The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection is reporting a huge increase this year in applications to grow and process hemp. Nearly 21-hundred people and businesses have applied for industrial hemp in 2019 and more applications are expected in the next week. Brian Kuhn of the Plant Industry Bureau says they attribute much of the increase to removal of industrial hemp from the controlled substances act in the 2018 Farm Bill. Officials say more than 14-hundred have applied to grow industrial hemp and there are 692 processor applications – compared with 247 grower and 100 processors licenses in 2018.
