Last year in Tennessee, hemp farming increased by 1,100% in one year. Some farmers are cashing in while others are hoping on the new trend after the 2018 Farm Bill Act removed hemp from the control substances tier 1 list.
As this article from Tennessean points out:
“More than 2,600 Tennessee farmers and businesses are licensed to grow hemp or CBD this spring — an increase of more than 1,100% in just one year. But some experienced farmers say the state’s newest cash crop is growing too fast. After years of pioneering Tennessee hemp, they say newcomers might be overextended and unprepared for the pitfalls of the alluring-yet-difficult crop. “It’s like a new gold rush, and that’s not really a good thing,” said Bill Corbin, a Springfield farmer who is one of the veteran hemp growers in the state. “When that many people come into play so quickly, there are so many naive and gullible growers that are going to sign up with people who will promise them the moon.”
The good news is that even if excess hemp is grown, it still benefits the consumer. Overproduction of hemp will not only drive down prices in the long run, it will also create lots of other useful raw materials that most people forget hemp was originally known for: rope, paper, animal feed and much more!
