Source: brownfieldagnews.com
A Wisconsin ag official says industrial hemp licenses are now available, but farmers that want to grow hemp have to do two things before growing the crop. Brian Kuhn is the Director of the state’s Bureau of Plant Industry, and tells Brownfield, “There’s a one-time license application fee that, once you’ve got a license, that’s a permanent license, and then annually you would register with the department (DATCP) to confirm your intention to grow again in the next year.”
Kuhn says license fees start at $150 dollars for about 30 acres and go up five dollars an acre above that, but the license is permanent and can be upgraded for more acreage in the future. He says growers will have to pay a $350 dollar annual registration fee for each year they intend to plant hemp.
And, since hemp is licensed as a research crop, Kuhn says producers will also have to share information with the ag department. “A lot of details on their growing process, the seed variety, planting dates, crop amendments, fertilizer, nutrients, that kind of stuff, so we can gather the data on what it takes to grow hemp in Wisconsin.”
Kuhn says the data collected will help compile best practices for growing hemp and help them understand where markets are.
He also says farmers should use certified seed and do their homework before getting into hemp production.
Forms and license information is available on the Department of Ag, Trade, and Consumer Protection website.
No comments:
Post a Comment