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First legal Kentucky industrial hemp since WWII is flourishing
 


By TIM THORNBERRY
Kentucky Correspondent

FRANKFORT, Ky. — While limited to only research plots at this time, Kentucky’s first legal hemp crop in decades looks to have grown well this season. Last spring, it looked as though a crop might not be planted at all, despite the provisions included in the farm bill allowing for research in states where hemp legislation had been previously passed.
The federal government held up a shipment of seeds in May until more paperwork was filed, prompting a lawsuit initiated by the Kentucky Department of Agriculture (KDA). Fortunately for proponents of hemp, including state Agriculture Commissioner James Comer, the seed blockade was lifted and research locations around the state planted it legally for the first time in decades.
Adam Watson, the Industrial Hemp Program coordinator for KDA, said the inaugural season has been successful in terms of getting a good crop and a firsthand look at what might become a new production crop for Kentucky farmers.
In addition to the state universities involved in various types of hemp research, there are 12 farmers working under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to raise hemp research crops. “For the purpose of the industrial hemp pilot programs, they are cooperators with KDA, so in the eyes of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), it’s KDA conducting that research,” explained Watson.
Like the university plots, those growing the crop as cooperators are looking at different aspects of industrial hemp, such as seed and fiber production. Thus far, Watson said the crops have performed well and have done so without the help of pesticides – there are no pesticides that can be used on industrial hemp from a legal standpoint, at least in private production.
While hemp may be in the ground, it is still on the Controlled Substances list, something the DEA would have to lift in order for full production to begin.
“Hemp has an historical production history in Kentucky, so we’re not surprised that the crop is growing well,” said Watson. “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.”
Finding just the right varieties to use is important, with Kentucky’s variable weather patterns. “When we look at research (for other agronomic crops) you’ll find that varieties are evaluated over several years,” he said. “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 added with this type of research and the state’s history of the crop, it’s almost a certainty a reliable performing variety will come from this research. “It’s just going to take some time to see those varieties develop and see which ones are the best for Kentucky.”
As with other crops – in particular, tobacco – the industrial hemp is almost ready to harvest although because of some of the delays in planting this year, Watson said the effect on yields will be something to examine.
“Realistically, we do expect the yields to be down,” he said. “But that being said, we do have good reports from the various projects that we did have very good growth.”
Those projections are based on numbers from other parts of the world where production is allowed. Watson said he hasn’t come across any historic documentation of hemp yields from the days when it was grown as a production crop in Kentucky and even if those data did exist, varieties today have progressed so much that a comparison would not be accurate.
“We’re hopeful with our improved genetics and the improved methodology we have for modern agriculture, that we’ll actually see yields exceeding the era of World War II – the last time we grew it in Kentucky – in much the same manner we see yields in every other crop from this era that are definitely higher,” he said.
Watson said this first year could be deemed successful. “We know we have a crop that grows well. Now we have to find a way to most efficiently produce it, and we’re beginning to answer those questions this season,” he said.
But it could take several seasons to get enough answers to grow industrial hemp at its optimum level for state producers.
9/12/2014