Amid years of historic drought and a push for more sustainable resources to lower carbon emissions, industrial hemp legalization may have come along at just the right time for Idaho agriculture.
Hemp is believed to be one of the earliest cultivated crops in modern human history, but it only became legal to grow in Idaho last year. Farmers are beginning to receive licenses from the state to produce and handle the crop during this growing season for commodities such as insulation, paper, oil and food products.
Idaho was the 50th state in the country to legalize industrial hemp with a bill that passed the Idaho Legislature in April 2021. Braden Jensen, deputy government affairs director for the Idaho Farm Bureau, said his organization has been pushing for the policy change for the better part of the past 20 years, but the 2018 federal farm bill that removed hemp from the controlled substances list made the issue a priority in the 2021 legislative session. The legalization presents an opportunity for farmers to diversify their operations, he said.
“Idaho took a very methodical and diligent approach, really investigating and understanding what it would mean to open this industry to growers in the state and really go in with our eyes wide open,” Jensen said.
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