The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service will hold an educational seminar on industrial hemp production on Dec. 19. The event will start with registration at 1 p.m, and run from 1:30-4 p.m. at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center, 1102 E. Drew St., Lubbock.
The cost is $20 for the public and is complimentary for AgriLife employees. An RSVP is required by Dec. 18 for all participants to 806-775-1740 or 806-746-6101.
The seminar, First Things – Considerations for Industrial Hemp in Texas, was organized by Calvin Trostle, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension agronomist, Lubbock, and Danny Nusser, AgriLife Extension regional program leader, Lubbock.
“Texas hemp production will become legal at some point in 2020,” said Trostle. “When depends on how quickly Texas Department of Agriculture can review and issue licenses once USDA approves Texas rules. But anyone who may be interested in growing hemp needs to be prepared. You would be ill-advised to wait until you receive your license to begin preparation.”
AgriLife Extension does not support or oppose hemp, explained Trostle.
“We are here to help educate our clientele and provide them the resources and knowledge to make informed decisions about hemp,” he said.
Trostle said AgriLife has been commended for its realistic assessment during meetings with potential growers, as well as through written and video materials produced to educate the public about potential pitfalls and possibilities within the new industry.
“As Texans well know, there is a lot of hype around the CBD aspect of hemp,” Trostle said. “But prices are now at their lowest since agricultural hemp production was initiated about five years ago. Prices are down as much as 70% since earlier this year. This substantially curtails all those unbelievable per-acre revenues that some earlier adopters report having achieved.”
Seminar speakers will include Trostle; Christina Reid, AgriLife Extension horticulture agent, Lubbock; Justin Benavidez, Ph.D., Texas A&M AgriLife Extension economist, Amarillo; and Brady Arthur, AgriLife Extension agent for agriculture and natural resources, Lubbock.
Source: AgriLife Today