As hemp harvest nears completion in South Dakota, John Peterson, owner of Dakota Hemp near Wakonda, South Dakota, is working to get his 450 acres of industrial hemp squared away before he moves on to his corn and soybeans.
With this year's wet and cooler than average temperatures early in the growing season, Peterson said hemp harvest was pushed later into the season than what is typically expected for the crop.
"We had a fairly wet spring. Ideally, we'd be looking to get it in the first part of May, but we were very wet those times, so this didn't get in until the first part of June," Peterson said. "It's around a 100-day crop, so around Labor Day we're usually looking to harvest it."
Industrial hemp can be harvested for both the grain and the stalk. Hemp grain is typically crushed creating a hemp seed oil that can be used in food products such as protein powders or in cosmetics.
Read more at agweek.com