This morning, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell held a press conference at our hemp facilities in Cynthiana. Senator McConnell was joined by Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture, Ryan Quarles to speak on their continued support for hemp production in Kentucky.
Our CEO, Eric Wang led the press conference by saying a few words welcoming the Senator and commending him for his esteemed leadership.
McConnell spoke on the benefits for many across the United States with the passing of the Farm Bill. “Listening to all the various aspects of this and what it could become. Not only in your car dash board or in your food or potentially in your medicine, what an extraordinarily diverse crop and what a mistake it was to not make it possible for us to do this.” McConnell said.
Key points of the discussion circled around the progress thus far leading up to the 2018 Farm Bill and what the passing of the bill with the full language of the Hemp Farming Act would mean for the country as a whole. He also noted the ability to create sustainability with the influx of farming jobs that have been and will continue to be created with the permanent legalization of hemp.
The Senator and Commissioner took a tour of our hemp processing facilities along with Chairman of the NCPA (National Community Pharmacy Association), Brian Caswell and the Ananda Hemp team.
WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH THE 2018 FARM BILL?
As of this month, the Senate has named their representatives to the House/Senate conference committee of the 2018 Farm Bill. Here’s the full list of House and Senate conferees. McConnell serves as a key negotiator on the Conference Committee
Currently the Senate’s version of the Farm Bill contains the Hemp Farming Act, sponsored by Leader McConnell and co-sponsored by a bi-partisan coalition of more than two dozen Senators, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. If this version of the bill is passed, it promises to fully legalize hemp in the United States. The house version of the Farm Bill, however, includes no mention of hemp.
The House/Senate conference committee will meet to resolve the differences between the two bills for the final outcome.