Officials in Kentucky say they want to make the state a “hemp epicenter” and the recent investment activity in this industry could get them underway to attaining that lofty goal. So far, 1,000 farmers have obtained licenses to grow hemp on a combined area that is in excess of 50,000 acres.
This cultivation capacity is a huge jump from the 6,700 acres cultivated last year (for which Kentucky was the third largest grower of hemp in the country). The 2018 Farm Act could be credited for this jump in production.
The processing/manufacturing side has also seen major activity with 110 license applications approved for this year.
One of the largest investments in the industry has come from Resonate Foods LLC which is based in Lyon County. The company, which grows and processes hemp, is injecting $2.7 million into an expansion project that will see an additional 16 full-time jobs created.
Currently, Resonate has a 15-acre facility which has greenhouses, processing equipment and buildings for drying hemp flower. Their expansion will initially focus on increasing the number of greenhouses as well as acquiring more processing equipment.
The company has also stepped up the total value of the cultivation contracts that it has with Kentucky farmers, which means that local farmers will have a ready market for their hemp crop.
Another big move in the hemp space in Kentucky saw Atalo Holdings Inc. partnering with GenCanna Global to align their cultivation and processing operations. This has created the largest vertically integrated hemp undertaking in the state. The duo have a combined 147-acre hemp research campus which employs 100 full-time workers.
GenCanna Global also announced that it had broken ground on a $40 million storage, drying and processing facility located in Mayfield. 80 people will be employed there once the facility is completed.
International Farmaceutical Extracts, a company that specializes in extracting and distilling CBD oil, plans to construct a manufacturing plant in Boyle County worth $6 million. This facility would also gradually create up to 34 full-time jobs within a decade.
In total, 16 hemp processing companies have recently announced investments worth more than $94 million in Kentucky’s hemp industry. These 16 companies will create more than 900 full-time jobs in the state, according to data released by state officials.
Investment analysts believe that industry actors like Green Hygienics Holdings Inc. (OTCQB: GRYN) and Hemptown USA may have to move faster if they are to safeguard their interests in the market from new players entering the space.
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