Page 6 - ARUBA TODAY

A6 U.S. NEWS
Friday 7 June 2019

State, federal laws now allow Arizona farmers to grow hemp

PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona established industrial hemp
farmers will soon begin cultivation programs.
planting hemp as its by- The cannabis targeted for
product - CBD oil - is explod- Arizona isn't the same vari-
ing in popularity, with some ety as used to make hemp
supporters saying it could rope, but instead is a strain
overtake a traditional crop optimized to produce the
in the state because there's most flowers and seeds to
more money in the canna- process into CBD oils and
bis plant than cotton. powders. After the flow-
The emerging market for ers and their seeds are re-
hemp, which contains ul- moved and processed,
tra-low levels of the THC the remaining fiber can be
that creates a high in mari- used for animal feed, as a
juana, will be focused in concrete strengthener or
Arizona on producing flow- as insulation, among other
ers and seeds that can be uses, Pullen said.
used to make CBD oils, Farmers and others involved
said Randy Pullen, a for- with hemp, including those
mer state Republican Party who harvest, transport and
chairman and hemp pro- process it, must hold state
cessing company investor licenses issued by Arizona
who helped set up a state Department of Agriculture
chapter of the Hemp Indus- In this Oct. 5, 2013, file photo, a woman stands in a hemp field at a farm in Springfield, Colo. and get fingerprint clear-
tries Association. Associated Press ance cards. Licenses start
CBD oils are increasingly at $150 for harvesters and
being used in foods and alfalfa, Pullen said, netting federal studies of the crop ciation. transporters and go to
as pain relievers, as well as $600 per acre compared done before the recent "These guys have invest- $1,500 for a grower and
for other medical condi- with about $100 for stan- CDB oil craze. ments in land, in machin- $3,000 for a processor. Fees
tions. In April, however, the dard crops like cotton. And farmers, a notoriously ery, in everything that it per acre or per ton of pro-
Food and Drug Administra- "Economically it's much careful lot, will be cautious takes to keep their farms cessed material plus testing
tion issued warning letters more profitable to plant about switching to a crop going year after year,' Rog- fees are added on and li-
to companies for making and harvest hemp than it is without an established mar- ers said of cotton farmers. censes can be renewed
unapproved health claims to plant and harvest cotton ket and buyers stepping up "A guy may try five acres of annually.
about CBD products. or alfalfa," Pullen said in an to contract for crops, said it, but it's way pre-mature. The department does not
Farmers can see a big interview Tuesday. Kevin Rogers, executive It's great that there's a new know how many acres
profit boost over standard That estimate can vary vice president with the Ari- crop that we can look at, may be planted in hemp
Arizona crops like cotton or widely though, based on zona Cotton Growers Asso- but it's in the infancy stage this year because a farmer
for us." may show his entire hold-
The 2018 state law allow- ings as a potential growing
ing industrial hemp farm- area. Once planted, the
ing and processing was to plots will be marked with
take effect in August after signs showing it is industrial
state agriculture officials hemp.
set up a licensing and certi- Pullen said he won't be
fication program. But state surprised to see hemp dis-
lawmakers moved up the place some of the cotton
effective date of the state grown in Arizona if the mar-
law to May 31 after the fed- ket takes off as some stud-
eral Farm Bill passed in De- ies have suggested. The
cember and legalized in- state saw about 175,000
dustrial hemp nationwide. acres planted in 2017, fed-
Brian McGrew runs the pro- eral figures show.
gram for the department "Probably half of that will
and said it is now reviewing be hemp in a few years,"
applications and expects he said.
to begin issuing licenses this Rogers, the cotton associa-
week. Seeds could be in tion official, said that's not
the ground by mid-month. likely unless and until the
About 200 applications, market matures.
mainly for growers and "Obviously the price of
processors, had been (cannabis) oil is outra-
filed after the official win- geously priced, so every-
dow opened on Friday. one's looking at that and
He said Wednesday that thinking they're going to
35 of those are complete, make tens of thousands of
including the fingerprint dollars," rogers said. "And
clearance card, and the you know, I hope some-
number is rising daily. body does. But our guys
The National Conference are going to want to have
of State Legislatures says good contracts and make
more than 40 states have sure it's going to work."q