Kentucky Hempsters

As Kentucky natives, we recognized the vital role hemp played in growing Kentucky’s early economy and its potential to be a agricultural and economic driver for the state today. In October 2014, following the first year of legal pilot projects in Kentucky under the Farm Bill, we launched the Kentucky Hempsters platform with a goal of inspiring the re-emerging hemp industry through education, advocacy, community outreach and creative content. Based in Lexington and Central Kentucky, we primarily (1) host, participate, and speak providing hemp education at events, (2) create educational and promotional materials for industry partners and our online platforms, (3) grow demonstration hemp plots and facilitate the Heritage Hemp Trail in the counties and historic locations once renowned for hemp production, and (4) collaborate on projects that aim to promote and advance the hemp industry through education and outreach. We're proud to have had the opportunity to advocate for the federal legalization of industrial hemp. In March 2018, we were invited to attend a private roundtable in Frankfort with Senator Mitch McConnell, followed by a press conference where he announced his intent to introduce the Hemp Farming Act of 2018. The bill would remove hemp from the list of controlled substances, and legalize production nationwide. The following Summer, McConnell secured the Hemp Farming Act in the 2018 Farm Bill, which was passed into law on December 20th, 2018. After nearly half a century of hemp prohibition, hemp in now federally legal in the United States. Co-founder, Alyssa Erickson, was quoted in Senator McConnell's press release announcing the passing of the 2018 Farm Bill in the Senate.