Nevada's 4th hemp harvest begins; industry has grown 600 percent since '17

SPARKS, Nev. — Nevada's 2019-20 hemp growing season is under way, with crops already being harvested in Southern Nevada.

A spokesman for the Nevada Department of Agriculture said this marks the fourth growing season in the Silver State since hemp was authorized as a research project in the 2014 Farm Bill.

The plant, related to marijuana but with almost no THC, was removed from Schedule 1 in the 2018 Farm Bill, thus making it an agricultural commodity.

Ashley Jeppson, Plant Industry division administrator for the department, said the state's hemp industry started with just 26 growers — now, there are 207 certified growers, 53 handlers and 37 seed producers.

“The program has grown by more than 600 percent since 2017, and we are proud that Nevada is on the forefront of the hemp industry," she said in a news release.

According to the Nevada Hemp Association — a group dedicated to the  research, education and economic development of industrial hemp in Nevada — more farmers are sought to help harvest the crop. Go here to learn more.

Hemp is used to make a variety of products ranging from traditional ropes to fabrics; construction materials such as fiber reinforced plastics; and, increasingly, CBD creams and oils for topical pain relief.

Marijuana, despite its medical and recreational legality in Nevada and several states, remains a Schedule 1 drug and is considered federally illegal.