Posted December 22, 2014
New York
Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation to grow and research industrial hemp,
according to a Press & Sun-Bulletin article available here.
The Courier Journal also published an article available here
and Providence Journal here.
Assemblywoman
Donna Lupardo and Sen. Tom O’Mara introduced the bill, and it “creates an
agricultural pilot program to study ways to cultivate and manufacture products
with the multi-use crop.”
Colleges
and universities such as Cornell, Binghamton University, and Paul Smith’s
College, have expressed interest in participating in the research program.
The Farm
Bill allowed states to conduct hemp pilot programs through their agriculture
departments and universities, according to The
Courier Journal.
The
"amendment language confirms the legitimacy of the pilot programs,"
Comer spokeswoman Kristen Branscum. "It also safeguards our hemp pilot
program from contradictory federal regulations that will impede the progress
we've made…without fear of federal government overreach."
American
Seed & Oil Company, subsidiary of Algae International Group, expressed their
excitement about the industrial hemp cultivation in New York, according to Providence
Journal.
"We
are thrilled that American Seed & Oil's investment in New York has paid off
as a result of the passage of the industrial hemp bill in New York," said
Steven Rash, CEO of American Seed & Oil. "We are optimistic that this
progress in New York will bode well for American Seed & Oil's national
marketing strategy to introduce Medical Marijuana type strains of CBD oil from
hemp into all fifty states."
A 2014 Congressional
Research Service report estimated the value of hemp imports at $37 million,
according to Press
& Sun-Bulletin.
“This is
an exciting first step for this crop,” Lupardo said. “This research will help
guide our farmers and producers when the federal government allows full-scale
production.”
For more information, a recent report on hemp as an
agricultural commodity from the Congressional Research Service is available on
the National Agricultural Law Center's website
here.
