INDUSTRIAL HEMP PRODUCTION: FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Bamka, W.1; Komar, S.2; Infante-Casella, M.31Agricultural Agent/Associate Professor, Rutgers Cooperative Extension, Westampton, NJ, 08060
2Agricultural Agent/Associate Professor, Rutgers Cooperative Extension, Newton, NJ, 07860
3Agricultural Agent/Professor, Rutgers Cooperative Extension, Clarksboro, NJ, 08020
Abstract:
On December 27, 2019, New Jersey was approved by the USDA to have its industrial hemp program approved. The program is being administered through the New Jersey Department of Agriculture. Rutgers Cooperative Extension and the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station established a Hemp Working Group consisting of faculty with topic area expertise. County Extension personnel were inundated with clientele inquiries regarding production of industrial hemp. In order to facilitate questions, an Extension fact sheet titled, “Industrial Hemp Production: Frequently Asked Questions” was written, peer reviewed and published. It is available at https://njaes.rutgers.edu/fs1302/. This information was also distributed at 3 state-wide conferences: New Jersey Farm Bureau Annual Convention, November 18-19, 2019; Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Jersey Annual Conference, February 1, 2020; and the New Jersey Agricultural Convention, February 4, 2020. In addition, a campus-based Rutgers University Hemp Symposium was held on March 4, 2020 to educate students and academic faculty about industrial hemp. In total, 665 people were educated at face-to-face presentations to answer frequently asked questions about industrial hemp. The Extension fact sheet, “Industrial Hemp Production: Frequently Asked Questions”, has had 9,687 downloads since publishing and posting in April 2019. By providing on-line and written information on the topic of industrial hemp production, clientele questions were efficiently addressed and Extension agents throughout the state were able to provide answers instead of passing inquiries on to Rutgers Hemp Working Group members.