A GROWING INDUSTRY

Hemp Acreage Expected to Soar as Florida Gains Experience With Crop

- HEATHER MACHOVINA

THE HEMP INDUSTRY in Florida launched during 2020, with Florida farmers receiving their first hemp cultivation permits from the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services in April. According to the Hemp Advisory Committee, the state issued 611 cultivation licenses and licensed 2,100 for planting in 2020. The CBD health trend is hot right now, so most growers are interested in growing hemp for resinous buds that can be processed after harvest to extract CBD, which can then be used in hemp products. Oils, lotions, edible capsules and gummies, creams, sprays, and vaporizers are all popular CBD products coming to the market today. There is a lot of growth to be had in the coming years as the hemp industry is just beginning in the Sunshine State, like hemp food and drink products, hemp industrial goods, and the production of biodiesel from hemp.