Industrial Hemp Regulations Fast-Tracked For The New Year
Baton Rouge Business Report/Associated Press
With industrial hemp promoted as a new cash crop for struggling farmers, Louisiana’s agriculture department is fast-tracking the regulations for the newly legal commodity, with the first grower licenses expected to win approval in February.
Interested farmers are packing orientation sessions to learn about the lengthy paperwork, licensing, testing and reporting requirements the state Department of Agriculture and Forestry is enacting to govern industrial hemp production in Louisiana, under a program overwhelmingly backed by lawmakers earlier this year.