Posted December 22, 2014
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation to grow and research industrial hemp, according to a Press & Sun-Bulletin article available here. The Courier Journal also published an article available hereand Providence Journal here.
Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo and Sen. Tom O’Mara introduced the bill, and it “creates an agricultural pilot program to study ways to cultivate and manufacture products with the multi-use crop.”
Colleges and universities such as Cornell, Binghamton University, and Paul Smith’s College, have expressed interest in participating in the research program.
The Farm Bill allowed states to conduct hemp pilot programs through their agriculture departments and universities, according to The Courier Journal.
The “amendment language confirms the legitimacy of the pilot programs,” Comer spokeswoman Kristen Branscum. “It also safeguards our hemp pilot program from contradictory federal regulations that will impede the progress we’ve made…without fear of federal government overreach.”
American Seed & Oil Company, subsidiary of Algae International Group, expressed their excitement about the industrial hemp cultivation in New York, according to Providence Journal.
“We are thrilled that American Seed & Oil’s investment in New York has paid off as a result of the passage of the industrial hemp bill in New York,” said Steven Rash, CEO of American Seed & Oil. “We are optimistic that this progress in New York will bode well for American Seed & Oil’s national marketing strategy to introduce Medical Marijuana type strains of CBD oil from hemp into all fifty states.”
A 2014 Congressional Research Service report estimated the value of hemp imports at $37 million, according to Press & Sun-Bulletin.
“This is an exciting first step for this crop,” Lupardo said. “This research will help guide our farmers and producers when the federal government allows full-scale production.”
For more information, a recent report on hemp as an agricultural commodity from the Congressional Research Service is available on the National Agricultural Law Center’s websitehere.
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