Source: statecollege.com
Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences will work with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture to develop policies and procedures to guide research projects for industrial hemp.
Gov. Tom Wolf signed into law last week Act 192, which will allow the state agriculture department and colleges and universities to grow hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) for research. Industrial hemp is unlike marijuana in that it has reduced levels of THC, significantly decreasing or eliminating any of THC's intoxicating, psychoactive effects. The federal 2014 Farm Bill allowed for universities and state agricultural departments to grow industrial hemp in research pilot programs, and the new state law could give Pennsylvania entry into a growing industry.
“William Penn himself was an advocate of hemp growth, and in 1683, one of the first laws passed by the General Assembly in Pennsylvania was a law to encourage every farmer to grow hemp,” Wolf said upon signing the law. “The U.S. industrial hemp industry has been estimated at over $500 million in annual retail sales and is still growing. Supporting this industry in Pennsylvania is a smart investment in the commonwealth’s economy.”
The new Pennsylvania law creates an Agricultural Pilot Program for the study of the growth, cultivation and marketing of industrial hemp. It may only be grown by the state agriculture department or higher education institute, and only on sites that are certified by the agriculture department.
"The ability to grow industrial hemp could benefit farmers in Pennsylvania by allowing them to diversify their crop bases," said Gary Thompson, Penn State College of Ag Sciences associate dean for research and graduate education, in a news release. "Our research in the Agricultural Pilot Program could help farmers to be more successful if and when the law allows them to grow industrial hemp for profit."
Industrial hemp can grow without much land and and can be used in making "products such as paper, clothing, biodegradable plastics, paint, insulation, biofuel, food and animal feed," according to Penn State.
Thompson will begin work with the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture to develop guidelines for growing industrial hemp for research in Pennsylvania.
"As a land-grant university, it is Penn State's duty to help Pennsylvania's farmers succeed," Thompson said. "There is potential in industrial hemp for a value-added crop to be grown in the state. We look forward to investigating this potential and to working with farmers to face the challenges of the future."
Penn State Professor of Agronomy Greg Roth said farmers have an opportunity to apply modern perspectives to a crop which was first cultivated thousands of years ago.
"That modern perspective," he said, "includes, for example, knowledge of how best to grow the crop in Pennsylvania's climate and landscape, what varieties might perform best here and what yields can be expected when the crop is grown under both conventional and organic practices."
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