Is a viable hemp industry in Florida’s future?

Disease and foreign competition have made many growers question the viability of traditional commodity crops such as tomatoes, citrus, and avocados. Industrial hemp appears to be an attractive alternative, as the 2018 Farm Bill permitted its production. Florida has followed several other states in...

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Main Authors: Trent Blare, Martha Rivera, Fredy H. Ballen, Zachary Brym
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: The University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries 2022-03-01
Series:EDIS
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.flvc.org/edis/article/view/129620
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author Trent Blare
Martha Rivera
Fredy H. Ballen
Zachary Brym
author_facet Trent Blare
Martha Rivera
Fredy H. Ballen
Zachary Brym
author_sort Trent Blare
collection DOAJ
description Disease and foreign competition have made many growers question the viability of traditional commodity crops such as tomatoes, citrus, and avocados. Industrial hemp appears to be an attractive alternative, as the 2018 Farm Bill permitted its production. Florida has followed several other states in approving permits in 2020 to allow production of industrial hemp. Markets for industrial hemp products were promising in the first years of production, but market prices started to decline dramatically in 2020 with many growers unable to sell all their product. In this publication, we examine the hemp value chain with a focus on opportunities in the Florida market. Better coordination between regulators, processors, financial institutions, research and Extension services, and the retail sector to build confidence, harmonize policies, and lower transaction costs would help the industry flourish and ensure growers, consumers, and hemp-related enterprises can benefit from this emerging market.
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publisher The University of Florida George A. Smathers Libraries
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spelling doaj-art-f7b71d123da54128890049aae40dcbe62025-02-08T05:43:41ZengThe University of Florida George A. Smathers LibrariesEDIS2576-00092022-03-0120222Is a viable hemp industry in Florida’s future?Trent Blare0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2318-0409Martha Rivera1Fredy H. Ballen2Zachary Brym3University of FloridaUniversity of FloridaUniversity of FloridaUniversity of Florida Disease and foreign competition have made many growers question the viability of traditional commodity crops such as tomatoes, citrus, and avocados. Industrial hemp appears to be an attractive alternative, as the 2018 Farm Bill permitted its production. Florida has followed several other states in approving permits in 2020 to allow production of industrial hemp. Markets for industrial hemp products were promising in the first years of production, but market prices started to decline dramatically in 2020 with many growers unable to sell all their product. In this publication, we examine the hemp value chain with a focus on opportunities in the Florida market. Better coordination between regulators, processors, financial institutions, research and Extension services, and the retail sector to build confidence, harmonize policies, and lower transaction costs would help the industry flourish and ensure growers, consumers, and hemp-related enterprises can benefit from this emerging market. https://journals.flvc.org/edis/article/view/129620alternative cropsvalue chain developmentmarket developmentspecialty crops
spellingShingle Trent Blare
Martha Rivera
Fredy H. Ballen
Zachary Brym
Is a viable hemp industry in Florida’s future?
EDIS
alternative crops
value chain development
market development
specialty crops
title Is a viable hemp industry in Florida’s future?
title_full Is a viable hemp industry in Florida’s future?
title_fullStr Is a viable hemp industry in Florida’s future?
title_full_unstemmed Is a viable hemp industry in Florida’s future?
title_short Is a viable hemp industry in Florida’s future?
title_sort is a viable hemp industry in florida s future
topic alternative crops
value chain development
market development
specialty crops
url https://journals.flvc.org/edis/article/view/129620
work_keys_str_mv AT trentblare isaviablehempindustryinfloridasfuture
AT martharivera isaviablehempindustryinfloridasfuture
AT fredyhballen isaviablehempindustryinfloridasfuture
AT zacharybrym isaviablehempindustryinfloridasfuture