KOKOMO, Ind. — A crowd gathered here to watch Bringing It Home, a documentary about the industrial hemp industry.
The 55-minute movie discussed the uses of hemp in textiles, food and building materials, as well as the regulations preventing U.S. farmers from growing it.
“We’re getting all our hemp seed from Canada and all our (hemp) fiber from China,” said Jamie Campbell, president of the Indiana Hemp Industries Association. “China is the leading exporter of hemp; we’re the leading importer.
“We believe that our farmers deserve the opportunity to grow hemp. We have land and engineers — so why can’t we manufacture it here? I look to Howard County — you have the tools and everything right here. The job market needs you.”
In 2013, Indiana Farm Bureau approved the policy position of: “We support the legalization and the production of industrial hemp as renewable fiber energy and for industrial uses only.” Read more.