By DEBORAH BEHRENDS

Indiana Correspondent

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Marty Mahan has a four-letter word that could help save distressed family farms: HEMP.

The president of the Hemp Chapter of the Indiana Farmers Union touts potentially large returns on its cultivation, and the state law (Senate Enrolled Act 516) signed last Thursday by Gov. Eric Holcomb that makes it possible.

Although hemp research was underway already at Purdue University, there was no regulatory framework in place for growing the plant formerly recognized as a federal Schedule 1 drug. It was removed from Schedule 1 in the most recent farm bill, signed by President Trump in December.

As of April 1, 100 Indiana farmers had received licenses to grow industrial hemp. Growers must be linked to an approved research project. Hemp supporter Jamie Campbell Petty said interested farmers have lobbied and conducted symposiums to educate people on the benefits of hemp, but no one seemed to know what to do with the program.

“Other states took it on,” she said. “Our Department of Agriculture is not a regulatory body, so it has fallen under the purview of the state chemist and seed commissioner.”

Petty is the founder and president of the Indiana Hemp Industries Assoc. (IHIA), co-founder of the Midwest Hemp Council (MHC), and owner of Red Bark Farms. She estimates Indiana farmers will plant 3,500-4,000 acres of hemp this growing season.

“All the research from this first growing season will be one bucket so that, at the end of the season, we’ll have all the data we need to help the Office of the Indiana State Chemist (OISC) prepare the regulatory framework. But that will also provide necessary information to the farmers who have grown and will grow in 2020.

“We intend for this cooperative effort to be an educational tool for the public, the regulators, everyone involved, so we can be prepared for 2020.” She went on to explain that the new Indiana law will create the state’s hemp council.

“One component people are up on arms about is that on July 1, the smokable hemp flower will be criminalized for the purposes of retail sale. That had to be part of this bill,” she said. “One piece of confusion is people are reading this bill, and language says it’s an emergency bill. That’s correct, just so we can get our framework in place. The flower will not be criminalized until July 1. They need time get it off the shelves.”

But what’s in it for producers? Mahan said he starts his talks by telling people, “I’m here to save family farms, beginning with my own.”

A farmer in Rush County, his focus is how he can help farmers with one more crop to add to the rotation, with potentially high returns. “First and foremost, the amount of income per acre runs the gamut, whether you’re growing for fiber, seed, or floral material for CBD oil. At this point, all the information I have is anecdotal, but we’ll have harder data once our research this year is complete.”

Mahan said growing for fiber, the income isn’t expected to be great, but he feels it will be more than farmers are getting for corn or soybeans. “I feel confident that if you’re growing for fiber, you can make $300 an acre, hoping for $400. On the seed side, $700 to $800. And if you’re growing for the CBD oil, as much as $10,000 per acre,” he noted.

But, he said all that comes with a big caveat: Hemp is more labor-intensive than most row crops. He said the growers in Kentucky who at one time grew tobacco have the facilities in place and are accustomed to the labor. The business model is the same for tobacco and hemp.

“For farmers here in Indiana and the upper Midwest, we’re not accustomed to that kind of labor, unless you happen to be a produce grower. While the income is extremely enticing, the caveat Jamie and I warn people about is you’re going to have $10,000 of labor per acre to get the plants in the ground,” he said.

Then there’s the issue of finding processors. “In the southern part of the state, we’re fortunate to have access to Kentucky processors, and they’re excited to have us on board.”

He said processors are watching events in Indiana. “When the Governor signs the bill, that will open the doors for processors to come to the state. It’s been a chicken-and-egg thing. You need processors, but they won’t come until there’s something to process.”

Both Petty and Mahan said they have spent significant time with growers in Kentucky, and they are ready to hit the ground running. Petty urges anyone interested to follow the MHC and the IHIA on social media or to visit the organizational websites at www.midwesthempcouncil.com and www.inhia.net

“This year, we will be following this grow. We’re the boots on the ground, meeting with processors, retailers,” Petty said. “Our goal is to educate people about the economy, soil to oil, seed to shelf, and how can we make sure we’re getting the most current and most accurate information to the public.”