Pubdate: Mon, 26 Feb 2018 Source: Philadelphia Daily News (PA) Copyright: 2018 Philadelphia Newspapers Inc. Contact: http://www.philly.com/dailynews/about/feedback/ Website: http://www.philly.com/dailynews/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/339 Author: Sam Wood HEMP FARMING TO EXPAND EXPONENTIALLY IN PA. The amount of industrial hemp cultivated in Pennsylvania is about to grow significantly. The Department of Agriculture this month approved 39 research projects that will allow cultivation of about 1,000 acres of marijuana's non-psychoactive cousin. Last year, 14 growers produced a total of 36 acres of hemp statewide. In the southeastern region of the state, permission to grow hemp was granted to farmers in Bucks, Chester, Lancaster, and Montgomery Counties. Those cultivators will be required to pay a $2,000 permit fee. After the paperwork has cleared, the state Bureau of Plant Industry will submit orders for hemp seed to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency which must approve importation of the seed into the U.S. Industrial hemp is grown for fiber and seed. It must maintain a concentration of the psychoactive compound THC below the 0.3 percent legal threshold. - --- MAP posted-by: Matt