The Department of Agriculture is starting to gain a thorough overview of the operation of 53 Tennessee farmers who were given the go ahead to plant industrial hemp seeds, for the first time in seven decades. The inspections are getting off to a slow start due to hold ups with deliveries that prohibited farmers from planting at the proper time.
Elias Rasmussen, a fellow producer of hemp in Claiborne County, had his crop investigated. “I’ve been worried that my crop wasn’t going to be good enough,” Rasmussen stated.
Inspectors initially went over Rasmussen’s agronomic report, which gives an overview of the farms past and certain things about the planting procedure.
The investigators as well took GPS coordinates around the growing area. That can be passed to law enforcement, so when hovering over properties looking to spot illegally grown crops, they will know Ramussen’s is legal. Hemp producers are typically growing the plant for textile products
They also gauged how fast plants are growing. The tallest was 72 inches and planted 2 months ago.
Hemp, which has a heavy resemblance to marijuana, is controversial and highly monitored due to the potential of having THC levels.
“The difference is that marijuana is high in THC, and hemp is very low or has no THC whatsoever,” Tennessee Department of Agriculture Director of Communications Corinne Gould said.
“We want it close to harvest time…because that’s when the plant is at its maximum maturity and we can get the best sense of what its makeup is,” Gould said.
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