Hemp Seeds
Lexington, KY - The quest to once again make hemp a production crop in Kentucky has gained a bit more traction, with the announcement from the Kentucky Department of Agriculture (KDA) that an agreement had been finalized with the federal government on a formal process for importing industrial hemp seeds into the state.
Agriculture Commissioner James Comer has led the charge to get hemp legalized once again, calling it a jobs initiative as well as a new crop for farmers.
“With this agreement, Kentucky is now the first state in the nation with a legal, practical process through which farmers can partner with the state to grow hemp,” he said. “We and the feds started out as adversaries, but by both talking and listening, we became partners in this process.”
The department had filed suit last spring to get hemps seeds into the state after the DEA ordered a shipment of seeds stopped at the Louisville airport until additional paperwork was filed. With this agreement, a motion has been filed to drop that suit.
Those seeds have been used in numerous research plots conducted by state universities across Kentucky, as well as 12 cooperating growers. The current Farm Bill, which passed in February, made provisions for the research to begin in states that had passed legislation to oversee the production of hemp.
Kentucky passed legislation during the 2013 General Assembly session, but it didn’t come easy and only passed in the waning minutes of the session.
Under the agreement, “the department will file an application with the federal government for a permit to import hemp seeds, and the federal government will process the KDA’s application in an expeditious manner. The federal government also agrees that the process established by the KDA will control the cultivation and marketing of hemp,” according to information from KDA.
Brian Furnish, who serves as the president of the Kentucky Hemp Industry Council (KHIC) said the recent development was a significant event and a step in the right direction in getting hemp planted as a viable crop for farmers.
“Kentucky is the only state that has gone through the legal process to get legally certified seed and a program in place with KDA to over-see it,” he said. “Now we have private industry coming together to form its own association (KHIC), so it looks promising to me.”
Furnish added that the more he learns about the industry and the possibilities it holds, it gives Kentucky a good shot at being the lead state with industrial hemp.
He thinks the feds have taken notice of just how structured the state is when it comes to the way the issue has been handled and the infrastructure put into place once full production is allowed.
“I’ve talked to and worked with some expert people in the world on this, and they say if they set up anywhere, it’s going to be in Kentucky because of what has been put into place,” he said. “It has been done right and not haphazardly.”
Comer said this year has been a test not only of state farmers’ ability to grow hemp — which was never in doubt — but of the process needed to regulate hemp production.
“Now that we almost have the first year behind us, and we have a formal process in place for KDA to import the seeds, supervise the cultivation of hemp, and market the products, I hope we will have many more growers and projects next year, and we can make sure Kentucky is first in line when hemp production becomes fully legal in the United States,” he said.
This year’s crop, while limited to research plots only, grew well and by all indicators has been a success.
Adam Watson, the Industrial Hemp Program coordinator for KDA said this inaugural season has been successful in terms of getting a good crop and getting a firsthand look at what might become a new production crop for Kentucky farmers.
“Hemp has an historical production history in Kentucky, so we’re not surprised that the crop is growing well,” he said. “Obviously we are still evaluating specific varieties to find out which ones are the most productive for Kentucky, and that will be a two-year process at least.”
Watson added that when research for other agronomic crops is examined, varieties are evaluated over several years.
“It’s always the hope that you’ll have a dry year, a wet year and some average years, so you can see what varieties are the best average performers,” he said. “It’s just going to take some time to see those varieties develop and see which ones are the best for Kentucky.”
While hopes remain high that industrial hemp will become another production crop for state farmers, one fact remains: It is still on the Controlled Substances List, which is something the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration will have to rectify in order for full production to begin.