Alyssa Collins with Penn State Extension shows a hemp plant that grew after the main experiment was harvested. Under guidelines from the state Department of Agriculture, any plants that spring up outside the parameters of the research period would have to be destroyed.
Rachel McDevitt / WITF
Rachel McDevitt / WITF
Alyssa Collins with Penn State Extension shows a hemp plant that grew after the main experiment was harvested. Under guidelines from the state Department of Agriculture, any plants that spring up outside the parameters of the research period would have to be destroyed.
(Harrisburg) — Democratic state lawmakers held a hearing Monday to check in on the commonwealth’s nascent industrial hemp business.
Advocates for hemp say the newly-legal crop can be one solution for struggling farmers looking to increase their income.
Hemp provides a lot of options. It can be grown for food. Its fiber can be used for products ranging from clothing to building materials. And it contains CBD oil, which is used by some as a health supplement.
Marielle Weintraub, president of U.S. Hemp Authority, which provides certification to hemp operations, said there needs to be more education around the industry.
“My mom happens to be a criminal defense attorney in Harris County, in Houston, and when I told her I was going into hemp, she told me to call her when I got arrested,” she said.
Hemp had long been outlawed along with its cousin, marijuana. The two plants are related, but hemp does not contain enough of the psychoactive ingredient THC to produce a high.
Farmers also face challenges that include trouble getting bank loans for new operations and uncertainty around regulations.
“The road ahead will not be easy: building trust with farmers, developing supply chains, new products, and most importantly, educating the public about the amazing attributes of this plant beyond just CBD,” said Steve Groff, a board-certified orthopedic surgeon and the founder of Groff North America, which is developing Pennsylvania’s first hemp processing facility in York County.
Groff said his company contracted over 2,000 acres of fiber crop from farmers within the first year of operation.
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