Illinois, like every other state, faced challenges with their burgeoning hemp industry in 2020. Weather, poor planning, lack of infrastructure, COVID, it's all very familiar.
But, Rachel Berry, founder, and CEO of Illinois Hemp Growers Association says that despite the challenges, hemp farmers in Illinois did pretty well, and they are looking to expand beyond CBD hemp into fiber and grain this year.
“The market actually stayed pretty consistent during COVID, there were really no major dips, so in my opinion, it seems like COVID kind of made it apparent that CBD is a viable relief for stress,” she said.
As far as demand goes, Berry said people are getting more adventurous.
“We definitely have seen an interest in growers with the fiber and grain variety of hemp so that’s pretty exciting,” she said.
The demand is burgeoning among both growers and consumers.
“We’ve definitely had quite the influx of people calling us wondering, ‘where can I get hemp grain?’ because they want it for their smoothie shop and stuff like that,” Berry said.
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