Maine residents who want to grow industrial hemp can now apply for the 2018 growing season.
The fee schedule for prospective growers is $100 per application, $500 per license and $50 per acre.
States and higher education institutions can seek permits for hemp grown for research purposes.
However, Maine’s Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry doesn’t plan to apply for such a permit, and regulators are unaware of universities seeking a permit.
Maine law also requires industrial hemp growers to certify their seed source.
Despite such barriers, the department says it signed 33 agreements with hemp growers this year, up from two in 2016.
– Associated Press
