[420 Girl]

In 2008, the Vermont Legislature passed a bill into law that legalized the growth of industrial hemp by Vermont farmers. Industrial hemp is a crop that hasn’t been grown on any large scale in the state since the 1820s and 1830s, just before merino sheep became the dominant feature of our working landscape. It was this farming “fad,” however, that led to the invention Thaddeus Fairbanks’ platform scale: invented in St. Johnsbury, still used the world over, and originally designed for the weighing of agricultural hemp.

A few centuries later, Vermonters are still upholding a proud tradition of farming. For those struggling to make a living as farmers in an era of low milk prices, limited access to land, and a crumbling infrastructure, hemp has the potential to be a viable and profitable alternative. Hemp is a fast-growing, easy to manage crop that helps to eliminate weeds with its shade, and is therefore a rotational crop that can easily be grown organically. It can be made into fuel, construction materials, rope and cloth, animal feed and human food, too -- virtually everything we make from petroleum, we can make from hemp. Vermont farmers have a chance to be at the vanguard of re-introducing this crop to American soil.

Unfortunately, Vermont's pro-hemp law is void due to a federal ban on the growing of hemp which has been in place since the 1930s. I hope you'll get in touch with Sen. Patrick Leahy and ask him to support the effort to legalize industrial hemp farming by introducing a bill into the Senate to repeal the federal regulations currently in place.

The week of May 17-23, volunteers around the state and across the country participated in Hemp History Week, holding events where you can learn more about industrial hemp and this campaign. Check in with businesses that carry hemp products in your area, and discover for yourself the myriad uses of industrial hemp! For more info about Rural Vermont's hemp campaign, visit Rural Vermont or call 223-7222.


NewsHawk: User: 420 MAGAZINE
Source: burlingtonfreepress.com
Author: Emmeline Cardozo
Copyright: 2010 Burlington Free Press
Contact: Contact Us | The Burlington Free Press |
Website: My Turn: Let's return hemp to American soil | The Burlington Free Press | Burlington, Vermont


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