Considering hemp production for floral material and the cannabidiol, or CBD, market.

A Georgia hemp production guide will come out later this fall. It won’t be exhaustive. There isn’t enough Georgia-specific hemp data for that, yet, but it will provide information for Georgia growers considering hemp production for floral material, which is meant for the cannabidiol, or CBD, market.

“Although there has been some interest in hemp production for fiber and seed, the majority of growers have expressed an intent to grow floral material,” said Tim Coolong, University of Georgia Extension vegetable horticulturist and now Georgia’s hemp specialist, too, who has done research to compile the guide.

Coolong was the only person who legally grew hemp in Georgia in 2019, which the Georgia Hemp Farming Act allowed him to do for research purposes. His research evaluated about two dozen varieties at three locations: Watkinsville near Athens, Blairsville in north Georgia and Tifton in south Georgia.

“We want to identify the genetics that do well in Georgia and get projected CBD yield information for growers so that they can budget accordingly if they choose to grow this crop, depending upon when they plant, where they grow and so on,” he said.

Many newer hemp varieties have been bred specifically for the CBD market and contain higher levels of CBD and low levels of Tetrahydrocannabinol, the high-causing compound found in marijuana. Still, regular testing for THC during flowering is recommended so that growers can harvest their crop if THC levels begin to approach the legal threshold, Coolong said. The USDA hemp rules focuses an overall vision for how hemp regulations will work in the country, including how the crop will be handled, tested, insured, potentially financed — or destroyed as needed if THC levels in field rise above legal levels.