Source: dailyjournal.net


This Sept. 23, 2014 file photo shows a close-up view of a hemp plant cut down at a University of Kentucky farm near Lexington, Ky. North Dakota's Agriculture Department is launching a research program to help determine whether industrial hemp can be a viable commodity in the state. (AP Photo/Dylan Lovan, File)

BISMARCK, North Dakota — North Dakota's agriculture department is launching a research program to help determine whether industrial hemp can be a viable commodity in the state.

Eight years ago, the department issued the nation's first hemp-growing licenses to two farmers, one of whom was a state lawmaker. But efforts to further the industry were hampered by federal drug law, which doesn't differentiate between marijuana and its cousin, hemp, which can be used for a variety of products, including rope, paper, lotion and cooking oil.

FILE - This Sept. 23, 2014 file photo shows a close-up view of a hemp plant cut down at a University of Kentucky farm near Lexington, Ky. North Dakota's Agriculture Department is launching a research program to help determine whether industrial hemp can be a viable commodity in the state. (AP Photo/Dylan Lovan, File)

A provision in the 2014 federal farm bill changed things, allowing for universities and state agriculture departments to research hemp in states that permit its cultivation. North Dakota State Universityalready has started hemp research at its center in Langdon.

Applications from people and groups who want to participate in the state's hemp program are due Jan. 1, after which Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring will appoint a committee to review the proposals and approve participants — perhaps as many as 10.

"It will be a pretty progressive timeline," said Rachel Seifert-Spilde, a plant protection specialist for the agency. "The department is in a rush to get the paperwork completed because we need as much time as possible to secure the hemp seed. Imports need to be approved by the DEA, and that can be a time-consuming process."

Hemp seed is not readily available in the U.S., but other countries already have established industries; NDSU imported seed from Canada, France and Australia for its trials. The federal Drug Enforcement Administration registered North Dakota's Agriculture Department as a seed importer in August, but the state agency still must get approval for actual imports.

Participants in the state program will bear the cost of importing the seed, growing it and marketing the crop, and also must obtain a state hemp permit. The fee for the permit is $5 per acre with a minimum of $150, along with $42.75 to cover the cost of a background check.

"The department will act essentially as a middleman," Seifert-Spilde said. "It's not a guaranteed money-making venture" for participants. The goal, she added, is "to determine whether or not industrial hemp is really a workable alternative commodity for North Dakota farmers."

Preliminary results from NDSU show promise, especially for the hemp seeds brought in from Canada, where the crop has been grown for nearly two decades, according to research agronomist Bryan Hanson.

"We're so close to Canada, one would expect North Dakota would be adapted to the growing of industrial hemp, but we have to do research on it down here, too," he said. "There are a lot of production practices that need to be figured out. It's not going to be a speedy process. It's going to take time."