EDITOR’S NOTE: On Jan. 15, NJ Cannabis Insider hosts a newsmakers networking event in Red Bank, featuring a legislator and business leaders in the hemp and legal cannabis industries. Tickets are limited.

The start of the new year will bring a new cash crop to New Jersey after the U.S. Department of Agriculture approved the state’s plan to grow hemp.

As of Friday, the USDA has given three states and three Native American tribes the green light to grow the plant, a mild cousin of marijuana. In addition to New Jersey, Louisiana and Ohio’s proposals received approval.

Grown legally, hemp has only small amounts of the compound THC, the active ingredient in marijuana that causes a high. The plant can be used to make plastics, clothing, food and legal CBD products. Industry analysts predict hemp production could top $22 billion in coming years.

The 2018 Farm Bill removed hemp from the federal controlled substances list and mandated the USDA make a plan for its production. The agency did so in October, releasing a long-awaited list of rules for growing hemp domestically.

With the quick approval, New Jersey jumps in front of other states, despite the fact that no hemp has been planted in the Garden State under its own pilot program. Meanwhile, farmers grew some 500,000 acres of hemp nationwide last year.

Now, farmers must apply for licenses to grow hemp under the state’s regulations. According to the state agriculture department’s website, the links for applications to grow and process hemp are expected to be available within the next week.

More than two dozen other states have submitted plans for approval or are in the process of drafting them, and several others continue to operate under pilot programs.

Amanda Hoover can be reached at ahoover@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @amandahoovernj. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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