The Nebraska Department of Agriculture chose 10 randomly drawn applicants early this month, of 176 filed, to be licensed for hemp production and processing in the 2019 season.
Because of department staffing and available budget, and because it's the first year for a research program that expands past those at the University of Nebraska, officials said, the department is stepping slowly into allowance of hemp production and processing.
Six of the 10 successful applicants have been publicly named: Justin and Hilari Courtney of Richardson County; Allan Jenkins, Buffalo County; Scot Johnson, Dodge and Saunders counties; Thomas Kastens, Otoe County; Daniel Niles, Platte County; and Annette Wiles, Cass County.
It is not known how many of those selected were processors.Ìý
The department is working with four others who were selected for the research programs but who have not yet fulfilled their licensing requirements, said department spokeswoman Christin Kamm. Their names will be made public when their licensing agreements are complete, she said.Ìý
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A news release on Thursday said a farming business, Ho Chunk Farms, owned by the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska’s economic development corporation, was selected and will start growing hemp this summer on the reservation.
The licensing of research programs was made possible by a bill , introduced by Omaha Sen. Justin Wayne and passed and signed during the 2019 session.
At least two of those selected for the research program are focusing on hemp that produces CBD oil.
Andrew Johansen was one of those who is participating in hemp research with his brother-in-law, Justin Courtney. They farm in the southeast corner of Nebraska, near Rulo, and also in Kansas and Missouri. They were looking for another commodity to add to corn and soybean crops, Johansen said.
"It looks like there's a pretty good opportunity to make some pretty good income from it," Johansen said.
The family sent nine applications to be considered for the program to improve their odds of being picked, he said.
Last weekend they planted a little more than an acre, about 2,200 hemp plants, on Courtney's property between Falls City and Rulo.
They bought about 10,000 seeds when they got their Kansas permit and started about 4,200 of them in a greenhouse, he said. They transplanted plants that were about 6 weeks old in the Nebraska field.
Their Brown County farm in Kansas is also licensed this year for a small hemp crop.
"It's just another opportunity to try to make some more money," Johansen said. "Especially this year, we've got about 1,600 acres that's under water between our stuff in Missouri and our stuff in Nebraska. So we thought this would be a good year to try it out."
Jenkins is another who was licensed by the department. The economics professor at the University of Nebraska at Kearney grew up in northern Oklahoma and his grandparents raised hemp, he said, so he has learned a lot about the crop in his lifetime. Jenkins has written an advocacy book about it, "The Return of an Ancient Partner."
After 32 years at the university, he is getting ready to find a next career, he said, and he's looking to hemp to fulfill that.Ìý
He planted 204 hemp seeds in a farm building Sunday in Buffalo County. The growth cycle is driven by sunlight, he said, and planting it indoors will allow him to control the light for the plants' growth. His research will allow him to learn how much CBD levels change over the growth cycle of the plant.
"I'm pretty sure I'm going to make some mistakes, but I'm making mistakes at a small scale. I'll learn something from that," he said. "Hopefully next year a lot of people will get to plant."
Jenkins said he didn't buy the expensive CBD seeds that can cost $5 a seed. But he did spend $4,500 per pound.
"I've been a (hemp) advocate for a long time and so I'm excited that I get to grow the plant. I also feel bad for the people who didn't get picked. I wish more people would have had the chance to get started," he said.
Andrew Bish, a Nebraska producer of hemp harvesting and processing equipment, was one of those disappointed that his application was not chosen. He sent a letter to department Director Steve Wellman, telling him the department is putting him in an expensive situation to work outside the state, or risk running afoul of the law by testing his products inside the state.
"Bish Enterprises/Hemp Harvest Works is the only truly legitimate company in the state of Nebraska that actually performs hemp testing on a consistent basis," he told Wellman.
Failing to license his company is nonsensical at best, he said. It means Nebraska is losing money to surrounding, hemp-friendly states.
Kamm said five applicants had requested a hearing, but two withdrew their requests after further reviewing the law.
Out of the 176 applications received, some were duplicates, according to the department, and the initial number was reduced to 132 for the random selection.
Sixteen had to be selected initially in order to get 10 that qualified. Of the six that didn't qualify, problems included not providing a legal description and a legible map, not agreeing to certifications, supplying seed and plant sources, providing research information, listing GPS coordinates nor providing a site address.
The department used a website, , to randomly number the applications. The first 10 numbers selected were matched to the alphabetical list.