Rookie farmer gets start with industrial hemp

LAKE CRYSTAL, Minn. (KEYC) — A local industrial hemp farmer is among many across the state harvesting their first crop this week.

After the crop became available to grow in the 2018 Farm Bill, Adam Huiras and his business partner took the opportunity to hone their green thumbs with a new crop.

Industrial hemp’s recent introduction into the agriculture commodity world leaves questions for banks and producers.

“We believe there are lenders that do lend, but for our investment, basically it’s been out-of-pocket and because this industry is so new a lot of it is manual, you know, with your standard hand tools and tractors we’re able to harvest it manually,” said local farmer, Adam Huiras.

The industry is seeking more government regulation as the interest in industrial hemp grows across the state.

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