Free Hemp Seed Offered to New Texas Growers

LUBBOCK, TX – The 2018 Farm Bill opened the door for the legalization and expansion of the industrial hemp industry in the United States. Currently, 16 states have approved Hemp Production Plans – which is the first step in legally growing hemp – and farmers wanting to grow in those states must apply to and be licensed or authorized under its hemp program. In Texas, an USDA approved state, up to 25-acres worth of seed is being offered for free to jumpstart the state’s new industry. Available on a “first-come, first-served” basis, producers may use the crop for any purpose they choose except for seed reproduction in 2021. Dallas-based Panda Biotech is donating more than 60 tons of approved hemp fiber seed to help ensure the 2021 Texas industrial hemp harvest reaches its full potential. The company is focused on processing textile-quality, high-grade fiber from hemp and recently announced the construction of the largest hemp decorticator, or Hemp Gin, in the United States and believed to be the largest in the world. The 10-ton per hour decorticator is expected to be fully operational next year processing more than 130,000 tons of Texas-grown industrial hemp for high-grade fiber, premium hurd, and cellulose. Each farmer accepting the free seed will be asked but not obligated, to provide basic data on their hemp crop and Panda Biotech will provide data from the seed promotion to Texas A&M AgriLife for research. Panda officials expect the industry to generate approximately $30,000,000 annually for Texas growers.

More information is available here:
http://www.pandabiotech.com/seed-promotion
https://agrilifeextension.tamu.edu/browse/hemp/
https://texasagriculture.gov/RegulatoryPrograms/Hemp.aspx