Information about industrial hemp will be shared by a variety of organizations today (Mon.) in Pierre.
South Dakota Farmers Union president Doug Sombke says supporters of legalizing industrial hemp in the state are holding “South Dakota Hemp Day” from 3:30–6:30pm at the Ramkota Hotel in Pierre.
He says industrial hemp is a natural fit into the crop rotation in the state.
Sombke see the cautious approach to accepting industrial hemp as much the same as the approach taken to two agriculture industries that are now widely accepted in South Dakota.
Sombke says the South Dakota Hemp Day event today brings people who have questions into the room with people who can provide answers.
Currently, South Dakota is only one of three states where growing and processing industrial hemp is not legal.
Incidentally, the South Dakota Legislature’s Industrial Hemp Interim Study Committee meets today (Mon.) at noon at in Room 362 of the State Capitol in Pierre. Among the people on the agenda are the Hemp Program supervisor for the Minnesota Department of Agriculture and the Chief-of-Staff for the North Dakota Highway Patrol. Public testimony will be taken at 4pm. The meeting is open to the public and can be listened to online on the SD Legislative Research Council’s website.
The US Department of Agriculture is expected to release details of a new regulatory framework soon so farmers can have the opportunity to grow hemp in the 2020 growing season.
