Oregon State University recently received $2.5 million in federal funding to support its new Global Hemp Information Center, reports the Corvallis Gazette-Times.
The center, which was introduced in June, includes more than 40 of the school’s faculty who represent 19 different disciplines. The faculty will be involved in various aspects of hemp research, including the plant itself, food innovation, pharmacy, public health, public policy, business and engineering. Research will take place in 10 locations across the state, as well as four locations in Asia and Europe that are at the same latitude as Oregon with similar growing conditions.
Faculty will also be involved in teaching and extension services at the center, which is set to be the nation’s largest research center devoted to hemp, according to its website.
The university says it was the site of the country’s only hemp research center from the 1880s to 1936.
In 2018, the state ranked third in the U.S. in licensed hemp acres planted behind Montana and Colorado.
The Global Hemp Innovation Center’s mission is to “advance Oregon’s leadership in crop production and post-harvest industries related to industrial hemp.”
