Colorado Introduces First Hemp Seed Approval System in Country
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Posted on Wednesday, 23 March 2016
The Colorado Department of Agriculture is hoping to help bring hemp into the limelight with a new program that's a first for the country.
Under its brand-new seed certification program, created in conjunction with the Colorado Seed Growers Association (CSGA) and Colorado State University, the CDA aims to give the industrial hemp industry and its farmers more credibility by tagging hemp seeds with a “CDA Approved Certified Seed” label — something rye, wheat and other traditional crops receive after passing inspections for genetic identity and quality.
Known as marijuana's non-psychoactive, harder-working brother, industrial hemp still has a hazy legal status in much of America. Although still illegal at a federal level, hemp is allowed to be grown and harvested in accordance with state agriculture departments under a 2014 federal farm bill, and it was legalized as a regulated crop in Colorado after the Colorado Industrial Hemp Act was passed that same year.
“This program’s first project is to grow hemp across Colorado’s diverse growing conditions to ensure mature plants comply with hemp standards. This is the first certified hemp seed program in the country and the first-of-its-kind study in Colorado," said Duane Sinning, the CDA’s division of plant industry assistant director, in a prepared statement. "We are on the cutting edge of this emerging industry and this new program can help shape the future of the hemp industry."
The Colorado Department of Agriculture is hoping to help bring hemp into the limelight with a new program that's a first for the country.
Under its brand-new seed certification program, created in conjunction with the Colorado Seed Growers Association (CSGA) and Colorado State University, the CDA aims to give the industrial hemp industry and its farmers more credibility by tagging hemp seeds with a “CDA Approved Certified Seed” label — something rye, wheat and other traditional crops receive after passing inspections for genetic identity and quality.
Known as marijuana's non-psychoactive, harder-working brother, industrial hemp still has a hazy legal status in much of America. Although still illegal at a federal level, hemp is allowed to be grown and harvested in accordance with state agriculture departments under a 2014 federal farm bill, and it was legalized as a regulated crop in Colorado after the Colorado Industrial Hemp Act was passed that same year.
“This program’s first project is to grow hemp across Colorado’s diverse growing conditions to ensure mature plants comply with hemp standards. This is the first certified hemp seed program in the country and the first-of-its-kind study in Colorado," said Duane Sinning, the CDA’s division of plant industry assistant director, in a prepared statement. "We are on the cutting edge of this emerging industry and this new program can help shape the future of the hemp industry."
source: http://www.westword.com/news/colorado-introduces-first-hemp-seed-approval-system-in-country-7705699
Thursday, March 17, 2016 at 9:52 am -