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Hemp production to be discussed at South Dakota Farmers Union convention

Courtesy photo

Growing industrial hemp is among the issues to be discussed this week at the South Dakota Farmers Union convention. The organization’s president, Doug Sombke, tells Brownfield that compared to nearby states, South Dakota is late in the hemp production game. A panel discussion at the convention this week will include information about what Sombke calls cumbersome regulations.

“I think the panel will address some of that,” Sombke told Brownfield Ag News, “they will also address the need of people to raise this for seed, and also what it’s like to raise it.”

Fertilizer inputs for hemp are similar to corn, says BJ McNeil, one of the panelists and a first-time organic hemp grower, who says he saved on herbicide costs.

“Everybody I talked to on hemp said what an aggressive plant it was,” said McNeil, “and basically did not need any weed control once it got up and established, as long as it beat the weeds out of the ground.”

The South Dakota Farmers Union meets Thursday and Friday, December 16th and 17th, in Huron, South Dakota.

AUDIO: Brownfield story
AUDIO: Doug Sombke
AUDIO: BJ McNeil

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