Dmytro Sukharevskyi | Adobe Stock
This week, Kentucky joined a growing number of states that have announced they will continue operating under the 2014 Farm Bill while working out the details of a more permanent state hemp program. Meanwhile, Oregon has received major funding to boost its hemp program and extensive research into the crop.
We’ve rounded up the week’s top headlines you might have missed.
- Federal: Farmers across the country are openly expressing their concerns over this upcoming growing season in light of the stringent rules set forth by the U.S. Department of Agriculture late last year. Read more
- Kentucky: Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles, J.D., has announced that the state will operate under the 2014 Farm Bill’s pilot program provisions through the 2020 growing season, joining several other states in doing so. Read more
- Louisiana: Wellcana Group, a medical cannabis cultivation and processing company based in Baton Rouge, has announced it is expanding its offerings to include a cannabidiol (CBD) line. The company is seeking additional space to build a 100,000-square-foot indoor medical cannabis greenhouse and storage facility, which will also be equipped for industrial hemp processing. Read more
- New York: Great Eastern Hemp LLC has purchased a former sheltered workshop in Broome County for $2.2 million. The company is one of a growing number of operations either operating in or eyeing the Binghamton area for hemp production. Read more
- Oregon: The Oregon Department of Agriculture recently received approval from a legislative committee to hire two specialists for hemp inspections and enforcement as well as an assistant water master to investigate whether hemp farmers are violating water laws. Read more
Meanwhile, Oregon State University recently received $2.5 million in federal funding to support its new Global Hemp Information Center, which will focus on research across multiple facets of the industry in Oregon and in other geographic areas along similar latitudes. Read more
