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Comer: First Hemp Crop in Decades Set for Planting

Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner James Comer says the state's first hemp crop in decades will be planted next month.

Comer said Tuesday he expects hemp seeds to start arriving soon at the state Agriculture Department.

He says eight pilot projects are planned as the crop that once thrived in Kentucky is reintroduced on a small scale.

The new federal farm bill allows state agriculture departments to designate pilot projects for research in states that allow the growing of hemp.

Kentucky lawmakers passed legislation last year allowing hemp to be reintroduced, if the federal government allows its production.

The versatile crop was banned decades ago due to its ties to marijuana. Hemp and marijuana are the same species, but hemp has a negligible content of the psychoactive compound that gives marijuana users a high.

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