Kentucky Ag Commissioner Ryan Quarles
Since the the 2014 Farm Bill established the legal framework for industrial hemp to return to the farm fields of the America, the commonwealth of Kentucky has been on the forefront.
For much of that time, Ag Commission Ryan Quarles has led the department in charge of the hemp program.
Quarles was elected ag commissioner in 2016 and is currently serving his second and final term.
He said Kentucky was an early leader on hemp, \u201cbecause we were the hemp state historically.\u201d
\u201cA lot of farm families have hemp backgrounds,\u201d he said. \u201cYou don\u2019t have to look very far to see the fingerprints of what used to be a big cash crop.\u201d
Quarles is a ninth-generation Kentuckian and grew up on the farm where his family grew hemp in the 1940s to support the wart effort.
Having a history of hemp cultivation was helpful, but there were still challenges in bringing the crop back, he said.
\u201cI think the No. 1 issue with hemp in the early days was just the education of what hemp is and what hemp is not,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd so for a lot of us in the agriculture sphere, we knew that it was an industrial crop primarily used for its fiber and grain production.\u201d
Something else that set Kentucky apart was how the state program was structured. \u201cWe knew if we're going to bring this crop back from the dead, we needed to have a legal framework that was user friendly, that involved law enforcement, but also allowed people who want to grow it or process it an opportunity to take that risk,\u201d he said.
That legal framework set an example for other states to follow.
\u201cWe've been replicated to most across the country because I think we were really the first state, in my opinion, that really got a legal framework that passed through our General Assembly, that our agriculture community adopted,\u201d Quarles said.
As the industry navigates the post-CBD craze market, Quarles would like to see some definitive language from the Food and Drug Administration.
\u201cThe No. 1 impediment of hemp in America is the FDA. The FDA needs to do their job and give us guidelines on what their view is on the potential regulatory aspects of CBD and other cannabinoids,\u201d he said.
He said interest in fiber and grain production is growing in Kentucky, and he referred to two companies that are making great strides: HempWood and EcoFiber.
How does he feel about a possible exemption to lift the burdensome regulations from fiber and grain growers?
Listen and find out.
Kentucky's Hemp Program
https://www.kyagr.com/marketing/hemp-pilot.html
Hemp Policy Item Tabled Amid Concerns at Meeting of U.S. Ag Regulators
https://cannabiswire.com/2022/09/29/hemp-policy-item-tabled-amid-concerns-at-meeting-of-u-s-ag-regulators/
News Nuggets
Who\u2019s Driving Climate Change? New Data Catalogs 72,000 Polluters and Counting
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/09/climate/climate-change-emissions-satellites.html
Heartland Completes First Industrial Hemp Fiber LCA For Carbon Negative Plastic Additives
National Industrial Hemp Council Urges FDA to Approve Hemp Seed for Animal Feed
Go to the Pennsylvania Hemp Summit, Nov. 14-15
https://pahempsummit.com/
Thanks to our Sponsors:
Americhanvre Cast Hemp
https://americhanvre.com/
IND HEMP
https://indhemp.com/