Hemp

MADISON, Wis. -- Gov. Tony Evers on Tuesday signed into law a bipartisan bill that makes Wisconsin's hemp-growing program permanent as it continues to surge in popularity in just its second year.

Hailed by supporters as Wisconsin's "comeback crop," hemp is seeing renewed popularity in large part because of the growth in the market for CBD, a legal, therapeutic compound extracted from the cannabis plant that marketers say can treat a range of ailments without getting users high. It's widely marketed in oils, lotions and foods.

Hemp has the potential to grow big profits for farmers, but regulatory ambiguity and skittish banks seem to be creating major obstacles.

As the United States trade war with China hurts farmer’s ability to make a living from  traditional crop exports such as corn and soy, hemp seemed like it could serve as a domestic savior. New Frontier Data estimates hemp farms can yield up to $40,000 per acre and many farmers thought they had found a rare agricultural lifeline in one of the most difficult industries to thrive in. 

New Frontier Data, the authority in data, analytics, and business intelligence for the global cannabis industry, just made public its Zimbabwe hemp and cannabis cultivation study, Hemp Cultivation in Africa: Zimbabwe - A Case Study (2019), presented to the Zimbabwean government in May of 2019, ahead of Zimbabwe’s hemp legalization announcement at Victoria Falls’ New Frontier Data-led InterCannAlliance event.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was giving the US FDA another nudge on issues relating to hemp and cannabidiol last week.

The Kentucky Senator met with U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner nominee, Dr. Stephen Hahn, in Washington. While not a lot of detail of the chat was provided, among  the topics discussed were hemp’s progress in Kentucky and the situation with cannabidiol (CBD).

What’s in a name? When it comes to CBD products derived from hemp, CBD products derived from cannabis, and what’s considered legal, a lot. Understanding cannabis nomenclature and the chemical difference between the two plants is essential to making informed choices about CBD.

The USDA’s interim final rule on hemp provides needed clarity and certainty around its legal production. At the same time, producers must ensure they are not running afoul of state or tribal requirements. Foley & Lardner LLP attorneys offer important takeaways from the rule and say it sets the stage for industrial hemp production to take off around the country.

Image: PAUL SANCYA | AP PHOTO

Dave Crabill and two business partners started small for their first foray into farming hemp, growing two strains of the now-legal cousin of marijuana on an acre along a dirt road outside the industrial city of Flint.

Image Source: JARED MURPHY / WESA

At AgraPharm LLC’s warehouse in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, the scent of cannabis is potent.

“What you're smelling today is about only a third of what it really smells like when we first harvest the crop,” said AgraPharm’s CEO Ed Santillan.

The hemp drying inside was harvested in October. There are rows and rows of it, stalks as big as eight feet long, hanging from orange plastic netting secured to the ceiling.

The Ohio Department of Agriculture is finalizing the rules for growing hemp, and small farmers worry that the cost and minimum planting requirements will exclude them from a potentially lucrative crop.

Hemp farmers must use least a quarter acre and must grow at least 1,000 plants, according to a draft of the rules, which are expected to be finalized in January. State officials say the rules are unlikely to change before then.

License and application fees are expected to total hundreds of dollars.

Image Source: Farmer Don Kruger is growing hemp for the growing CBD market in the U.S. Here, he examines a flower on a 22-acre field he planted on Sauvie Island in northwest Oregon. (Hal Bernton / The Seattle Times)

SAUVIE  ISLAND, Ore. — On a foggy November day, farm workers take clippers to a field of bushy green plants, snipping tops full of flower buds dotted with flecks of sticky resin.

By the end of the day, the cuttings dry inside a southeast Portland warehouse, hanging  from tall plastic trellises like aromatic curtains.