BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Real-world research in more than a dozen states in recent years is giving farmers new understanding of how to grow industrial hemp and showing that it has promise to be a viable commercial crop in the U.S.

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Real-world research in more than a dozen states in recent years is giving farmers new understanding of how to grow industrial hemp and showing that it has promise to be a viable commercial crop in the U.S.

American clothing company Patagonia has joined calls urging Congress to legalize industrial hemp farming in the United States.

Penn State research could help farmers to be more successful if and when the law allows them to grow industrial hemp for profit.

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives voted unanimously yesterday to legalize industrial hemp across the state, sending the legislation to Gov. Tom Wolf.

The Pennsylvania House of Representatives voted unanimously yesterday to legalize industrial hemp across the state, sending the legislation to Gov. Tom Wolf.

Industrial hemp gets a bad rap, advocates say.

Industrial hemp gets a bad rap, advocates say.

The pilot research program comes as state officials try to make sense of contradictory federal law.

The pilot research program comes as state officials try to make sense of contradictory federal law.

Not to be confused with illicit marijuana, useful plant draws interest as crop option at U's ag campus.

Not to be confused with illicit marijuana, useful plant draws interest as crop option at U's ag campus.

Rhode Island is set to join America’s industrial hemp revolution after a legislative vote June 20 to legalize the agriculture.

Rhode Island is set to join America’s industrial hemp revolution after a legislative vote June 20 to legalize the agriculture.

Textile mills in regions such as Western North Carolina lie dormant while Americans import about $500 million worth of hemp annually.

Textile mills in regions such as Western North Carolina lie dormant while Americans import about $500 million worth of hemp annually.

FLORENCE, SC (WBTW) – Several state legislators want to legalize a crop they say could help farmers still reeling from flood damage.

COLUMBIA — A bill allowing the growth of industrial hemp has cleared the Senate and is expected to be accepted by the House this week, lining South Carolina farmers up to begin planting the crop before the year is out.

COLUMBIA — A bill allowing the growth of industrial hemp has cleared the Senate and is expected to be accepted by the House this week, lining South Carolina farmers up to begin planting the crop before the year is out.

Lost to most in the flurry of legislation at the end of the South Carolina General Assembly’s session earlier this month was a bill legalizing the growth of industrial hemp. Not pot, but hemp.

Lost to most in the flurry of legislation at the end of the South Carolina General Assembly’s session earlier this month was a bill legalizing the growth of industrial hemp. Not pot, but hemp.

Could Iowa soon see a new cash crop, among our fields of corn and soybeans? The big topic at the State Capitol Monday was hemp.

Could Iowa soon see a new cash crop, among our fields of corn and soybeans? The big topic at the State Capitol Monday was hemp.

CORPUS CHRISTI - Support is growing across Texas for legislation that would allow farmers the opportunity to grow hemp.

CORPUS CHRISTI - Support is growing across Texas for legislation that would allow farmers the opportunity to grow hemp.

Hemp is a low impact, fast-growing and clean plant to produce, and extremely versatile.

The fourth annual NoCo Hemp Expo this past weekend featured more than 130 vendors and 60 speakers, all sharing information about this amazing plant.

It's a plant shrouded in stereotypes and stigmas, but for one Tennessee couple, hemp has provided a new opportunity for business after a family trip nearly turned to tragedy.

A report released in May showed that nationwide, retail sales for hemp products in 2015 reached $575 million, which was a more than 10 percent increase from the prior year.

It is an opportunity to learn about all things hemp and cannabis related including growing, harvesting, medicinal uses and legislation.

Bruce Kennedy ~ WeedWorthy.com ~

A recent law seminar on industrial hemp underscores the industry’s challenges and opportunities.

Even in Colorado, breeding hemp means grappling with all sorts of legal red tape. One plant biologist hopes to beat the odds.

The new site is a valuable resource for individuals and businesses looking to fund growth and production operations for hemp companies in the state.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Two more colleges have been authorized to participate in New York's industrial hemp pilot program.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Two more colleges have been authorized to participate in New York's industrial hemp pilot program.

Cannabis is legally grown in Nebraska except the garden serves a much different purpose from the typical assumption.

Cannabis is legally grown in Nebraska except the garden serves a much different purpose from the typical assumption.

After months of paperwork and navigating bureaucratic red tape, University of Nebraska-Lincoln researchers have planted their first crop of legal hemp.

After months of paperwork and navigating bureaucratic red tape, University of Nebraska-Lincoln researchers have planted their first crop of legal hemp.

ALBANY — The state's first legal hemp crop in more than 70 years is thriving on 30 fertile acres of upstate New York, and demand is building for its seeds and stalks.

The USDA has created an unequal marketplace for domestic hemp producers, unfounded safety concerns about the use of industrial hemp and bolstered an international agricultural industry at the cost of one in their home country.

Previously, there was no official mechanism for Vermont's hemp growers to have their product tested, though many industrial growers have labs to test their crop or have it sent to third-party labs for testing.

Previously, there was no official mechanism for Vermont's hemp growers to have their product tested, though many industrial growers have labs to test their crop or have it sent to third-party labs for testing.

Farmers have started planting Vermont’s third hemp crop. Though their numbers are few, the acreage devoted to hemp has significantly increased this year, as has the direction of the state’s fledgling hemp industry.

Over a year after the Virginia General Assembly passed a bill allowing certain institutions to grow hemp, seeds finally went into the ground this summer at Virginia Tech.