By Jennifer Whitlock
Field Editor

Texas farmers interested in growing hemp have a new resource to turn to, thanks to a grant from the Southern Risk Management Education Center.

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service produced a series of educational videos to address issues regarding Texas hemp production, including legal challenges and economic factors.

The 29 short videos, now available on YouTube, are the culmination of months of work between AgriLife Extension Specialist in Agricultural Law Tiffany Lashmet and faculty at the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Agricultural Economics department.

Information in the video series includes:

  • a basic overview of growing hemp;
  • legal and regulatory considerations;
  • economic considerations, including budgets;
  • crop insurance;
  • individual financial planning services;
  • market outlooks;
  • and other useful state and national resources.

“This is a really great wealth of information for anyone interested in growing hemp and even those who may already be growing it. Hemp has the potential to be another source of revenue for Texas farmers, and we have many farmers who are eager to learn more about growing it since it was legalized last year, but until now it was hard to find a solid resource with Texas-specific information,” Brant Wilbourn, Texas Farm Bureau (TFB) associate director of Commodity & Regulatory Activities, said. “There are some issues, like the legal implications, that make growing hemp a little more challenging than other crops. So, it’s good to have a trusted source to find some of that information.”

The Extension Agricultural Economics department has a webpage dedicated to hemp resources. Videos are categorized by topic: basics, legal considerations, economics/budget, crop insurance and other resources. Clicking on each of the topics will lead to a list of related video content.

The three-hour series is available on YouTube as a playlist.

More information on growing hemp in Texas is also available from the Texas Department of Agriculture.