Source: kentuckynewera.com
Katie Moyer, a member of the Kentucky Industrial Hemp
Commission, pulls hemp roots out of the ground Wednesday.
She will use the roots to test an arthritis salve made out of hemp.
It’s been a little over three months since the county’s first hemp crops in 50 years was quietly planted at Jeff Davis’ farm in Pembroke and Rachel McCubbin’s llama farm in northern Christian County.
The state’s first pilot plots were planted in May in select locations throughout the state after the federal farm bill gave states that legalize industrial hemp permission to research the viability of industrial hemp.
Until then, growing hemp had been illegal under the federal Controlled Substances Act because it contains trace amounts of THC. THC is a hallucinogenic ingredient found in higher doses in the plant’s more potent cousin marijuana.
“You see how much money used to be going through these old Kentucky towns,” Kentucky Industrial Hemp Commission member Katie Moyer said. “They weren’t just growing tobacco. They were growing hemp.”
When Italian seeds bound for Christian County and other pilot plots were held up in Louisville by the Drug Enforcement Agency, a brief legal battle between the DEA and the Kentucky Department of Agriculture ensued before the seeds were finally released. About half an acre was planted at each Christian County plot and since then, the plants have shot up, towering at least 10 feet high at Davis’ farm.
Last week, Davis cut half his pilot plot down with a sickle mower to dry it out before harvest, and Wednesday, Moyer inspected the crop to prep for the harvest of its seed and fibers. McCubbin’s plot wasn’t as successful.
“More than 130 years ago they were using it, so if they could figure it out then we should be able to figure it out now,” Moyer said.
The seeds and fiber will be tested for viability. Moyer said she’d also like to test a salve made out of hemp root to ease arthritis symptoms.
“I’ve got a long line of Army veterans and seniors that want to try this arthritis salve, but I’ve got to YouTube it to see what we can do,” she said.
Moyer said with the help of volunteers she will remove viable seed over the next few days. Monday the harvest will turn to breaking down the plant’s fibers which can be used in building materials, clothing and paper.
Ultimately, Moyer said she hopes the plot and others like it will make a case for industrial hemp in Kentucky.
House Resolution 525 seeks to remove hemp from the Controlled Substances Act and open up industrial hemp farming to commercial farms.
“Then everybody will be able to grow it and we won’t have to do pilots,” Moyer said.
For more information, or to help out with the harvest, text or call Moyer at 270-305-4057.
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