Hemp production in Kansas has the green light from Governor Laura Kelly.
The governor signed a bill to start the Commercial Industrial Hemp Program. This is the latest step in starting the hemp industry statewide. The Kansas Department of Agriculture has to submit a plan for monitoring and regulating industrial hemp. The plan will also include prohibitions for certain production and marketing efforts, and it will also establish waste disposal requirements.
Once that’s done, KDA has to submit the plan to the US Department of Agriculture for final approval.
Even with plan development and approval pending, the governor’s office says this is the first year commercial hemp can be produced — although it is only allowed in research programs as approved by the 2014 Farm Bill.
