A Colorado Company Produces The Nation’s First Certified Hemp Seed, And Can’t Keep Up With Demand

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Photo: Hemp field from iStock
A hemp crop

What good is it to legalize a crop if no one can get seeds? That's been the trouble with hemp. Coloradans legalized growing hemp when they allowed for recreational marijuana growth and sales in 2013. But hemp seeds have been hard to come by, in part because there's still a federal ban on the plant.

New West Genetics in Fort Collins has created the first U.S.-bred hemp seed to qualify with the Association of Official Seed Certifying Agencies. CEO Wendy Mosher tells Colorado Matters what this might mean for farmers and consumers.