For the first time in more than 100 years, hemp was harvested at Lexington’s historic Ashland Estate.
Under the direction of the Kentucky-based industrial hemp processing company United Hemp Industries, with help from the University of Kentucky Hemp Research team, a 20-by-20-foot plot was harvested by hand on the very grounds where “The Great Compromiser” himself farmed thousands of pounds of the crop more than 130 years ago.
“This was his major cash crop, so I would expect that he probably had in the hundreds of acres of hemp,” said Eric Brooks, curator for The Henry Clay Estate. “We certainly know he grew tons and tons of it, if you look at the harvest and what he was selling.”
The plot, planted in May, featured two strands of hemp – Future 75, a dual purpose/fiber strand; and Felina 32, which is used to produce grain. While the museum has been incorporating education about Clay’s work with the crop – which allegedly earned him the occasional nickname “the prince of hemp” – the estate’s new ability to actually use the showcase plot as an educational tool during estate tours has been valuable, according to Brooks.
“It’s been a remarkable thing to bring this back to the estate,” he said. “I think Henry Clay would be thrilled.”
The harvest comes on the heels of a major development for the nascent rebirth of the hemp industry. Just last week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued instructions to allow the organic certification of industrial hemp produced in the United States, clearing the way for Kentucky farmers who have been working to prepare themselves -- and their fields -- for the USDA’s move.
As reported in an earlier Business Lexington article, potential Kentucky organic hemp growers met in March at a seminar on organic production in Winchester, Kentucky, to hear keynote speaker John Roulac, CEO of California-based “superfoods” purveyor Nutiva, commit to the eventual purchase of Kentucky’s organic hemp, even though certification had not yet been permitted.
At the time, the USDA had issued an edict stating that organic hemp production was still premature, but Roulac’s promise buoyed optimism on the crop's future organic certification status.
“For [Roulac] to come to Kentucky to speak in our building, to our potential growers about organic hemp is a very big deal,” said Andy Graves, CEO of local processors and promoters Atalo Holdings Inc., at the seminar. “The learning curve on the organic side is very steep. John knows that. ... For him to come, it’s a huge deal. And for him to commit to buy our crop is a very big deal.”
The USDA instruction applies to industrial hemp being produced in accordance with section 7606 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (The Farm Bill), which authorized institutions of higher education and state departments of agriculture to establish industrial hemp research pilot projects in states such as Kentucky where the production of industrial hemp is legal and subject to certain other conditions. In order to be certified, the hemp must be produced in accordance with USDA organic regulations.
Earlier in August, the USDA, in consultation with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, also published a “Statement of Principles on Industrial Hemp,” regarding the applicability of Federal laws associated with growing and cultivating industrial hemp. The statement clarifies the extent to which private parties may grow industrial hemp as part of an agricultural pilot program, the circumstances under which the sale of hemp products is permitted, and other related topics.