While banned for decades, passage of the 2018 Farm Bill allowed farmers to return an historic crop to their fields – hemp. More importantly, it made it legal for banking institutions to loan money to hemp-related businesses. But few have chosen to do so.

This year, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture issued more than 300 permits to grow hemp on nearly 600 acres at more than 800 locations around the state, according to a press release.

It’s evident the cannabis industry is growing, thriving and impacting the economy in ways we have only just begun to comprehend. Last month, the York County Economic Alliance hosted our Economics Club breakfast series on the economics of the cannabis industry, featuring two industry leaders, Green Thumb Industries and Groff North America.

A Lancaster native was inspired to learn how to grow hemp and produce CBD oil after it helped her stop using pain killers for her own chronic pain.

Cannabidiol Oil – or CBD oil as it is commonly called – is hot right now. People are buying it, selling it and investing in it. CBD oil is made from oil in the seeds of hemp plants – whose cultivation was legalized under the 2018 federal farm bill, making the development of CBD-based products easier and less expensive. The oil ...

When the permitting process for Pennsylvania’s 2019 hemp program closes next month, more than 60 South Central Pennsylvania farmers will have permits to grow hemp this year.

Changes adopted under a federal farm bill passed in late 2018 declassified hemp as a Schedule 1 drug and allowed for wider cultivation across the country. But after an 80-year hiatus, much has changed in the world of commercial hemp farming. So, interested producers are taking baby steps towards what they hope will become a lucrative product. They need to ...

Makers and distributors of hemp products are adopting a cautious marketing approach to offer educational content and capitalize on strategic partnership while not making unsubstantiated medical claims.F]

Although Pennsylvania farmers are blazing a new path into the hemp industry, local banks and credit unions remain cautious in providing the businesses with financing.

Hemp farming is expected to grow significantly in Pennsylvania, but processing facilities could be slow to develop.

Many of the Pennsylvania farmers who began growing hemp for research lost their crops to weather, mistakes in growing the product and government regulation – problems that other farmers jumping into the industry could also face.