Those who end up with the luxury of growing industrial hemp in Kentucky are anonymous to the public, however, state law enforcements need to know who the growers are and their locations so that they may monitor the plot locations.
“We don’t advertise the location of the plots,” Doris Hamilton, leader of the industrial hemp program for the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, stated. “It is the farmer’s choice of whether or not to disseminate that information to the public.”
The amount of hemp that is grown in Kentucky is still climbing; in 2015, there were 922 acres approved for cultivating industrial hemp as compared to 33 in 2014, according to Hamilton. The state agricultural department approved 121 applications in 2015 after receiving 326. At the moment, there are no predictions on how many acres in Kentucky could be planted with industrial hemp in 2016. Applications are still being taken up until November 5th by the state agriculture department for the upcoming growing season. The growers are going to be selected between December 1st to January 8th. In the application, it was noted that the state agriculture departments expects to complete seed acquisition orders and reel in permit requests by February. According to a state official, Kentucky is learning much about the hemp process as they go on.
“The industrial hemp projects have yielded valuable information the past two years,” stated James Comer, Agriculture Commissioner. “We look forward to another successful round of projects and encourage applicants to submit proposals to research hemp production, processing, manufacturing and marketing. This work will help establish Kentucky as the epicenter of America’s industrial industry once the remaining legal barriers to hemp production are removed.”
Western Kentucky University, the University of Kentucky and Murray State University had research plots a year ago according to agriculture department spokesman, Ted Sloan.
“WKU Agriculture was for the second consecutive year selected by the Kentucky Department of Agriculture to participate in the Kentucky Hemp Pilot Program,” said Bob Skipper, a university spokesman, in an email. “WKU is collaborating with the University of Kentucky to obtain critical agronomic information for Kentucky hemp producers. WKU’s research investigates the influence of weed management and fertility regimes on fiber and seed production.”
“While valuable information has been obtained these past two years, an abundance of knowledge should be discovered in the near future as all stakeholders gain greater experience in research, production, harvest, marketing and administrative/regulatory aspects of industrial hemp. Although WKU Agriculture’s research initiatives have been important, relaying hemp information to WKU students, local producers, and the general public has likely been WKU Agriculture’s greatest contribution to the project thus far.”
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