When industrial hemp production became legal with the passage of the new Farm Bill in 2018, Bill became very involved with the hemp industry. Bill believes that hemp is one of the best opportunities he has seen in his lifetime, both as a cash crop for growers and as a great product for medical and industrial applications.

Hemp Caregiver Program

One of Bill’s current hemp projects is the Hemp “Caregiver” Program that Native Prairie Hemp Research Subdivision created at the end of the 2021 growing season. The program will allow hemp consumers to purchase hemp biomass directly from the Native Prairie Research Farm on a per plant basis. The Native Prairie team will show the consumer how to make their own products for consumption.

Learn more about the Hemp “Caregiver” Program by downloading the program flyer.

Varieties for the 2022 Season

The Native Prairie team has selected the following three varieties for the 2022 growing season.

Hemp Research

Bill has also been working extensively in researching hemp production. Over the past few years, his team have developed relationships with Lincoln University and St. Louis University, and the Native Prairie team has hosted research plots for both, as well as their own extensive research plots.

Below are a couple of videos from Bill in the hemp research plots from the 2021 growing season.