Mixed Results for Hemp Farmers in Tennessee

With more than a dozen states establishing some sort of commercial industrial hemp program, scores of entrepreneurs – and traditional farmers – are exploring ways to get involved in the budding industry.

However, there is no guarantee that growing hemp will be a money-making endeavor.

In Tennessee, for example, farmers participating in a pilot hemp-growing program that kicked off this year have experienced mixed results.

One farmer told a local television station that he planted about 50 pounds of seeds this summer but only ended up harvesting about an ounce worth of crop.

Others, though, have had a better experience.

Elias Rasmussen, one of the 50 farmers participating in a pilot program in Tennessee, told the TV station that he feared he was going to lose his entire hemp crop because it rained so much.

Luckily, he was able to bring in a good harvest from the 50 pounds he planted.

An official from the Tennessee Department of Agriculture told the TV station that the agency is still trying to determine whether hemp is a “viable money-making crop.”