On the recordJune 2, 2015
Madam Chair, I am very excited to report that, thanks to the farm bill amendment that allowed for pilot programs, we grew many pilot programs in Kentucky last summer; and this summer, there will be about 1,800 acres of hemp grown in Kentucky in pilot programs. {time} 2320 We have venture capital coming to Kentucky. I met with two companies in Kentucky that are investing in hemp, but the problem is right now they can only do the pilot programs. Yet they are still going to grow 1,800 acres of it in Kentucky alone. They grow 100,000 acres in Canada. It is time to let our farmers have this opportunity. We need to take away the restraint that it is just a pilot program. We have addressed a lot of the concerns that people had last year before these pilot programs. Law enforcement are okay with hemp now. They have seen that it is not its cousin. With that, Madam Chair, I urge passage and urge my colleagues to vote for this amendment.
