A 'hempire' growing in Springfield

From:  KRDO

First large hemp crop grown in decades

Jonathan Petramala, Reporter, jonathan.petramala@krdo.com

SPRINGFIELD, Colo. -

Here’s a riddle, what’s been illegal to grow for decades until Amendment 64 made it legal in Colorado?  It has tens of thousands of uses, but getting high isn’t one of them.  The answer: hemp.

Now for the first time since World War II a crop of industrial hemp is growing in the far Southeastern corner of Colorado.

Ryan Loflin planted his name in history when he first transplanted a small patch of hemp on the farm he grew up on outside Springfield.

“I always thought I’d be the pioneer of leaving farming,” Loflin said.

On the same land his grandfather and father have grown corn, wheat and alfalfa hay, Loflin is coming back home because he sees hemp as the future of Colorado farming.

“This is the future because it’s got so many uses.  This crop will be used in so many different industries that it’s not going to be limited to either food or fuel,” Loflin said.

Analysts estimate already the market in the United States for hemp products that include food, beauty supplies and clothing is in the hundreds of millions of dollars, but all of the hemp is imported, mostly from Canada, China and Central America.  MORE