Big Bend area farmers are one step closer to finding out if hemp really is Florida’s new cash crop. Florida Agriculture Commission office has begun accepted applications for hemp cultivation this week. So far, more than two dozen farmers have already been approved.
The state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services began accepting applications to grow hemp on April 27. The U.S. Department of Agriculture approved Florida’s plan earlier this month, following a 2018 federal farm bill legalizing hemp as an agricultural product.
"Farming has been on a downhill lately, said Clinton Keen, who runs Buckeye Nursery in Perry. "So we're hoping this could be a new cash crop."
Keen grows close to 350 acres of citrus and peanuts. But, it hasn't been easy. "Market here in Florida was off, so we didn't really get good market on the citrus," said Keen. Keen is among 165 people who have applied for the hemp cultivation certification.
Cautiously optimistic, Keen says cultivation is pricey, "You're probably spending about $2,500 an acre," Keen said.