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HB 967, now Act 92, allows for properly registered individuals to grow, cultivate, and/or market industrial hemp within the confines of the Agricultural Act of 2014. Agencies, colleges, and universities are now able to grow industrial hemp for research purposes. The bill creates the Hemp Research Board, now responsible for developing regulations, applications for registration, inspections, a database of registered persons, registration fees, guidelines for labeling and testing. “William Penn himself was an advocate of hemp growth, and in 1683, one of the first laws passed by the General Assembly in Pennsylvania was a law to encourage every farmer to grow hemp,” said Governor Wolf. “The U.S. industrial hemp industry has been estimated at over $500 million in annual retail sales and is still growing. Supporting this industry in Pennsylvania is a smart investment in the commonwealth’s economy.”
Federal funding becomes available for hemp research!
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USDA issues letter of clarification on the principles of Industrial Hemp!
The Pennsylvania Hemp Industry Council seeks to accelerate the return of the Industrial Hemp Crop to the Pennsylvania agricultural landscape. To effectively achieve our aim of broad adoption of Industrial Hemp as a rotational crop by farmers, we will build a vital and effective collaboration of agencies, individuals and the general public.
Pennsylvania is a very strong agricultural state with over 63 thousand farms and almost 8 million acres of farm land. These farmers, the entire state, as well as the environment would benefit tremendously from the ability to grow industrial hemp. With our ideal climate and close proximity to major markets, we need to return this vital cash crop to our state.
Hemp can aid rural communities that need revitalization and opportunity by creating good paying jobs. Investing in research and development would build a bio-based economy that can provide solutions to real-world problems.
The United States annually imports hemp and hemp products at an estimated value of 500 million dollars. Hundreds of PA farmers and entrepreneurs have already expressed a desire to supply the national demand for hemp and its products not only to reap the economic benefits, but to create many products that can proudly be labeled “100% Made in the USA”. With our rich agricultural heritage and our first class universities and research facilities, Pennsylvania should absolutely be a leader in this new industry.
We sincerely hope that we can count on you to join us in building this exciting new industry!
Check out our interview with State Senator Judy Schwank at the 2016 PA Farm Show
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