Medical marijuana growers aren't the only ones getting ready to put seeds in the ground, so are hemp growers.

Medical marijuana growers aren’t the only ones getting ready to put seeds in the ground, so are hemp growers. The State Plant Board has already gotten nine applications to grow or process hemp for the Industrial Hemp Research Pilot Program.

"By spring, there will be seeds in the ground," said Jeremy Fisher, President of the Arkansas Hemp Association.

The hemp program is completely separate from the medial marijuana program in Arkansas. Hemp, which may look similar to marijuana and come from a cannabis plant, contains less than .3 percent THC and serves many different purposes.

“There's a cornucopia of opportunities the plant can do: fiber, fiberglass, seed, oil, food," said Tyler Henderson, Vice President of the Arkansas Hemp Association.

Fisher helped pass the Farm Bill in Arkansas about two years ago, allowing the state to create a research program for industrial hemp. This allows farmers to produce hemp which can be used to produce grain, fiber, floral material, CBD oil and a number of other products.

“They want to hear about anything else they can put on that acre," Henderson said.

Henderson also consults rice, corn, and soybean farmers in Stuttgart. According to Henderson, more farmers are now considering hemp production.

“Right now, rice, corn, and soybeans, being low in price, their ears are open," Henderson explained farmers are struggling with production and sales.

Since the State Plant Board began taking applications in August, they've approved five growers and two processors and plan to vote on two more applications Thursday.

Applicants who want to grow or process industrial hemp are required to submit research proposals to the Arkansas Plant Board, which can be anything from planting methods to how they'd develop hemp products.