Melissa Stewart

mstewart@communitypress.com

COVINGTON – Kenton County and Grant County cooperative extension services will host an informational meeting on the latest research being done on industrial hemp production in Kentucky.

Because industrial hemp is a variety of Cannabis sativa, there is legislation in both houses of Congress to exclude hemp from the legal definition of marijuana. Most legislators and both senators from Kentucky are co-sponsoring bills to allow this production to move forward, said Dan Allen, Kenton County Extension agent for agriculture.

“This class is an informational class for farmers and the community,” Allen said. “There has been a large among of interest from across the state on industrial hemp.

“Industrial hemp was a huge crop here in Kentucky during the early to mid 1900s. Kentucky’s growing season and soils make us a great place to produce hemp. The goal for having to program is to familiarize farmers and the public about this crop and the state of the current market demands of industrial hemp,” Allen said.

The program will be at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 4, at the Kenton County Extension Office, 10990 Marshall Road, Covington. To register, call 859-356-3155.

It will include the history and botany of hemp, the economics of growing commercial hemp, and results of the 2015 University of Kentucky research. The program will be presented by David Williams, researcher with the University of Kentucky Department of Plant and Soil Sciences.

“There’s a lot of misinformation about industrial hemp,” said Chris Ammerman, Grant County Extension agent for agriculture. “This program will help people understand how industrial hemp grows and the potential markets for industrial hemp products.”

According to the Kentucky Department of Agriculture website, the global market for industrial hemp consists of more than 25,000 products including textiles, food and beverages, oils and cosmetics.

Canada has more than 38,000 acres of industrial hemp in production. Canadian exports of hemp seed and hemp products were estimated at more than $10 million, with most of those exports coming to the U.S.

“At one time Kentucky led the nation in hemp production,” Allen said. “The primary products were textiles and rope products, however today’s varieties of hemp produce high-quality oils, flour and other household items. There is current research on the possibility of livestock feed from hemp.”

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