BDN interviews Jemison about cultivating hemp for food, fiber in Maine
The Bangor Daily News spoke with John Jemison, a soil and water quality specialist with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, for the article, “Cultivating hemp for fiber, food getting close to legal.” According to Jemison, Maine farmers who want to grow industrial hemp should start writing letters to their representatives in Congress. Jemison is one of several researchers in New England investigating hemp as a crop that could be grown for everything from fishing ropes to insulation and seeds rich in nutrients and protein, according to the article. “It has the potential to be a really good rotation crop,” he said. Even though Americans can buy hemp jeans or hemp granola, the plant can’t legally be grown for commercial use in the U.S. and instead must be imported. A 2015 Maine law permitted a system for commercial cultivation, despite the federal prohibition, and the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry has released proposed regulations that outline a system for licensing, seed procurement and limitations on the quantity of THC, the article states.