Source: wate.com
HARROGATE (WATE) – Rows and rows of hemp plants soak up the sunshine on Elias Rasmussen’s farm in Harrogate.
“Every morning I wake up and have my coffee and look out over my hemp plants and am very happy,” Rasmussen said.
It’s clear the farmer has pride in his plants. Although this is his first year with seeds in the ground, Rasmussen believes hemp can help out East Tennessee.
Hemp is in the cannabis family, but is not the same as marijuana. Since last year, WATE 6 On Your Side has been reporting about a change in state law that creates a pilot program to test out farming hemp.
Rasmussen backs the plant for its medicinal purposes, but said hemp can also be used for so much more.
“It can be used for anything, from seed oil that can be used for cooking. It can be used for fiber. My personal interest is using it for sustainable building materials,” he said.
Thousands of hemp plants on Rasmussen’s farm will be harvested this October, mainly by hand. That means they’ll take each plant, dry it out and sell it as seed.
“I’m not afraid of a little hard work,” he said.
However, this type of hard work is one that’s new to our state. Hemp was not legally planted for 70 years. Now, that’s all changing. The hemp seeds come to Tennessee from Canada.
Rasmussen’s 2.5 acre industrial hemp farm is a pilot project and one of 50 in our state.
Workers with the Tennessee Department of Agriculture stopped by Wednesday for a yearly review. They took samples to make sure hemp plants are within Tennessee’s legal 0.3 percent limit of THC.
“I really fell in love with the idea of giving farmers a new crop,” Rasmussen said.
Rasmussen hopes others soon begin to share his love for the plants and that the use of hemp continues to grow.
For more information about regulations, or if you’re interested in learning how to get a license to grow hemp, visit the Tennessee Department of Agriculture’s website.
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