The 2014 Farm Bill allowed producers to grow industrial hemp the research and demonstration projects conducted in collaboration with Kentucky Department of Agriculture (KDA).   The 2018 Farm Bill, that passed, allowed for commercial production of industrial hemp.  The Farm Bill allowed producers to grow industrial hemp on a commercial scale, using the licensing system developed by Kentucky Department of Agriculture.  “No person can grow, handle, broker, or process industrial hemp without a license issued by the KDA”.  

With industrial hemp being a viable crop with huge potential, the Webster County Ag Advisory Council identified research-based industrial hemp educational programs as a high priority.   

The University of Kentucky, Cooperative Extension Service in Webster County worked with Cooperative Extension Specialist and a local KDA approved processing facility representative and hosted an Industrial Hemp Information meeting.  The presentations addressed both economic and agronomic factors to consider in industrial hemp production.  The process for obtaining a license and processing guidelines were also discussed in detail.  Forty producers attended the informative meeting.  Producers, landowners and lenders attended this meeting to learn more about industrial hemp production.  

A survey was given to randomly selected attendants three months after the program.  According to survey results, 100% of the respondents said they learned more about industrial hemp production.  As a direct result of information gained at the meeting, 70% of those that responded finalized their decision for industrial hemp production on their farm.  The unbiased, research-based information received directly impacted their farming operation which made a difference in the lives of those producers the Webster County  Cooperative Extension Agriculture and Natural Resources program serves.  Of the growers that are growing Industrial Hemp that attended meeting, 100% reported Cooperative Extension as a much needed resource for unbiased information.  Of the forty producers that attended the meeting, fourteen participants was new clientele to Webster County Cooperative Extension.