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Application Period Opens to Participate in 2019 Hemp Program
By: Associated Press
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FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) – Kentucky’s agriculture commissioner says the application period has opened to participate in the state’s hemp pilot program next year.
Commissioner Ryan Quarles says the goal is to keep strengthening the effort to put hemp on a “responsible path toward commercialization.”
In 2018, Kentucky’s farmers planted 6,700 acres of hemp, up from 3,200 acres in 2017. The research program started with 33 acres in 2014.
Two Kentuckians, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and U.S. Rep. James Comer, are leading efforts to legalize hemp in the next federal farm bill.