Could hemp be Iowa's next big crop? Farmers weigh in

Hemp is estimated to become a $600 million industry in 2019, according to the Chicago-based Brightfield Group, and Iowa farmers could get a share of the money if they’re willing to grow it.Farmers in Warren County told KCCI on Thursday that the drop in soybean and corn prices made 2018 tough, but the struggle might not be enough to make them try the crop.“It's not common to raise a drug, basically,” Warren County farmer Joe Dunn said.Some farmers said they are wary of hemp despite the fact it is used to make clothes, food, fuels, plastics and high-quality animal feed. “If you think of hemp, you think of marijuana,” farmer Derek Dunn said.A federal farm bill permitting American farmers to grow hemp restricts the amount of THC allowed in each plant to .3 percent.The Iowa Senate unanimously passed a bill in 2018 allowing hemp farming in Iowa. The bill did not make it through the Iowa House before the end of the legislative session.Joe Dunn said farmers could be persuaded to grow hemp if the state allows."We would look at it,” he said. “I mean, we kind of try to be more diversified. For years and years, we were just corn and soybeans."One issue Iowa lawmakers may consider is if hemp should be allowed to make cannabidiol. Advocates say CBD can treat anxiety, epilepsy and depression.While hemp-derived CBD is allowed federally, Iowa's medical marijuana law doesn't allow CBD to be processed from industrial hemp. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Hemp is estimated to become a $600 million industry in 2019, according to the Chicago-based Brightfield Group, and Iowa farmers could get a share of the money if they’re willing to grow it.

Farmers in Warren County told KCCI on Thursday that the drop in soybean and corn prices made 2018 tough, but the struggle might not be enough to make them try the crop.


“It's not common to raise a drug, basically,” Warren County farmer Joe Dunn said.

Some farmers said they are wary of hemp despite the fact it is used to make clothes, food, fuels, plastics and high-quality animal feed.

“If you think of hemp, you think of marijuana,” farmer Derek Dunn said.

A federal farm bill permitting American farmers to grow hemp restricts the amount of THC allowed in each plant to .3 percent.

The Iowa Senate unanimously passed a bill in 2018 allowing hemp farming in Iowa. The bill did not make it through the Iowa House before the end of the legislative session.

Joe Dunn said farmers could be persuaded to grow hemp if the state allows.

"We would look at it,” he said. “I mean, we kind of try to be more diversified. For years and years, we were just corn and soybeans."

One issue Iowa lawmakers may consider is if hemp should be allowed to make cannabidiol. Advocates say CBD can treat anxiety, epilepsy and depression.

While hemp-derived CBD is allowed federally, Iowa's medical marijuana law doesn't allow CBD to be processed from industrial hemp.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.