The first thing Joe Collins wants to make clear is this -- its industrial hemp, and its usefulness as a recreational drug is zero, zip...zilch...nada.
Beginning this spring, Collins will be planting an experimental industrial hemp plot on his farm near May's Lick, as part of the Kentucky Agriculture Department's Pilot Hemp Program.
While in the same family, industrial hemp contains only about 0.3 percent tetrahydrocannabinoids, the intoxicating ingredients, while marijuana contains about 5- 10 percent or more THC.
The state is exploring the feasibility of raising hemp as an alternative cash crop to tobacco. Collins applied to the program and has been accepted, he said Friday. He is one of 179 farmers in the state approved to grow hemp on 4,000 acres.
While approved to raise up to five acres, Collins said he will likely raise about two acres this year. His growing site must be documented with GPS coordinates provided to Kentucky State Police so officers are aware of its locations, he said.
Industrial hemp can be used for everything from automotive "door panels to cosmetics," Collins explained, depending on what part of the plant is used.
Collins said his operation will focus on oil that is harvested from the flower buds. He is working with a company called Green Remedy Inc., based in Louisville, which markets products made from hemp oil, like cosmetics and lip balm.
Planting and harvesting industrial hemp will be different from the more familiar tobacco planting method, Collins said. While some growers may actually start plants in a green house and transplant using a tobacco setter, he said he will use a grain drill to plant seeds in late April or early May, at about the same time corn crops are planted.
The plants have a growing season of 90-100 days, Collins said. How they are harvested depends on how the processed industrial hemp will be used, he said. Some plants may be tied into shocks while others may be laid out to dry on barn floors or even hung in barns to dry like tobacco.
"There are lots of different uses for it," Collins said, targeting everything from the buds and flowers for oil to the stalks for fiber.
Colins said as his first endeavor into the area of industrial hemp he is still in the learning curve. He isn't sure what to expect as far as revenue, he said.
"I know we're not going to get rich off it," Collins said. "It's very much a learning process right now."
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