Home Grown: Large hemp field in Wellton helps grow national hemp industry

WELLTON, Ariz. (KYMA, KECY) - In today's Home Grown, Yuma County is playing a large role in the nation's expanding hemp industry.

This field in Wellton is one of the largest hemp fields in Yuma County.

Usually hemp is planted around this time of year, but Dusty Shill, owner of Skeet LLC says this one was planted in February.

"This is right around 40 acres, and it's strictly for a seed field," Shill explained. "We didn't try to get the males out or anything. We needed the males, actually, in here for pollination purposes."

Males are usually taken out of the field so the female plants don't get pollinated and can flower.

They also don't need to keep the THC levels under the legal limit of 0.03% because they are not harvesting for sale. Growers will monitor THC levels when the seed produces actual products in the next field.

The seeds from this field will be sent to a company in Scottsdale and then to a grower in Lubbock, Texas.

For harvesting the seed, farmers will mow the field, columbine it, take the seed out and send it to a seed mill.