Some Georgia hemp producers were victimized this year by having their crop’s THC level exceed 0.3 level. Subsequently, the hemp was destroyed, which was the case for 11 producers.
Tim Coolong, associate professor in the University of Georgia (UGA) College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and leader in hemp research at UGA, said he heard farmers in east Georgia who had a crop that tested hot. He believes next year that producers will test their hemp more frequently to avoid instances where the crop must be disposed of.
Testing Benefits
“I think certainly that anyone who tested hot this year that decides to grow again will certainly be doing it. I think for the most part, the growers that I did visit with last year understood the value of testing and how important it was,” Coolong said. “I think going into it next year, depending on how many growers we have, I think they will be a little more targeted perhaps or maybe just have a little bit better plan because they’ll have more time.”
Coolong added that he is still waiting to see how farmers fared financially after the state’s first commercial growing season.
“That’s obviously where, it doesn’t matter how good your yields are or quality, the bottom line is how much profit did growers make. People are still processing their product and all those sort of things right now. I’m not sure the profit levels on some of the growers I worked with,” Coolong said.
According to the Georgia Department of Agriculture, applications for new Georgia hemp grower licenses and hemp processor permits will be accepted, beginning in January, 2021.