The U.S. Department of Agriculture says it will complete the federal rules governing domestic hemp production by August. South Dakota Farmers Union President Doug Sombke is pleased they’re moving ahead with rules. He says the next step is to develop hemp processing so when growers are allowed to grow it, it will pay off.
He says Farmers Union is working with a Minnesota research group to find ways hemp can be processed and the best path forward.
Sombke says rather than trying to produce oil from hemp, his group wants to make use of the hemp fiber.
Sombke is confident the interim legislative committee will come up with a measure that the 2020 South Dakota Legislature can pass to allow industrial hemp to be grown.
