Page 29 - Robeson Living Summer 2020

As one of the first hemp farmers in the state, and the first in 0.3 percent or less are hemp, while plants with THC levels of
Harnett County, Keith Dunn discovered firsthand the complex- more than 0.3 percent are marijuana, but there are no physi-
ities and costs involved with stepping into the hemp industry. cal attributes that immediately distinguish one from the other,
Already an established farmer, Mr. Dunn said he saw a huge which seems to be a major obstacle in regards to consumer
potential within this burgeoning market that was new to the acceptance.
East Coast, but had been thriving on the West Coast since 2014.
He created East Coast Hemp Supply in 2017, working to fulfill The hemp industry still carries a stigma that stemmed from the
the company vision of becoming a consolidated marketplace 1937 law that essentially kicked off prohibition of the plant
opportunity for emerging hemp businesses and hemp products. despite its description differentiating hemp from marijuana,
and the subsequent 1970 Controlled Substance Act (CSA). The
East Coast Hemp Supply was named with the goal of providing CSA introduced the view that hemp and marijuana were no
services up and down the East Coast, having the logistical ad- longer recognized as two separate varieties of the same plant;
vantage of existing in a centralized location between the inter- the cannabis plant was then recognized as a Schedule 1 con-
sections of interstates 95 and 40. The storefront location opened trolled substance until the 2018 Farm Bill - passed in 2019 -
downtown on Broad Street in June of 2019. Mr. Dunn said this removed industrial hemp from the Schedule 1 list.
location was chosen because Harnett County is a prominent
farming area, and the city of Dunn is also his hometown. “I’d There is a bit of a learning curve within the industrial hemp
like to help support the local economy here, I’d like to help cre- industry, as Mr. Dunn noted not all regulations are currently
ate jobs for the community, and bring the hemp industry to my set in stone, but for the guidelines that are present, they exist
home, where I grew up.” He said the number of hemp farmers for a reason. Due to the meticulous nature of the documenta-
in Harnett County went from only one, being East Coast Hemp tion process, East Coast Hemp Supply offers consultations to
Supply, in 2017 to now 150+ in 2020. Through education, Mr. mitigate the start-up process so the farmer can begin their new
Dunn and his partners at East Coast Hemp Supply want to business and do so at a fair cost. They discuss the necessary
spread awareness of how beneficial and versatile hemp can be. prerequisites and legal paperwork: a traditional farmer look-
ing to become a hemp farmer must be able to prove, via tax
“Education is very important”, Mr. Dunn said, because many records, that they receive agricultural income, and must obtain
people will see the plant and associate it with drug use. A can- a license from the Department of Agriculture, paying the ap-
nabis plant is identified as either hemp or marijuana based propriate fees as necessary per acre. The farmer must provide
on the levels of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the psychoac- the “GPS coordinates of the fields where they’re intending to
tive element, contained within it. Plants with THC levels of grow, as well as the GPS coordinates for where the harvest