Hemp has historically played an important role in the state of Pennsylvania, and it looks like the state is looking ahead to continue supporting its hemp sector. The state awarded $200,000 in grants to three agriculture nonprofits, focused on fiber and food hemp markets, and that’s just the start. Pennsylvania officials are also calling for proposals for marketing and promotion nonprofits for an additional $392,000 in grants, which will be awarded in March, according to a news release.
Russell Redding, acting agriculture secretary, nodded to hemp as a former “staple” of the Pennsylvania economy, pointing to its potential as an industry and adding that hemp “is again presenting opportunities for new businesses, farm income, jobs, and climate-friendly, environmentally sound products.”
“Hemp has offered a rare opportunity to grow a Pennsylvania industry from the ground up, springing from a material with seemingly limitless uses in sustainable construction materials, fiber and food products,” Redding said.
The state awarded six total recipients for this round. The recipients, region served, matching funding amounts and product descriptions include:
Urban Affairs Coalition and All Together Now Pennsylvania—statewide partnership—$48,000.
Pennsylvania Hemp Now—an innovative program to promote hemp in building materials and textiles.
Pennsylvania Hemp Industry Council— Berks, Chester, Lehigh Counties—$150,000.
Project Invest in PA Hemp—represents six companies coming together to attract investment in industrial hemp producers, agribusinesses and entrepreneurs in Pennsylvania to grow supply chains, product development and distribution.
Transition Town Media—Delaware and Schuylkill counties—$2,000.
Promoting Hemp as a Transitional Product to Next Generation Economy— aims to promote benefits of hemp and raise awareness to make hemp a household word.
The Agriculture Department plans to award $392,000 in matching funds to reimburse up to half of project costs, with a minimum grant amount of $1,000, regarding new proposals. The department will also give special consideration to projects that leverage other funding and public-private partnerships. Eligible projects may also include regional or national promotion, and applicants will be selected in a “competitive process,” the news release states.
It’s a full circle moment, as Pennsylvania was one of the oldest hemp industries within the United States. Lancaster County was considered the hemp capital of early America, so much so that the county’s Hempfield Township, formed in 1729, was named for the “vast quantities of hemp raised there.” Hemp was grown in the colony ever since 1683, so essential to Pennsylvania that historians often say that it was founded on hemp. At the time, William Penn and the General Assembly declared that the plant was one of the four staples of the colony.
For 260 years after, hemp was used for myriad purposes, like rigging, rope and sails in Philadelphia’s shipbuilding industry. Seeds were also ground for oil and used for animal feed, according to the Pennsylvania Hemp Industry Council.
Even more recently, Pennsylvania was early to adopt hemp, as federal laws criminalizing industrial hemp began to weaken following the 2014 Farm Bill, which allowed states to operate pilot programs regulating hemp production. The commonwealth’s legislature passed House Bill 967 into law in 2016, two years prior to the 2018 Farm Bill which legalized hemp nationwide. The legislation allowed registered individuals to grow, cultivate and/or market hemp. It also allowed agencies, colleges and universities to grow industrial hemp for research purposes.
For the next round of funding, qualified nonprofits are able to apply for grants through the PA Department of Community and Economic Development’s single online application system. The application period will close at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 28, and grant recipients will be notified by Friday, March 10.
