News and Music Discovery
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

2nd Year of Hemp Production at University of Kentucky Begins

D-Kuru, Wikimedia Commons

The second year of Kentucky's research hemp production is underway. 

The planting season officially kicked off Thursday at the University of Kentucky demonstration site.  Statewide, about a thousand acres of hemp will be planted, compared to 33 acres last season.  

During the initial research project a year ago, the crop was grown on one-tenth of one acre.  This spring, Research Coordinator David Williams says hemp is being planted on almost 30 acres of land.

"There are lots of processors that are very, very interested in the hemp industry in Kentucky and they've already invested a huge amount of time, money, and effort in establishing the necessary infrastructure for processing," said Williams.  

Statewide there are 24 processors, seven universities, and 99 growers.  

State Industrial Hemp Coordinator Adam Watson says it's hard to say just yet if production will grow even more next year.

"It all depends one, on what we find out this year," said Watson. "We may see similar numbers, it may grow, it may reduce.  It all just depends on what applicants want to do, what processors need to do their research, so the future is still a question."

Watson says end product uses will vary.  

"We have pilot projects that are looking at the CBD Nutraceutical side of industrial hemp," said Watson. "We have grain related projects that are going to be looking at pressing oil and the resultant seed cake.  We have fiber related projects.  So, we have projects that are looking at all the multiple different uses of industrial hemp."

He says the end products vary from processing oil to fiber related projects.

Stu Johnson is a reporter/producer at WEKU in Lexington, Kentucky.
Related Content