Pennsylvania’s first hemp processor to be established since the crop was legalized is coming to York County.

Steve Groff, a farmer and licensed surgeon, plans to use innovative Canadian machinery to process whole hemp plants for fiber and chemicals.

“I think this is something that’s going to expand rapidly,” said Groff, who is launching a company called Groff North America with his son, Taylor.

The United States’ decades-old ban on commercial hemp production was lifted two months ago when the latest Farm Bill was signed.

Though already grown in Canada and other countries, hemp was outlawed in the U.S. because it comes from the same species as marijuana.

Hemp contains little of its cousin’s high-inducing THC, but its fiber offers myriad industrial uses, from concrete reinforcement to fabric to cat litter.

A hemp extract, CBD, is also reputed to have medical uses.

Groff’s announcement is a key step in Pennsylvania’s race to develop a hemp supply chain.

Hemp advocates have long argued that attracting processing would be the biggest challenge immediately after legalization, with the quickest states likely to get the fattest market share.

Pennsylvania is certainly in that mix, having been the second state to submit to USDA its plan for regulating the legalized crop.

Three companies are already processing hemp on some scale in the state, according to an Ag Department spokeswoman.

Groff’s announcement is at least the second major hemp processor to be announced for the Mid-Atlantic this year.

Ontario-based Canopy Growth said in January that it would build a $100 million-$150 million processing plant in New York’s southern tier.

For his part, Groff is renovating an 80,000-square-foot facility in Red Lion and expects to be in operation by fall.

Groff North America will be the first company in the U.S. to use the HempTrain, a machine that is fed the whole hemp plant.

The HempTrain separates two hemp components used as fiber — the bast and hurd — and a third microfiber that contains the CBD.

“Every bale will turn into those three products, so we’ll be able to sell those in bulk to companies that will utilize those,” Groff said.

The conventional fiber extraction process, called decortication, is a century or more old and involves mechanical hammering.

“It’s very damaging to the fiber and the hurd,” said Stephen Christensen, vice president of Canadian Greenfield Technologies Corp., the Calgary company that makes the HempTrain.

His company’s machine uses a different, gentler process that produces a bast that is long, coarse and strong — less like fuzz than traditionally processed hemp.

Since HempTrain hit the market in October, two units have been placed in Canada. Another is planned there for the fall, in addition to the Pennsylvania plant.

Groff will start with one HempTrain but expects he’ll soon add a second one as business expands.

With help from partners in the ag industry, Groff is planning to contract 3,500 acres of hemp from farmers in 2019.

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“We’re very close to locking down that acreage right now,” he said.

The company will likely create 40 to 60 jobs in the first two years.

Groff declined to give a cost for the project, though the HempTrain is listed on the manufacturer website for Canadian $1.85 million (U.S. $1.4 million).

Hemp processing is just the latest farm-related business for Groff, who grew up on a dairy farm in Strasburg.

A serious bicycle crash in 2011 interrupted his 15-year career as an orthopedic surgeon, and prompted Groff and his family to pour their efforts into their Dallastown farm.

Wyndridge Farm has an event venue, and produces hard cider and craft beer.

“I had farming in my blood,” Groff said.

Steve Groff is different from the Holtwood farmer of the same name who is known for his cover crop innovations.

Coincidentally, that Steve Groff, of Keystone Agri-Science, is also getting involved in hemp. He’s a partner in a company growing hemp for CBD.

York County’s Groff said he plans to get into CBD, but “most likely not right away.”

His main goal right now is to get started processing hemp grown on field scale.

A HempTrain can process 4,000 to 5,000 acres per year.

The Pennsylvania Ag Department has been assisting Groff as he develops his hemp business.

“We know the state is excited about this, and we love the support,” Groff said.

In addition to his commercial hemp processing, Groff will be the exclusive host and processor for Albright College’s hemp research program. He is an alumnus of the Reading school.

The research will probably start in the summer or fall, and include both student and faculty projects.

Christensen, the Greenfield Technologies executive, said Pennsylvania shows “huge” promise for the hemp industry because the government and industry are both supportive.

Canada has been growing hemp for 20 years, primarily for seed, but the U.S. has a major advantage — it has 10 times the population of its neighbor.

That means the U.S. won’t have to rely on hemp exports as much as Canada.

And unlike Canada, the U.S. has the interest and policy to support CBD production.

“The U.S. could potentially become the place for industrial hemp growth,” Christensen said.

Eric Hurlock, digital editor and producer of Lancaster Farming’s industrial hemp podcast series, contributed reporting to this article.