Growing Industrial Hemp may soon be new reality for Yuma farmers

Growing Hemp has always been a controversial matter…In fact.. it became illegal to grow in the U.S. in 1937. This year, local farmers in Yuma County may be able to start harvesting the crop, bringing up questions of how safe it is, and if it will put anyone in danger.

13 On Your Side’s Caitlin Slater has a look at what may soon become a new reality for Yuma County.

It’s important to understand the difference between hemp and marijuana. Marijuana contains Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) level over 0.3%. THC is the phychoactive part of marijuana that gives you the high. It develops in the flower of the plant and the concentration could go up as the plant matures. Hemp on the other hand, contains less than 0.3% of THC so Yuma farmers would not be growing marijuana they would be growing industrial hemp.

Dwayne Alford who is the Program Chair of the Arizona Industrial Hemp Program Rules Committee. He helps draft a set of rules industrial hemp growers would need to follow.

“We have a lot to learn about growing hemp because its been illegal since the mid 40s and no one has done it in a very long time … I suspect that there will be some hemp grown potentially, even this coming summer if not then this following fall on more of an experimental basis and we will start to learn how the crop performs here in Yuma,” Alford said.

The big question on every farmer’s mind is, “Will growing hemp be worth it?” One local farmer is considering giving it a shot.

“I think this whole industrial hemp program will have to walk before it can run,” Kirk Dunn said.

Hemp is an expensive crop. Not only that but the seeds are hard to come by. Farmers have to order the seed from places with similar climate to our like in Egypt and Israel. After all of that, the reward may not outweigh the risk.

“As you know, any crop that you grow has to be tested by the Arizona Department of Ag and if it’s tested over 0.3% over the THC content then you are going to have to get rid of that entire crop … it’s a big risk for the farmers,” Dunn said.

But, there’s also the possibility that the crop could bring some real green into Yuma County.

“If Yuma County becomes a source for industrial hemp, that’s going to cause a lot of processors to invest in infrastructure here, it’s going to bring jobs, it’s going to bring a lot of opportunities to the county so it could potentially be very beneficial not just for farmers but for the county at large,” Dunn added.

How will the crop pass the test? First, hemp would have to work well in our climate. It would need ro perform as a rotation crop in between vegetable seasons.

“In the summertime here in Yuma a lot of businesses suffer and that’s true for our farms as well,” Dunn said. “If industrial hemp as a summer crop proves to be beneficial for the farm it’s going to allow farmers to thrive 12 months out of the year instead of just five or six,” he said.

“You know, it’s going to be interesting. There is a lot of interest in the entire state as there is in the country. I think for Arizona, so many of the other crops, especially the summer rotation crops in Yuma are not the best price-wise so I think growers are anxious to look at anything that might be a possibility and make sense for them,” Alford added.

Dunn, who grows wheat shares what crops he thinks industrial hemp could one day replace.

“I don’t think we will ever see industrial hemp replacing wheat because wheat can be planted right after vegetables, whereas industrial hemp will be planted a little later. What you will see industrial hemp replace is crops like cotton or hay and alfalfa. Things that are less value and have lower commodities but still have to be planted in the spring which is the ideal time to plant industrial hemp,” Dunn said.

The hemp we could potentially see in Yuma would be used for things like CBD oil and fabric. The CBD Apothecary in Yuma is one of many places that are already selling CBD products like which many people claim has various health benefits. If you are interested in learning more about CBD please stop by CBD Apothecary or visit their website here. We are still in the early stages of seeing if industrial hemp can be grown in Yuma County commercially.

“We are kind of cautiously optimistic, we are hoping that it could certainly become something viable for the Yuma growers but we are cautious and realize that it’s going to take time for the market to develop and for the industry to develop within Arizona,” Alford said.

Right now, the Arizona Industrial Hemp Rules Committee has submitted a list of rules that will govern this new pilot program. Once the rules are approved locla farmers can submit for a license starting June 1, 2019 and start growing hemp.

As for California, Imperial County just signed a memorandum of understanding in April with the California Hemp Foundation and California Hemp Association. It’s the first agreement ever signed in the state that supports the development for growing hemp.