Farm Bill Will Allow Ky. Hemp Research

[CanhamoMAN]

Farm bill will allow Ky. hemp research

Posted: Monday, February 10, 2014 10:30 am

Farm bill will allow Ky. hemp researchBy KATIE BRANDENBURG The Daily News kbrandenburg@bgdailynews.com

FONTE: http://www.bgdailynews.com/news/farm-bill-will-allow-ky-hemp-research/article_d98393bb-a60c-5a9e-b1c5-9601bf79a6ee.html

A provision in the Agricultural Act of 2014, recently signed into law by President Barack Obama, will allow state departments of agriculture and institutions of higher learning in Kentucky to grow industrial hemp as part of pilot programs to study hemp growth and marketing.

Obama signed the farm bill into law Friday.

Under the law, hemp pilot programs will be allowed in states with laws that permit the cultivation of industrial hemp.

The Kentucky General Assembly approved Senate Bill 50 last year to allow for the cultivation of industrial hemp. The bill set up a framework for its cultivation if it were to become legal on the federal level. It became law without the signature of Gov. Steve Beshear.

Hemp is related to marijuana, and both contain the chemical that gives marijuana users a high – tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC – but the trace amounts in hemp aren’t enough to produce a high.

The farm bill authorizes state departments of agriculture to create regulations for the pilot programs and requires that sites used for growing hemp be certified by and registered with the state department of agriculture.

Western Kentucky University agriculture professor Todd Willian said he knows of no plans at this point to grow hemp at WKU, but he does teach some courses that cover the issue of hemp.

The idea of hemp production also became an issue in Kentucky in the late ’90s because the tobacco economy was starting to decline, he said.

“There’s a lot more interest now and traction for it than there was back then,” he said.

Willian said both students and non-students find hemp an intriguing topic because it’s a crop that hasn’t been grown in the state since World War II and because it resembles marijuana in appearance.

“It’s intriguing, I think, in a lot of ways,” he said.

The farm bill will allow research to be done into the cultivation of hemp, Willian said.

He said hemp should grow well in Kentucky, where it was a prominent crop in the 1800s.

“We know it grew here well earlier,” Willian said.

At that time, hemp was a popular crop because its fibers were so weather resistant, he said. Because the fiber resisted weather and rot, it was good for use items such as sails, canvases and rope.

It is debatable whether or not there will be a significant market for hemp if it is grown in the United States, Willian said.

Hemp is grown widely in other countries around the world, and many have cheaper labor costs than the U.S., he said.

“I guess only legalization will answer those questions,” he said.

Agriculture Commissioner James Comer has been an advocate for hemp cultivation in the state. Comer, in a recent news release, applauded the efforts of Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to get a hemp provision into the farm bill.

McConnell as well as other Kentucky congressmen, including Republicans Sen. Rand Paul and Rep. Thomas Massie and Democratic Rep. John Yarmuth, have been supportive of allowing industrial hemp cultivation in the state.

McConnell, after the bill was approved by the Senate, called the measure a victory for Kentucky agriculture as well as the economy.

“I have heard from many Kentuckians who see this as a first step to establishing a market for industrial hemp in Kentucky,” he said in a news release. “By exploring innovative ways to use hemp to benefit a variety of Kentucky industries, yet consistent with my long-standing support for Kentucky law enforcement’s aggressive efforts at marijuana interdiction, the pilot programs authorized by this legislation could help boost our state’s economy and lead to future jobs.”

— Follow government beat writer Katie Brandenburg on Twitter at twitter.com/BGDNgovtbeat or visit bgdailynews.com.