Industrial hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) was legalized for commercial production in Louisiana under the supervision of the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry in 2019. Following legalization of hemp, the LSU AgCenter Industrial Hemp Working Group (IHWG) was established to conduct research, establish production practices and perform extension activities for Louisiana. We, the members of this group, belonged to different disciplines of agriculture, working collectively and publishing research that would help stakeholders interested in growing hemp for essential oil, fiber or grain both in the field and greenhouses.

I am a research assistant professor at the LSU AgCenter. I am a lead for the S-1084 Industrial Hemp Multistate Group, and I focus on fiber and grain cultivars development for our state. My primary role is conducting industrial hemp variety evaluations in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service Hemp Germplasm Unit to select the best performing cultivars for Louisiana conditions. I am also interested in studying the differences in plant and root architecture in fiber, feral and essential oil types of hemp.

Heather Kirk-Ballard is an assistant professor and the statewide extension specialist in consumer horticulture and host for the Get It Growing video series. Her research focuses on consumer gardening needs and plant impacts of various aspects, and she mentors students in medicinal plant cultivation, including Cannabis for essential oil production.

Kathryn Fontenot is an associate professor and an extension specialist in the School of Plant, Environmental and Soil Sciences. She conducts variety trials for vegetables and is also working with hemp varieties grown for cannabidiol (CBD) in container-grown hemp in high tunnels. She is interested in understanding the role of soil substrates in the growth of CBD hemp under high-tunnel cultivation. In January, Fontenot will become the director of the LSU AgCenter Southwest Region.

Raj Singh is a professor in the Department of Plant Pathology and Crop Physiology and is our pathologist in the IHWG. He is the director of the LSU AgCenter Plant Diagnostic Center. The mission of the center is to provide accurate and rapid diagnostics of plant health problems and their best management practices to the people of Louisiana. His research is focused on reporting new plant diseases and plant pathogens, developing new plant pathogen detection and identification methods, surveying high impact plant pathogens in the state, and developing integrated pest management programs for specific ornamental and vegetable commodities.

Jeffrey A. Davis is a field crop entomologist in the Department of Entomology. His hemp research focuses on developing integrated pest management plans for both greenhouse and field grown hemp that identify both pest and beneficial arthropods, monitor and assess pest populations, develop action guidelines, and identify preventative and suppressive strategies.

Michael Deliberto is an economist focusing on production economics and agricultural policy. His primary role is to evaluate, analyze and prepare economic estimates for the expected cost of production for hemp grain, biomass and CBD products. In addition to these farm-level cost of production estimates, he also analyzes market trends within the hemp industry. By providing economic reports and summaries on the industrial hemp market, industry stakeholders can gain further insight into the identification of the risks associated with hemp production in the state.

Babitha Jampala is a research assistant professor in the LSU AgCenter School of Plant, Environmental and Soil Sciences and leads the LSU AgCenter Industrial Hemp Working Group.

This article appears in the fall 2023 issue of Louisiana Agriculture magazine.

Hemp is being researched at LSU AgCenter research stations. The crop was not grown in the United States for decades, and researchers are studying what are the best practices for growing it. Photo by Randy LaBauve