‘Hemp Team’ hosting seminar on growing process
Published 5:00 am Thursday, October 31, 2019
- FILE - In this Oct. 10, 2019 file photo, workers at MERJ farms unload hemp plants during the first harvest at the Sullivan County farm, in Bristol, Tenn. U.S. agriculture officials say a rule that allows farmers to legally grow hemp will be finalized this week. It's a move that many states have awaited for months so they can begin widespread hemp production. The rule establishes requirements for licensing, maintaining records on the land where hemp will be grown, testing the levels of the ingredient in marijuana that causes a high, and disposal of plants that don't meet the requirements. (David Crigger/Bristol Herald Courier via AP, File)
The latest United States Department of Agriculture Farm Bill allows for the production of hemp throughout the United States.
Historically hemp was grown as a fiber crop for thousands of years and was once grown on large acreages in the United States. During this period hemp was a major crop and up to the 1920’s 80 percent of clothing was made from Hemp textiles.
The Alabama Cooperative Extension System has developed a Hemp Team to educate interested farmers and to research the growing of hemp in Alabama. For those wanting to learn more about this crop the Hemp Team has a meeting planned in Cullman County on November 4 from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. at Camp Meadowbrook at 2344 CR 747. The meeting cost is $25 and participants should pre-register and pay in advance at aces.edu/go/dealermeeting. Lunch and refreshments are included. Guests may register at the door but lunch may not be available.
Topics covered include basic growing information, greenhouse and field production, pest issues, weed control options, and economics of production. The Department of Agriculture will explain the application process and fees involved in becoming a producer in Alabama.
Even though hemp has many uses, its use as an illicit drug in the form of marijuana has made its production problematic. With the development of low THC (the compound that causes people to get high) cultivars it has once again become a potential viable crop for farmers.
For more information on the meeting, contact the county extension office at 256-737-9386 or email cullmancounty@auburn.edu.
