Hemp Cultivation Takes Root for Some

Slowly embracing all that hemp has to offer; countries, states, and universities are beginning to drill down on the hemp plant’s true potential. Researchers across the world are understanding its capability to provide sustainable high nutrient foods, durable textiles, eco-friendly building materials and hemp-based biofuel

(Article by Monterey Bud, republished from http://www.marijuana.com/blog/news/2016/05/hemp-cultivation-takes-root-for-some/)

DEA goes silent on University of Nebraska-Lincoln

As the forward-thinking states of Oregon and Colorado prepare to add thousands of acres of agricultural land devoted to the cultivation of industrial hemp for 2016, the DEA has slow-walked an application from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln’s (UNL) Department of Agronomy and Horticulture to its untimely demise.

Hoping to analyze, research, and gain a better understanding the once demonized plant, UNL researchers were yearning to convert one of the Cornhusker State’s most abundant ditch weeds into a valuable cash crop – benefiting Nebraska’s struggling farmers.

Frustrated by the DEA’s slow response and bureaucratic cold-shoulder regarding UNL’s request to import hemp seeds from Canada, the horticultural heads at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln had hoped to cultivate approximately two acres of industrial hemp just outside of Omaha this year. Unfortunately for all concerned, the project has been tossed onto the garbage heap of good ideas, thanks to a seemingly nonexistent response from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

Epitomizing the ineptitude of our federal government and highlighting yet another squandered opportunity, the assistant dean of the department’s Agricultural Research Division explained to the Lincoln Journal Star, “I think it will take an act of God for us to get that permit and get everything squared for us to plant this year.”

iHempWA: Farmers in Western Oz’s Hop on Industrial Hemp Trial

Concerned over their financial future in West Australia, farmers in the Southwest region of Western Oz cultivated their own industrial hemp association last year and have promoted the industrial cultivation and processing of hemp throughout the region of Western Australia. On a parallel course with the US and officially legalized in 2016 by Australia’s Parliament, states across Australia have been rushing to access medicinal cannabis ever since. While that’s great news for the rest of Australia’s sick and suffering, in Western Australia, it’s only legal to grow industrial hemp, as medical marijuana is still considered taboo. Provided they can afford the $328 application fee and keep their hemp under 0.35% THC, an approved cultivator can now grow industrial hemp without fear of legal repercussions in the southwest region of Western Australia, according to ABC news.

Read more at: http://www.marijuana.com/blog/news/2016/05/hemp-cultivation-takes-root-for-some/