Years of declining milk prices and heightened dairy farm foreclosures have left New York's agricultural industry at a crossroads between product demand and economic profitability.

But with the arrival of industrial hemp as a prospective state commodity, New York farmers are finding new friends in high places.

When SUNY Morrisville's Jennifer Gilbert Jenkins was first approached by entrepreneurs interested in growing industrial hemp under New York State's new research pilot program three years ago, she anticipated it would be a minor side project to her career based in soil chemistry.

But after stepping foot in her first industrial hemp field, there was no turning back.

"This isn't just for some wacko hippies," she said.

PHOTOS: All about industrial hemp in New York State 12 Gallery: PHOTOS: All about industrial hemp in New York State

SUNY Morrisville was the first academic institution to take part in Gov. Andrew Cuomo's 2015 Industrial Hemp Agricultural Research Pilot program, volunteering as the experimental guinea pigs in an industry that has since taken the state by storm.

Under the first iteration of the pilot program, private institutions had to partner with academic institutions to conduct research. JD Farms, an organic farm located in Eaton, collaborated with SUNY Morrisville to plant the first batch of hemp in 2016, marking the first time New York would see a hemp harvest in more than 80 years.

In 2016, only 30 acres of New York's farmland was dedicated to growing hemp. Roughly 3,500 acres have been set aside for industrial hemp research in 2018 alone. For state farmers who have been struggling due to declines in the dairy industry, hemp has proven itself to be a viable contender for the state's evolving agricultural landscape.

Daniel Dolgin, co-owner of JD Farms, said he and his business partner, Mark Justh, first became interested in the pilot program due to the explosive nature of hemp's imports market share. A 2016 report conducted by Vote Hemp and Hemp Business Journal estimated $688 million in annual retail sales of hemp products.

"When the bill came out establishing the research pilot program, we had thought that hemp was a really interesting crop, and that it could really be something that farmers could use in Upstate New York," Dolgin said. "We wanted to kind of be a flagbearer for the industry."

Former President Barack Obama defined industrial hemp as a distinct crop from marijuana in the 2014 U.S. Farm Bill, authorizing higher education institutions and state agricultural departments to give the green light to "regulate and conduct research and pilot programs." But with its classification as a Schedule 1 drug still in effect, the path toward cultivating industrial hemp hasn't been an easy one.

Because of its label as a Schedule 1 narcotic, Dolgin said getting the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) permit required for planting the first crop was the biggest hurdle he and Justh faced.

"We had to have an armed guard present while we planted them, to make sure no seed went missing," Dolgin said. "Looking back, it's sort of ridiculous when you think about how there's no THC and it's actually a very harmless crop."

Thank you Mother Nature for the bountiful hemp harvest. And @gianfortefarm for running your big green machine as always. Look for product launches featuring these very seeds over @eatonhemp #EatonHemp #JDFarms #OrganicHemp #Organic #Hemp #HempHarvest2018 #Harvest #Superfoods #SuperSeeds Posted by JD Farms on Tuesday, October 16, 2018

Despite its relationship with marijuana, industrial hemp contains less than 0.3% of THC, the psychoactive compound responsible for marijuana's distinct high. But its connection to marijuana has long overshadowed the potential advantages of the crop, making its pathway to legalization an uphill battle.

"There's just a lot of misperceptions and confusion about what the difference is in terms of hemp and marijuana, and I think because of that, the benefits of hemp have really gotten buried," Dolgin said.

"We compare it to eating a poppy seed bagel -- you're not going to test positive for opiates if you eat a poppy seed bagel."

Hemp has long been regarded as a superfood in the natural health community, noted for its protein content, omega-3 and 6 fatty acids and high levels of fiber and magnesium. From food products to textiles and biofuel, industrial hemp has proven its versatility across industries.

"I am not one of those people who think hemp is a lifesaver and is the end-all, be-all of crops," Gilbert Jenkins said. "But I think as we move forward, we need to diversify our crop rotations, and this is a really nice option for bringing economic prosperity."

Nearly three harvest seasons later, Cuomo's vision for hemp has helped take New York farmers to unchartered territory, advancing market research and demand in ways unprecedented. But the stigma of its relationship to marijuana has limited its expansion from reaching its full potential.

"At the federal level, it is classified as marijuana," Gilbert Jenkins said. "We have an attorney general right now who is just set on not seeing science, and not understanding that there is a difference between these plants and not understanding that what he's doing is actually hurting our economy."

Good morning, Mustang Nation! We visited the test plots for industrial hemp this morning, and things are coming along... Posted by SUNY Morrisville on Wednesday, July 19, 2017

While U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has upheld the strict prohibition of hemp as a classified drug, some conservative politicians are beginning to see the potential impact hemp products could have on a stagnant sector of the national economy.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) introduced new legislation in April that would declassify non-psychoactive cannabis varieties -- more commonly referred to as hemp -- from the Controlled Substances Act. The legislative proposal comes as part of McConnell's Hemp Farming Act of 2018, which would remove barriers placed on banking access and water rights in addition to legalizing the crop.

For Upstate New York farmers, the prospect of hemp's legalization would provide an opportunity to revamp an agriculture industry devastated by sharp declines in dairy production. The number of dairy farms in New York has decreased by 27% in the last decade, with no end in sight.

A combination of global overproduction of milk and increasing demand for non-dairy alternatives have crippled farmers whose livelihoods are often built on familial farms, passed down between generations. For many red-blooded farmers living in America's heartlands, agribusinesses are not just a means of putting food on the table. The legacy of farming runs through their veins, and the devastation happening within the industry is just as much a personal blow as it is a financial one.

Milk is currently the state's number one commodity, but farmers will have to offer some flexibility in their crop rotations to turn a profit.

"The dairy industry is really in trouble, and so, one of the things that I find really important is finding value-added products," Gilbert Jenkins said. "I am not an et. al scientist, I am not a dairy farmer, but I know about the crops that they grow. Having an opportunity to grow a crop -- even on just a portion of the acres -- that could bring in new income."

Dolgin said his farm's experimentation with industrial hemp has allowed it to pursue a new variety of hemp-based food products, lending way to the launch of their organic snack brand, Eaton Hemp, this fall. Dolgin said hemp's legalization could be the seed planted that revitalizes the future of New York's agricultural landscape.

"Federal legislation will certainly spur demand and interest, and you will start to see hemp being grown on more of a mass scale," Dolgin said. "I think you'll hopefully start to see it compete with soy and corn, and that's when you know it's truly hit the big time. I think it will move to becoming a true agricultural commodity."