Hemp has potential to replace oranges as Florida’s most profitable crop

Industrial hemp at University of Kentucky’s C. Oran Little Research Farm

Many state government officials and leaders in the food industry plan to pay close attention to the research Florida A&M University will conduct on industrial hemp. The Florida citrus industry is in crisis and there’s hope that hemp could help state agriculture rebound.

A new law on “Industrial Hemp Pilot Projects” authorizes Florida A&M University and the University of Florida “to cultivate, process, test, research, create, and market safe and effective commercial applications for industrial hemp in the agricultural sector in this state.”

The increased interest in industrial hemp comes at a time when “citrus greening” and Hurricane Irma have severely harmed the Florida agricultural industry.

An April 25 article in Florida Trend stated that “the greening disease is a bacterial infection that starves the trees of nutrients and causes damages to the roots. This in turn causes the fruit produced to be too small to juice or sell.” The article also reported that “Last year, a University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences survey reported citrus growers in Florida said as much as 90 percent of their acreage and 80 percent of their trees were infected by the deadly greening disease, which made a huge dent in the state's $10.7 billion citrus industry.”

Hurricane Irma recently caused an even bigger setback for citrus farmers. Florida Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam said that the storm destroyed most of the citrus crop in the state.

“A 70 percent crop loss on a crop that is 70 percent smaller than it was 20 years ago presents a unique and existential threat to the industry and the processing capacity of the state,” he said.

A report by WFSU said that the “Industrial Hemp Pilot Projects” bill was introduced with the intent to let universities find out “how Florida’s climate affects the plant, and what market there is for the byproducts.”

It added that: “The potential benefits of industrial hemp cultivation can be dizzying. But the USDA does list the plant as an invasive. And it’s not clear how it might affect Florida’s ecosystem.”

The research FAMU will produce on industrial hemp could play a big role in addressing those areas of concern.