Ron Strider
Well-Known Member
Legislation to remove hemp from the Controlled Substances Act has a good chance of finding a home in the farm bill this year.
That's according to Rep. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., who said this would pave the way for increased cultivation of the specialty crop in all 50 states, including North Dakota and Montana, which both have climates ideally suited to it.
"There are a couple of things that are very important, not the least of which is that Bob Goodlatte, who introduced the bill, is a former chairman of the Agriculture Committee and the judiciary," Cramer said.
Goodlatte is a Republican from Virginia.
Another key element, Cramer said, were comments from Sen. Mike Conaway, R-Texas, who said at a recent farm bill listening session in his home state that he wants to get a final farm bill to the floor this year. Conway is Chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture.
"That would be a game changer," Cramer said. "And it increases the chances of something like this getting into the farm bill. As a standalone, I would say its chances are less likely, but if we can have all that due diligence and then get it into a farm bill, it has a good chance at making it."
Cramer is a longtime supporter of measures to legalize hemp, dating back to when he was the Economic Development and Finance Director of North Dakota. He is a cosponsor on the latest bill.
There is greater understanding today of the crop, Cramer said, which has helped measures to legalize it attract support from Republicans, Democrats and Libertarians. Industrial hemp does not have any appreciable amount of THC, the active ingredient that makes marijuana a controlled substance. Nor do the two crops play well in a field together, since the two can cross pollinate, and one tends to ruin the desirable qualities of the other in subsequent generations.
"Hemp is not an extreme idea any more," Cramer said. "For DEA agents and others, they have never liked the idea that it could be a shield of some sort, but in today's environment, it's not so problematic."
"North Dakota has a good climate for it, and a lot would like to see it as a rotation crop," Cramer said. "It has had a lot of supporters in agriculture for a long time."
North Dakota is among 32 states that have started pilot hemp-growing projects under a provision in the 2014 Farm Bill that allowed state departments of agriculture and universities to conduct research into the crop's potential.
In Williams County, Wade Fischer in the Grenora area is working on the first hemp plot. He has plants from 2 to 4 feet tall, that were growing and putting out flowers spikes for oil seeds despite having received just 82 hundredths of an inch.
While he doesn't believe he'll get the yields he was hoping for, to get a yield at all under those conditions is surprising. He also said that late-season rains seemed to be helping his hemp crop's development, in contrast to crops like wheat, whose quality is more likely to be hurt than helped by late rains.
Parts of Canada that have a climate similar to the MonDak, already grow hemp successfully. It's a $500 million market annually.
That is small compared to wheat, but additional options help farmers with rotations, and many believe the size of the market for hemp would grow in the U.S. if it could be grown domestically. A range of applications from health foods to bio-based 3D printing materials are on the horizon with hemp, but only if sufficient amounts can be obtained locally. That would give it a cost advantage, because there would be savings from buying something that is closer.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Industrial hemp could get federal approval | Local News Stories | willistonherald.com
Author: Renée Jean
Contact: Meet the Staff | Site | willistonherald.com
Photo Credit: Renée Jean
Website: willistonherald.com | Talkin' the Bakken | Bakken Recruiter - Where there is no vision, the people perish
That's according to Rep. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., who said this would pave the way for increased cultivation of the specialty crop in all 50 states, including North Dakota and Montana, which both have climates ideally suited to it.
"There are a couple of things that are very important, not the least of which is that Bob Goodlatte, who introduced the bill, is a former chairman of the Agriculture Committee and the judiciary," Cramer said.
Goodlatte is a Republican from Virginia.
Another key element, Cramer said, were comments from Sen. Mike Conaway, R-Texas, who said at a recent farm bill listening session in his home state that he wants to get a final farm bill to the floor this year. Conway is Chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture.
"That would be a game changer," Cramer said. "And it increases the chances of something like this getting into the farm bill. As a standalone, I would say its chances are less likely, but if we can have all that due diligence and then get it into a farm bill, it has a good chance at making it."
Cramer is a longtime supporter of measures to legalize hemp, dating back to when he was the Economic Development and Finance Director of North Dakota. He is a cosponsor on the latest bill.
There is greater understanding today of the crop, Cramer said, which has helped measures to legalize it attract support from Republicans, Democrats and Libertarians. Industrial hemp does not have any appreciable amount of THC, the active ingredient that makes marijuana a controlled substance. Nor do the two crops play well in a field together, since the two can cross pollinate, and one tends to ruin the desirable qualities of the other in subsequent generations.
"Hemp is not an extreme idea any more," Cramer said. "For DEA agents and others, they have never liked the idea that it could be a shield of some sort, but in today's environment, it's not so problematic."
"North Dakota has a good climate for it, and a lot would like to see it as a rotation crop," Cramer said. "It has had a lot of supporters in agriculture for a long time."
North Dakota is among 32 states that have started pilot hemp-growing projects under a provision in the 2014 Farm Bill that allowed state departments of agriculture and universities to conduct research into the crop's potential.
In Williams County, Wade Fischer in the Grenora area is working on the first hemp plot. He has plants from 2 to 4 feet tall, that were growing and putting out flowers spikes for oil seeds despite having received just 82 hundredths of an inch.
While he doesn't believe he'll get the yields he was hoping for, to get a yield at all under those conditions is surprising. He also said that late-season rains seemed to be helping his hemp crop's development, in contrast to crops like wheat, whose quality is more likely to be hurt than helped by late rains.
Parts of Canada that have a climate similar to the MonDak, already grow hemp successfully. It's a $500 million market annually.
That is small compared to wheat, but additional options help farmers with rotations, and many believe the size of the market for hemp would grow in the U.S. if it could be grown domestically. A range of applications from health foods to bio-based 3D printing materials are on the horizon with hemp, but only if sufficient amounts can be obtained locally. That would give it a cost advantage, because there would be savings from buying something that is closer.
News Moderator: Ron Strider 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Industrial hemp could get federal approval | Local News Stories | willistonherald.com
Author: Renée Jean
Contact: Meet the Staff | Site | willistonherald.com
Photo Credit: Renée Jean
Website: willistonherald.com | Talkin' the Bakken | Bakken Recruiter - Where there is no vision, the people perish
