Russell County farmers Dean Haselhorst and Troy Waymaster are still trying to decide if they’ll participate in an industrial hemp pilot project led by the Kansas Department of Agriculture.
“I am thinking about it. I’ve been attending the meetings,” said the 54-year-old Haselhorst, who grew up on a farm and has been a farmer all his life, growing wheat, milo and corn. “It’s all still very preliminary, but it’s potentially better than growing wheat. The price of wheat is so low.”
Waymaster, state representative for the 109th District, which includes Russell County, advocated before the Legislature for the pilot project research bill that was ultimately signed by Gov. Jeff Colyer in April.
The question of whether it will take new machinery is probably the biggest issue for Waymaster, who farms in Russell County with his father and uncle, growing wheat and milo and raising cattle. He’s heard differing opinions on whether the same planting and harvesting equipment for wheat will work for hemp.
(Read more: Kansas News – Topix)