America's New Cash Crop
With Trump’s trade war with China ongoing and sales of tobacco plunging, there is a new crop of choice among American farmers - hemp. As legalisation spreads, is this the future of family farming in the US?
Since North Carolina began its hemp programme in 2017, the number of producers has exceeded 1500. "I’ve never seen anything as hot as this hemp production right now", states one farming expert. Proponents of the crop see this as long overdue. "Hemp is the only crop that can feed, clothe, shelter and provide medicine", says specialist Franny Tacy. But as the popularity of hemp products grows, so does the need for regulation to ensure appropriate advertising of their unverified health benefits. Even as more and more farmers swap tobacco for hemp, it is not yet certain that it can be as profitable as its predecessor once was. Farmer Randy Edwards explains, "this is very much an ongoing test".
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