photo by: Dylan Lysen

Rick and Stacy Gash stand where they plan to plant crops of hemp in the spring on Saturday, Dec. 22, 2018. The Gashes are one of many farms applying to participate in the state's research program on the newly legalized crop.

Rick and Stacy Gash, an entrepreneurial couple in the Wichita area, want to help make Kansas a leading state in the production of hemp, a newly legalized crop.

Hemp, a cannabis-plant cousin to marijuana, was once a major commercial crop in the United States, used mainly for making fabric and rope. Although it contains less THC, the chemical in cannabis that causes a high, the plant was criminalized nationwide in 1970 because it is closely related to marijuana.

But the crop was legalized in Kansas again last spring when Gov. Jeff Colyer signed new legislation into law, which allows Kansas farmers to begin harvesting hemp in 2019.

Because of the new law, the Gashes formed the Hemp Development Group, which aims to help prospective Kansas hemp farmers learn how to navigate the legal loopholes of the crop and understand the process to start an operation.

“We really want to see Kansas succeed in this,” Stacy said. “We want to see the farmers make money … we want to make it easy.”

Additionally, the Gashes purchased 80 acres of land in rural Butler County, just outside Wichita, specifically to grow hemp themselves, Rick said. They are also building infrastructure to support the processing, or turning the raw material into sellable products, of their crop as well as the crops of other farmers who join the industry.

“We want to become a hub for Kansas,” he said.

But beginning a hemp production won’t be a walk in the park for Kansas farmers. Although the state government made the crop legal, it can only be farmed through a research program, which requires state approval.

Heather Lansdowne, communications director for the Kansas Department of Agriculture, said the research program aims to give the state an understanding of how hemp farming will work in Kansas before it becomes a commercial crop. The Gashes’ is one of 75 Kansas farms to pre-apply for the research program.

“That is a pretty significant number,” Lansdowne said.

State-approved farmers will not be able to plant the crop until this spring, but a clear date will not be settled until after a public hearing on Jan. 9 that will solidify the regulations of the state law. Lansdowne said the whole process is moving relatively quickly for a new crop.

“Normally to develop regulations for a brand new program would take significantly longer than this process,” she said. “We’re trying to do everything we can to speed this process up so we get licensing available for this spring growing season.”

If the Gashes’ is one of the farms issued a license, the couple plan to begin planting in the first week of May, which would allow for a harvest time in August or September.

Although Hemp was already legal in 40 states in 2018, not all of them had farmers taking advantage of it, Stacy said. The lack of participation means Kansas could help lead the charge of the industry and become a major producer of the crop.

“That’s our dream,” Stacy said.

photo by: Dylan Lysen

A sign sits in front of Rick and Stacy Gash’s land in rural Butler County, outside of Wichita, on Saturday, Dec. 22, 2018. The Gashes plan to raise hemp crops on their land in the spring.

But recent federal legislation could change the number of participating farmers very quickly. The farm bill, which President Donald Trump signed into law Thursday, removes hemp from the list of federally controlled substances and treats the low-THC version of the cannabis plant like any other agricultural crop.

The change sets the stage for greater expansion in an industry already seeing explosive growth because of growing demand for CBD.

The legislation could triple the overall hemp market to $2.5 billion by 2022, with $1.3 billion of those sales from hemp-derived CBD products, according to New Frontier Data, a cannabis market research firm.

The change will allow for hemp farmers to buy crop insurance, apply for loans and grants, and write off their business expenses on their taxes like any other farmer. And those who sell unprocessed dried flower or CBD-infused products made from hemp can now ship across state lines without fear of prosecution as long as they are careful not to run afoul of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

photo by: Associated Press

In this Sept. 25, 2016, file photo, a sign beside an industrial hemp field warns off trespassers at JD Farms in Eaton, N.Y.

But Lansdowne said the federal law does not immediately change anything for Kansas, unless the state Legislature adapts the state law in the spring. She said state law does not allow the crop to leave the state lines unless it is processed.

Although the federal law seemingly makes it legal for unprocessed hemp to cross state lines, Lansdowne said the state does not know for certain how it will change law enforcement on the issue. But the state is doing its best to figure it all out, she said.

“There are a lot of complicated pieces and parts to it,” she said of the federal law. “We’re doing everything we can to help farmers who are eager to try this alternative crop.”

— The Associated Press contributed to this report.