Industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) is a versatile plant that can be grown for its fiber, seed, or oil. Hemp fields were once a common sight in Kentucky during the state’s prominence as the leading hemp producer in the U.S.

Industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) was at one time a major agronomic crop in Kentucky. In A History of the Hemp Industry in Kentucky (1951), author James F. Hopkins reported that it was a very common crop on the vast majority of central Kentucky farms. This was true from the late 18th through the 19th century. Nearly all farms at that time grew hemp, mostly for the fiber it produced…

USDA Farmer's Bulletin 1935 about Hemp.
Issued January 1943
Revised April 1952

Congressional Research Service Report
Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress

Industrial hemp is an agricultural commodity that is cultivated for use in the production of a wide range of products, including foods and beverages, cosmetics and personal care products, and nutritional supplements, as well as fabrics and textiles, yarns and spun fibers, paper, construction and insulation materials, and other manufactured goods. Hemp can be grown as…