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Some Hoosier farmers uncertain hemp will become profitable

In this Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2017 photo, University of Virginia Wise research assistant, Adam Jones, displays a few harvested hemp plants in the lab at the school in Wise, Va. Virginia is wrapping up its second year of a research program that allows farmers to grow hemp, a crop long banned because of its association with marijuana. But research reports and interviews with those involved in the program show the challenges that come with cultivating a plant that had not been grown in Virginia for decades. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

WARSAW, Ind. (AP) — Some Indiana farmers have started harvesting their first legal crop of hemp without knowing for certain whether it will be lucrative.

President Donald Trump signed the 2018 Farm Bill last December, legalizing hemp.

Since then, Indiana farmers have taken out permits to grow thousands of acres of hemp for its fiber, seed and cannabidiol, commonly known as CBD.

Hemp flowers and seeds can be processed to make materials that include paper, cloth and rope.

But farmers tell the South Bend Tribune that torrential spring rains either washed out some of their crops, including hemp, or delayed their planting efforts.

Justin Swanson is the Midwest Hemp Council’s co-founder. He says Indiana farmers have planted about 3,000 acres of hemp plants and that number will double or triple in 2020.

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