A are set to plant the country鈥檚 first hemp crop in decades, despite federal regulations that tightly restrict the plant鈥檚 cultivation.
Proponents of industrial hemp say it鈥檚 one of the most in the world. It鈥檚 related to its far more controversial cousin, marijuana, but lacks the THC that gives marijuana its psychedelic properties. Hemp is grown for its fibers, seeds and oils all over the world, but has been a controlled substance in the U.S. for decades.
Hemp鈥檚 Legal Limbo
The first federal law mentioning hemp . Congress discouraged the high THC varieties of cannabis, like marijuana, while exempting farmers who grew the crop for industrial uses like fiber and seed. It enjoyed a short resurgence during World War II, when the federal government actually promoted the crop, petering off in the 1950s. The Controlled Substances Act of 1970 put the current kibosh on the plant. It required farmers apply for a federal permit before growing it. No commercial permits have been granted since then.
But in a historic move, the 2014 farm bill allowed hemp cultivation in areas where state laws have legalized the crop.
Kentucky, California and Colorado are among states that have welcomed its return. have legislation on the books that would allow cultivation of hemp as laid out in the recent Farm Bill.
In Colorado, where voters approved both recreational marijuana and industrial hemp in 2012, state rules are now guiding farmers interested in planting hemp. More than four dozen growers have been approved to grow the plant, and have applied for the right to grow some 1,600 acres of this year.
One of those growers, Jim Denny, is putting in just under an acre. On a windy morning at his home in Brighton, Colo., a small town just outside Denver, Denny showed off his backyard garden, soon to be tilled for hemp planting.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the new frontier,鈥� Denny said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of the Wild West.鈥�
Hemp proponents hail it as a super crop, one that can make U.S. farmers lots of money. Hemp seeds, packed with protein, are increasingly showing up in foods 鈥� shoppers can pick up processed hemp seeds at their local Kroger or Costco or Whole Foods. The plant鈥檚 fibers can be turned into everything from clothing to rope to car interiors.
鈥淭he crop right now is sellable,鈥� Denny said. 鈥淚鈥檝e already had people contact me on my website saying, 鈥榃e know you鈥檙e growing stuff and we want to buy it from you.鈥� And we haven鈥檛 even put it in the ground.鈥�
Seed Shortage
For all the potential, a few bottlenecks are keeping hemp from totally taking off, snared by the plant鈥檚 federal label as a controlled substance. It鈥檚 still illegal to import viable seed, any seed sold has to be sterile. That means despite its growing popularity, hemp seed is scarce. Growers like Denny are paying upwards of an incredible $5 or $10 per seed this year. Those who have hemp seed on hand are suddenly very, very popular.
"The hand-to-hand trading of hemp seed is really a demonstration of little there is and how desperate people are for seed. They're buying them one seed at a time, one seedling at a time,鈥� said Ben Holmes, owner of Centennial Seeds, a seed distributor in Lafayette, Colo.
Holmes made his name distributing and breeding strains of medical and recreational marijuana, but recently has become a prominent figure in the state鈥檚 fledgling hemp industry.
In his warehouse, emerald-colored hemp plants tower at 10-feet tall. He鈥檚 testing different varieties, some grown for their sturdy fibers, others for their buttery oils. Even though Holmes is well-situated to sell seed at some point, this year he doesn鈥檛 have enough to go around. Demand is far outpacing supply.
鈥淚 get calls every day of every week of people who want to get into the hemp business and when I let them know the seed isn鈥檛 available, they really are sort of lost,鈥� Holmes said.
Ask this year鈥檚 crop of hemp farmers where they got their seed and you鈥檒l usually be met with silence. Or cryptic explanations. Many people seem to know 鈥淎 friend of a friend of a friend.鈥� Because hemp isn鈥檛 quite legal nationwide, even Holmes said he had to acquire some of his seed through nefarious means.
鈥淚t would just show up in the mail or by FedEx or someone would come to my office and say, 鈥業鈥檓 a friend of so-and-so from the Czech Republic and he asked me to give you this,鈥� and little bits of seed would come my way,鈥� Holmes said, with a smile.
Limited Acreage At First
Most large-scale row crop farmers, the ones with the capital and land needed to launch a hemp industry, aren鈥檛 looking for that level of intrigue when purchasing seed. That鈥檚 why this year鈥檚 hemp planting 鈥� not just in Colorado, but in 鈥� will likely be modestly sized. Not a lot is known about how the plant will perform in different climates, and which varieties will yield best for seed and which for fiber. Plus, current state rules forbid growers from exporting any part that could be used to grow a new plant, so any hemp growing in Colorado has to be processed in Colorado.
鈥淭he infrastructure in Colorado is still pretty limited. And we鈥檙e not quite sure how that鈥檚 going to develop over the next few months,鈥� said Ron Carleton, deputy commissioner for the Colorado Department of Agriculture.
Without a ton of businesses in the state processing hemp into food or fiber, hemp farmers could be left with a harvest they can鈥檛 move over Colorado鈥檚 borders.
鈥淪o if you do cultivate hemp in any significant way will there be a market? Will you be able to sell it? And if not, then what?鈥� Carleton said many farmers are asking.
All those unanswered questions haven鈥檛 deterred growers like Jim Denny. He鈥檚 fully aware his crop is going into the ground with plenty of uncertainty. But he鈥檚 confident that in five or ten years, he鈥檒l be part of a thriving class of hemp growers.
鈥淭he one thing that legitimized this right here, and the reason I鈥檓 even growing this here, is the fact that they recognized what hemp was and they defined it, because they put it in the Farm Bill,鈥� Denny said.
With signals like that from Congress and the federal government, it may not be long before some of America鈥檚 amber waves of grain get a little greener.
