Volume 1 (2019)

Hemp (Cannabis sativa with <0.3% THC content) is grown for fiber, grain, and cannabinoid extraction in Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Until recently, Cannabis sativa has been classified as a Schedule 1 controlled substance in the US. The Agricultural Act of 2014 (Farm Bill) allowed for reintroduction of industrial hemp under a pilot research program. Acreage increases and addition of state legislation resulted in over 78,000 acres of hemp grown in 23 states by the end of 2018. Hemp became a legal commodity under the 2018 Farm Bill, and by the end of 2019, over 500,000 licensed acres were documented across 45 states. Canada re-introduced the crop in 1998, and in 2018, almost 78,000 acres of hemp were licensed and planted.

With this increase in acreage and the lack of modern scientific data, university and government agricultural specialists began to work on various components of production and a range of realized challenges. This new information, however, had either not been shared or was not readily accessible to the scientific community, especially early results and nonpublished data.

The first annual meeting of the Science of Hemp: Production and Pest Management was held on October 10-11, 2019 at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, KY. Ninety-two agricultural scientists attended a series of scientific presentations, breakout sessions, and discussion panels. Attendees presented 33 oral talks, 19 posters, one grower panel, and one outreach/education panel. Topics included discipline-specific presentations in agronomy, entomology, horticulture, and plant pathology, while general session topics included regulatory, pesticides, and economics. Other highlights included a networking social with a hemp-based dinner and an afternoon of thoroughbred racing at Keenland race track.

Organizers would like to thank the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food, and Environment for making this meeting possible. We also want to thank the countless volunteers from within our College who made contributions great and small.