Don’t Bet the Farm on Hemp just yet…
Texas A&M AgriLife Hemp Team advises curious growers
SAN ANGELO, Texas — Texas farmers soon will be able to legally plant fields of hemp for the first time since the 1930s.
Much has changed since then, but one thing hasn’t: Texas farmers can count on Texas A&M AgriLife for practical information and expert insight.
The Texas A&M AgriLife Hemp Team traveled across the state this winter holding meetings in halls packed full of farmers who paid up to $20 each to learn about the pitfalls and possibilities of industrial hemp production.
See the video at Hemp for Farmers.
“There’s a lot of hype out there about growing hemp, but Texas farmers know where to go for the straight facts,” said John Sharp, chancellor of The Texas A&M University System. “AgriLife experts have advised growers for more than 100 years, cultivating a level of trust and credibility they appreciate.”
Topics covered in the meetings included the botany of cannabis, the cost of growing and processing industrial hemp and expected potential yields, THC and law enforcement and the development of markets for industrial hemp.
“We’re not selling anything,” said Dr. Reagan Noland, an assistant professor of soil and crop sciences at Texas A&M University and an extension agronomist in San Angelo. “The goal of AgriLife Extension is to help Texas farmers make informed decisions.”
Farmers need all the information they can get before they decide to apply for a license from the Texas Department of Agriculture, which is in the process of finalizing the program’s administrative rules and expects to begin issuing licenses and permits by mid-March.
About The Texas A&M University System
The Texas A&M University System is one of the largest systems of higher education in the nation, with a budget of $6.3 billion. Through a statewide network of 11 universities, a comprehensive health science center, eight state agencies, and the RELLIS Campus, the Texas A&M System educates more than 153,000 students and makes more than 22 million additional educational contacts through service and outreach programs each year. System-wide, research and development expenditures exceeded $996 million in FY 2017 and helped drive the state’s economy.
Contact: Laylan Copelin
Vice Chancellor of Marketing and Communications
(979) 458-6425
(512) 289-2782 cell
lcopelin@tamus.edu