FlowDrya equipment gives growers more control over timing and harvest decisions, improving overall crop quality while eliminating the risk of losing an entire crop during and after harvest.
Investing in FlowDrya means you can target the optimal THC window at harvest. Better timing, control over harvest conditions, and consistent drying all reduce risk, protect the crop, and translate into stronger, more reliable financial returns, increasing your resilience in the market. To discuss the positive impact of FlowDrya on your hemp operation – contact our expert team by filling in the form at the bottom of this page.
Hemp Drying FAQs
Freshly harvested hemp typically contains 55–70% moisture, making it highly vulnerable to mould, spoilage, contamination and cannabinoid degradation. Drying the crop quickly to below 10% moisture stabilises the biomass, preserves valuable CBD and terpene content, and prepares the material for long-term storage or immediate processing for CBD oil extraction.
FlowDrya is purpose-designed as a low-temperature drying system, ensuring the material temperature does not exceed 68°C. This gentle drying approach helps prevent decarboxylation, terpene loss and colour degradation while preserving the delicate CBD-rich trichomes that contain much of the plant's value.
FlowDrya has proven expertise in reducing hemp harvested at up to 70% moisture content down to below 10%. This consistent drying standard is ideal for CBD extractors and processors, who require uniform, stable material to maximise extraction efficiency and product quality.
By preserving cannabinoid potency, preventing crop losses and enabling growers to harvest at the optimal CBD and THC window, FlowDrya significantly increases the commercial value of hemp. Drying also reduces material volume and allows growers to store and sell the crop beyond harvest season, helping secure higher market prices and improving financial returns.
Unlike high-airflow dryers that can blow away valuable leaf material and trichomes, FlowDrya uses gentle PulseWave™ agitation and optimised airflow to protect the most valuable parts of the crop. The system also features an under-plenum to collect CBD-rich fines, has no belts or chains for fibres to wrap around, and includes the intelligent DryStation™ control panel for precise moisture management.
Ready to discuss your hemp drying project?
Our team can help you specify the right FlowDrya system for your hemp throughput, harvest conditions, and CBD quality requirements.