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Tag: Agriculture

2018 Farm Bill Could Fully Legalize Industrial Hemp In USA
The US Capitol building under a cloudy blue sky. An amendment to the Senate version of the 2018 Farm Bill could help legalize hemp in the USA. (Pixabay / inverewe, public domain)
July 3, 2018
Kit
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2018 Farm Bill Could Fully Legalize Industrial Hemp In USA

Posted in Archive, Journalism, and Ministry of Hemp

An amendment to the Senate version of the 2018 Farm Bill would fully legalize industrial hemp in the United States.

“This is a big day for hemp,” said Brian Furnish, a hemp grower from Kentucky and president of the U.S. Hemp Roundtable.

The amendment legalizing hemp began as a bill proposed by Mitch McConnell, the Republican majority leader in the Senate. The “Hemp Farming Act of 2018” fully legalizes industrial hemp and all products made from it including CBD oil. Under the new law, the Drug Enforcement Administration and other government agencies would no longer be able to interfere with hemp.

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Legal Growers Fight Federal Government Over Water For Hemp CropsLegal farmers in the West are struggling with the Federal government over access to water for hemp crops.
A dusty, rusting irrigation pipe sits in a field under a cloudy sky. Legal farmers in the West are struggling with the Federal government over access to water for hemp crops. (Pixabay / distel2610, public domain)
May 10, 2018
Kit
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Legal Growers Fight Federal Government Over Water For Hemp Crops

Posted in Hemp Magazine, and Journalism

“TECHNICALLY, NO ONE’S EVER denied me the water,” says hemp farmer Kim Phillips, with a laugh.

Legally, Phillips can grow hemp on her 75-acre farm in Montana’s Helena Valley, but whether she can water her crops is another matter.

Phillips is at the center of a dispute that highlights the legal gray area around hemp farming in the United States. The water source she can access from her property is a federally regulated irrigation district controlled by the Bureau of Reclamation, a federal organization that manages water projects in America’s 17 westernmost states. Although Phillips has followed Montana’s strict hemp regulations, the Bureau of Reclamation didn’t respond to her request for water in time for her to irrigate the crops she planted last year. Her field languished and died.

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Kit In Print: Find “Water Wars” In Hemp Magazine Issue 3
Kit O'Connell's article "Water Wars" appears in issue 3 of Hemp Magazin. This magazine is focused on small farmers and their unique struggles to grow legal hemp. (Kit O'Connell)
May 8, 2018
Kit
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Kit In Print: Find “Water Wars” In Hemp Magazine Issue 3

Posted in Hemp Magazine, and Journalism

For the first time, you can my journalism in a print magazine!

Last year, I interviewed a number of Western hemp advocates who were concerned about the issue of water rights. The U.S. government controls much of the water in the American West, and they’ve threatened to withhold it from legal hemp farmers. I expanded on that story in an article called “Water Wars” for the latest issue of Hemp Magazine. For this article, I interviewed Kim Phillips, a Montana farmer whose hemp crop languished last year because her government water permit was denied. Phillips is struggling with the government again this year, and it’s unclear if she’ll get her water in time for the 2018 season.

Look for the article online soon — but in the meantime you can probably find it in the magazine at a bookstore or newsstand near you.

Read moreKit In Print: Find “Water Wars” In Hemp Magazine Issue 3
Colorado Hemp Expo Reveals U.S. Hemp Industry Poised To Explode
Hemp products from around the world on display at HempToday’s “global village” booth at the NoCo Hemp Expo. (Ministry of Hemp / Kit O'Connell)
April 15, 2018
Kit
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Colorado Hemp Expo Reveals U.S. Hemp Industry Poised To Explode

Posted in Journalism, and Ministry of Hemp

Interest in hemp and CBD is growing faster than ever, and the crowds at the NoCo Hemp Expo prove it.

On April 6 and 7, thousands of people flocked to the Ranch Events Center in rural Loveland, Colorado, for the fifth and largest ever annual NoCo Hemp Expo. The sold-out event featured a crowd of 6,000 people in attendance over the two days, according to a press release issued by the event organizers.

With almost 1,500 more people than in 2017 and 150 vendors, the NoCo Hemp Expo has gotten so large that organizers will move it to Denver next year. Vendors ranged from the best of hemp fashion to innovative foods infused with CBD oil, as well as new offerings for hemp farmers.

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What Were The Most Important Hemp Stories Of 2017?
The top of an agricultural hemp plant growing in a field. (Pixabay / herbalhemp, public domain)
December 30, 2017
Kit
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What Were The Most Important Hemp Stories Of 2017?

Posted in Journalism, and Ministry of Hemp

2017 was an exciting year for supporters of hemp.

The stigma surrounding this plant has continued to decrease as more and more people discover hemp’s almost limitless uses. While hemp isn’t completely legal in the U.S. (yet), there’s growing bipartisan support in Congress, and at every level of our government, in support of full legalization.

And since we’re big fans of CBD oil, a healing supplement made from hemp, we were thrilled that more people learned about CBD and its many benefits. Global attitudes are changing too, with some of the most influential authorities on international drug policy also changing their tune about CBD in 2017.  

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What Can We Learn From Hemp Legalization In Canada?
A scenic view of a Canadian farm on the shore of a lake, with a stunning view of mountains behind. (Pixabay / 12019, public domain)
November 14, 2017
Kit
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What Can We Learn From Hemp Legalization In Canada?

Posted in Journalism, and Ministry of Hemp

“My best advice is walk before you run.”

When it comes to the agricultural hemp, Shaun Crew knows more than most about what it takes to be successful. The president and founder of Hemp Oil Canada, he’s been in the hemp business longer than nearly anyone in his country and he’s seen the many hurdles the industry had to overcome since growing returned to Canada.

While industrial hemp returned to the United States on limited terms in 2014, all Canadians have been allowed to grow hemp since 1998, though the plant remains more restricted than other crops. Today, about 100,000 acres of hemp are grown annually in Canada according to experts we interviewed, and hemp is a well-established industry with government support.

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