Earlier this year five farmers were accepted into the state's industrial hemp pilot program, and earlier this month farmers started planting the seeds to see how viable they would be in North Dakota.

Clarence Laub is out checking his 10-acre hemp field to see how it's grown in the last two weeks.

"Nothing real special but I didn't feel anything. Just like planting another crop I guess. A lot of excitement though," says Laub.

Laub says the crop hasn't grown quite as quickly as he would have liked but he says that's mainly down to the lack of moisture in the area.

"With the field being a little bit drier, we figured the seed being down a little bit further, so we did about an inch to inch and a quarter and that stuff actually seemed to come out the ground a little bit better," says Laub.

Laub is the only hemp farmer west of Bismarck. The other four farmers have seen a lot moisture.

"Growth is really coming along well in places that have moisture and other areas we're hoping for some," says Rachel Seifert-Spilde, North Dakota Department of Agriculture.

Hemp can be found a number of different products including ropes and cooking oils This makes the U.S. the largest consumer of hemp in the world.

"The actual hemp that is needed to create those products has to be brought into the U.S. from other countries," says Seifert-Spilde.

Laub says he hopes the crop will be looking good by the time he comes to harvest in September.

The pilot hemp program will look at how well the crop grows in the state and will hopefully become a viable crop for many farmers.