Fewer Kansas farmers are signing up to grow hemp each year, likely because of the diminishing demand for CBD oil. But hemp advocates say there are markets for hemp fiber and grains that could still be a boon for Kansas. A drop in CBD oil production in Kansas appears to be causing a huge reduction in the number of farmers growing hemp.
When the state launched its program to oversee the newly legalized crop in 2019, more than 200 farmers signed up. This year, only 41 secured licenses from the state to grow it. Before the drop in demand, most Kansas hemp was used to make CBD oil, a product used for health purposes and as an additive for food.
But industrial hemp experts say there is still a growing market for other hemp products — like fiber for clothing and grain for animal feed. “There’s been a reduction in the number of growers and the number of acres on the CBD side,” said Sarah Stephens, CEO of Midwest Hemp Technologies in Augusta, Kansas. “But there’s been an increase in the number of growers and number of acres on the fiber and grain side.”
Hemp is related to cannabis, but hemp varieties have very low levels of the psychoactive compound THC. The U.S. government legalized growing hemp in 2018, effectively making cannabidiol, or CBD, legal in all 50 states. The following year, Kansas began regulating the crop, and a rush of farmers registered to grow it. Supporters of hemp hyped it as a promising crop because of the popularity of CBD oil, especially in states that have not legalized medical or recreational marijuana use. But the demand for CBD appears to have dropped off, and with it, the need for hemp plants to produce it. The Kansas Department of Agriculture reported that 90% of hemp produced in Kansas between 2019 and 2020 was used for CBD oil production. This year, that’s dropped to less than 5%.
Read more at lawrencekstimes.com