UT Ag Extension, TSU hold hemp workshop in Jackson

JACKSON, Tenn. — Farmers in West Tennessee had a chance to meet with experts about a crop growing in popularity.

Tennessee State University and the University of Tennessee Ag Extension Center hosted a seven-hour workshop Thursday, dedicated to giving the latest information on growing hemp.

Assistant Professor Eric Walker detailed why hemp has become the hot topic of discussion.

“We’re growing it for cannabinoids, so one of the cannabinoids that got pressed was cannabidiol, or CBD, and that has turned into a big market and profitable, very profitable, market,” Walker said.

While often associated with marijuana, the difference lies in the amount of THC in the plant.

According to the Department of Agriculture, over 2,000 Tennessee farmers are now authorized to grow hemp.

Despite the rise in popularity of growing hemp, there is still a lot that we don’t know about. In fact, there’s not an approved pesticide for the plant yet.

“Growing hemp now is not like how we grew hemp back when it was so popular in the United States,” Walker said. “Growing for essential oils or CBD is completely different.”

Speakers at the workshop confirmed that hemp has a high startup cost and requires a lot of maintenance. Anyone interested in growing should get up to date on both legal and financial information.

“We don’t have a lot of good hard data yet,” said Karla Kean, TSU extension agent for Montgomery County. “The extension and several universities are still doing research right now.”

Walker says if you are interested, reach out to your local county extension agent and see if they have informational meetings.