By Sekou Black
Now known as “America’s Dairyland,” for great tasting cheese, the strong-valued agriculture community and state of Wisconsin once again gets to try their hand, or should I say soil, at hemp farming.
Being the first hemp harvest since the 1950’s, many within the state are enthusiastic about the financial as well as the long-term benefits which growing hemp for industrial purposes can present. I can think of a few without having to do extensive research. 1) Hemp provides beneficial nutrients for the soil, so when farmers need to rotate their crops for fertilization reasons, hemp is it. 2) Financially hemp has over seventeen different uses, from fabric and Hemp-Crete making (an alternative to concrete) to Soil Stabilization. Hemp can also be used as a fuel alternative to gasoline as well as provides life-changing CBDs (cannabidiol), derived from extracting oils which have recently scientifically proven to help tremendously with ailments from Parkinson’s to Alzheimer’s, as well as life-threatening epilepsy and cancerous growths.
Janet Gamble and Steve Tomlins of Turtle Creek Gardens are amongst many of the pioneers in this revamped industry. As the last commercial hemp farm in the US was planted in Wisconsin in 1957, not much has changed for these two, as they use old machinery and tools from the 1950’s, and 1970’s. Their reason for this was to show that not much needs to be done to “grow this and make an income.” You can believe that many other farmers would like to make the bold move to growing hemp as well however they many are betting on the success of these two, as they want to first know of the potential risks and that the move would be a successful one. If you are interested in hemp there are about a dozen of organizations and webpages help to aid your hunger for knowledge online, first try beginning with your favorite CBD company to see what information is offered.
