Source: FarmAndRanchGuide :
ELGIN, N.D. – Out in a field that can be viewed from the windows of a farmhouse in southwestern North Dakota, Clarence Laub III, finished seeding his industrial hemp crop on June 1.
Laub III had already planted the other crops on the family farm, planting their sunflowers the week before.
“We were able to get some early seeding done in early April because of the weather. The corn and the wheat are all up. The sunflowers are just emerging today,” Laub III said.
His industrial hemp crop is also coming up, but the emergence has been slow and spotty.
“We haven’t had a significant rain fall since the last week in May, and that could be part of the poor emergence,” he said. “I talked with another producer that was having the same slow emergence so I feel a little better about the situation now.”
So what was it like to plant industrial hemp and make North Dakota history? Was it somehow mysterious or different or something that the ordinary farmer would never attempt?
“It is an exciting experience, but it is a always a little flustering when trying a new crop for the first time,” he said. “However, being able to plant a new crop on a small scale makes it less stressful.”
Laub III noted he didn’t have a lot of time to think about how he was making history because the seed arrived from Canada late, and he had to hurry and seed it.
“I was too busy thinking of all the drill settings, making sure the depth was right. There’s not a whole lot of time to soak the whole process in,” he said.
Laub III is one of four farmers selected by the North Dakota Department of Agriculture to grow industrial hemp under its first-ever pilot program. The others are David H. Lommen of Maddock, N.D.; and Jamie Edwards and Lyle Edwards of Adrian, N.D.
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