The industrial hemp pilot program authorized in a 2014 Farm Bill will continue through September 2021, according to an announcement by the Colorado Department of Agriculture. | Pixabay
The industrial hemp pilot program authorized in a 2014 Farm Bill will continue through September 2021, according to an announcement by the Colorado Department of Agriculture. | Pixabay
The Mendocino County Council Board of Supervisors recently unanimously approved the Industrial Hemp Pilot Program, an initiative the county is developing which will allow the planting of hemp for the growing season of 2021.
Elizabeth Garcia from the Mendocino County Department of Agriculture presented an overview and an update on the pilot program to the board at the Board's March 23 Regular Meeting.
"The Mendocino Industrial Hemp Pilot Program will run two years," Garcia said. "The program requires a license to cultivate hemp in Mendocino County. The selected applicants are also required to register with the California department of food and agriculture and pay a registration fee."
A review panel will select five applicants based on how they well they score on six weighted criteria points including distance from permitted cannabis properties, quality of surrounding buffers, established water rights, whether the applicant is a California Permitted operator, pest management plans and pollen management plans.
"For this pilot program we want the top candidates to grow hemp which may help to mitigate any male production and give us a good idea if industrial hemp is a good commodity for our county," Garcia said.
Board member Glenn McGourty is unsure of the science behind the program and voiced his approval for how carefully the pilot program is being rolled out. He also said that he supports abandoning the project if it doesn't work out at the end of the two-year trial period.
"What I like about a pilot project is that if we go through one or two years and its turning into a hot mess, we can say 'OK, pull the plug this is not going to work' before we issue hundreds of permits and then we would have to live with it," McGourty said.
McGourty was hopeful that the project would work out so the county could add a new alternative crop as an option for crop rotation and to improve the diversity of agriculture which he feels is too narrow in Mendocino County.
Some cultivators have expressed concerns that existing commercial cannabis gardens could be damaged by pollen drift from hemp farms.
Garcia told the board that no prospective farmers have submitted proposals for the program yet.
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