A California group with dealings in industrial hemp is paying a visit to the Delta area this week.
Led by Rep. C. Travis Johnson, industrial hemp businessmen are eyeing the region for its proficiency in growing cotton.
“You can grow hemp anywhere cotton grows,” Johnson said.
The visitors will be staying in the area for three days meeting with local and state leaders, community stake holders and touring Concordia and Tensas parishes.
Johnson attributed part of the Delta’s draw to his Agricultural Sustainability Research District. The district studies ways to maintain and grow agriculture markets such as hemp crops.
Johnson has been a proponent for industrial hemp since its 2020 start when Louisiana’s agriculture department start accepting applications.
Earlier in 2021, Johnson whose district encompasses Tensas, Catahoula and Concordia parishes, was part of a group traveling to Colorado. Also part of the group were Sen. Stewart Cathey, House Chairman of Agriculture, Rep. Jack McFarland.
While in Colorado, the group toured farms, seed production facilities, manufacturing and extraction facilities. The group also meet with policy advisors to discuss regulatory challenges.
Hemp is a member of the cannabis plant family but contains only traces of the THC chemical compound that causes a high for marijuana users.
Growing demand for Cannabidiol, or CBD, the non-psychoactive compound in the cannabis plant often extracted from hemp, has helped drive interest in hemp. But the crop also can be used for textiles, fuels, clothing, body lotion, paper, rope and chemical absorbents, among other products.
To branch off into the industrial hemp market, a state license is required for any person growing, handling, transporting or processing hemp or hemp seed in Louisiana.
Applicants must pass a criminal background check. No one convicted of a felony within the last 10 years or a drug-related misdemeanor in the last two years is eligible.
Growing hemp in an experimental basis was allowed under the Agricultural Acts of 2014. In 2018 with the United States farm bill, commodity hemp production was federally legalized and Louisiana legalized hemp in 2019 with the passage of House Bill 491.
Source: https://www.hannapub.com/