The Workman family has been growing tobacco in western Kentucky for decades, but nowadays they make most of their money on a crop that got caught in the crossfire of lawmakers trying to end the longest shutdown in the nation's history: hemp.
Workman Tobacco in Murray turned its sights to hemp farming in 2019 following the plant’s removal from the federal Controlled Substances Act to make up for losses in profits from growing tobacco. Now, almost seven years and 400 acres later, company head Terry Workman is unsure about the future of this industry.
“I hate to use the word ‘devastating,’ but, I mean, it’s going to be tough. We’re going to have to revamp,” Workman said. “There goes, [with] just a snap of your fingers, a loss of income.”
A provision in the government funding bill that will limit the amount of THC in hemp-derived products to 0.4 milligrams per container starting in November 2026 is leaving farmers like Workman scrambling to adjust their operations and stay afloat.
“It’s not just the farmers, either. I mean, a lot of people depend on this,” Workman said.
Kentucky’s connections to hemp
Hemp has a long history in Kentucky, with the first recorded crop grown in the state in 1775. Settlers found that Kentucky’s climate was ideal for growing the crop as an alternative to cotton in textile production.
The Agriculture Act of 2014 legalized growing hemp for research purposes through its pilot program. Another farm bill passed in 2018 opened the door for the plant even wider by legalizing industrial hemp.
Most of the hemp now grown in the Bluegrass State is floral hemp, which is modified, grown and harvested specifically for its higher cannabidiol (CBD) and THC concentrations. CBD is commonly used as an holistic alternative to treat pain or manage symptoms of specific disorders – like anxiety.
According to the latest National Hemp Report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Kentucky was the second largest producer of industrial floral hemp in the nation last year, after California. The Bluegrass State also accounted for over one-fifth of the nation’s floral hemp production by acreage.
Other varieties of hemp include fiber and grain – which are used to make things like animal bedding, building materials and textiles. These varieties typically only have trace amounts of THC.
In order for cannabis plants to be legally classified as hemp rather than marijuana under the 2018 Farm Bill, the plant’s total THC concentration must not exceed 0.3% on a dry weight basis. To meet this standard, the USDA requires hemp producers to undergo sampling and testing of a designated plot of hemp acreage. The testing ensures that the plants grown by the producer fall within the legal THC limit, though there is no limit on a plant’s CBD concentration.
CBD forms range from “full-spectrum” to “isolate.” Full-spectrum CBD products are ones that are made using extracts from the entire plant – meaning that the “full spectrum” of compounds in the plant are present, including THC. Meanwhile, CBD isolate products typically undergo a process that removes as much of the other compounds as possible, “isolating” the CBD.
McConnell’s hemp restriction draws opposition from fellow Kentucky senator
Some advocates say Kentucky’s flourishing hemp industry stands on shaky legs after the passage of a federal provision imposing further restrictions on hemp-derived products containing THC. The provision, brought by Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, was included in the appropriations bill that was part of the resolution to end the government shutdown last month.
On top of the requirement for hemp plants to contain no more than a 0.3% concentration of THC, the new federal provision adds a THC limit in a product of 0.4 milligrams per container. A concrete definition of what the bill deems a “container” has yet to be established.
McConnell said the stricter regulations would close what he called a “loophole” in the 2018 Federal Farm Bill – the bill signed into law by President Donald Trump that legalized hemp farming for commercial, industrial and research purposes.
Once a leader in the effort to secure pilot programs for industrial hemp and to ultimately legalize the crop, McConnell said earlier this year that the language of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 allowed for the sale of “intoxicating” THC products marketed to look like popular snacks, candy and beverages, which he said may put children at risk.
“[The hemp] industry has seen tremendous growth, especially in Kentucky,” McConnell said during floor remarks he made in August. “Unfortunately, some companies looking to make a quick buck have been exploiting a loophole … They take these synthetic chemicals and use them as ingredients in appealing snack and candy-like products and distribute them in familiar packaging.”
Kentucky GOP Sen. Rand Paul, along with several hemp farmers in the state, opposed the move to include McConnell’s proposed THC restrictions in the federal funding bill. Paul tried to remove the prohibiting language from the provision, but his amendment to the funding bill was ultimately rejected.
During Senate floor proceedings on Nov. 10, Paul said the move would effectively “eradicate” the industry.
“The numbers put forward in this bill will eliminate 100% of the hemp products in our country,” Paul said. “That amounts to an effective ban, because the limit is so low that the products intended to manage pain or anxiety will lose their effect.”
Kentucky hemp advocates say THC limit would hit state’s businesses hard
In October, dozens of Kentucky farmers sent a letter to McConnell asking him to reconsider his proposed restriction in favor of other forms of regulation.
Among them was Matthew Willse, who founded the Eddyville hemp farm and processing company Resonate Foods.
Willse’s company grows the crop in partnership with local farmers. After harvest, the plants are taken back to the Resonate Foods facility, where they are dried, separated, milled and sold wholesale for extraction or other applications by businesses that contract with Resonate Foods.
With a little under 1,000 acres of hemp in Murray, Eddyville and Princeton, the company processes and sells multiple varieties of hemp, with their primary output being floral.
Even though non-floral hemp variants are protected by the federal provision for industrial use and can be used in several different ways, Willse said it just isn’t as profitable and viable for farmers without the sales from floral hemp.
“The problem we have with grain and fiber [hemp] right now is that grain [hemp is] competing with soy and corn, and you need massive scale to compete at those margins,” Willse said. “You have to grow a million acres to be able to compete with soy. But how do you grow a million acres if you can't be profitable growing a million acres? That's where the floral allows the other two to help get their foothold, if you're able to do all three.”
Not all hemp businesses expect to see a significant impact to their operations. The language of McConnell’s provision specifically protects industrial hemp used in construction, such as the variants of the crop harvested for its fiber and grain and used in manufacturing at places like HempWood.
The Murray company uses a process that combines hemp stalks – sourced from local farmers participating in the company’s co-op program – with a soy-based glue to create a wood alternative for flooring or other interior projects that typically require lumber. Its founder, Greg Wilson, said the federal provision should have only a minimal impact on his operations and the farmers he partners with.
He said, to prevent cross-pollination, farmers typically don’t plant fiber and floral hemp close together. That practice helps to ensure the THC levels in the hemp Wilson’s company uses remain low.
“Our plants always pass [legal requirements]. It’s just a matter of what the seed is doing and how you plant it,” Wilson said.
Katie Moyer is the founder of Kentucky Hemp Works in Crofton, where she processes and sells a variety of hemp-derived products. She is also involved in research and development with several universities, like Tuskegee University and Langston University, where she supplies materials to help discover new ways to use the plant.
From bourbon, to pasta, to animal feed – if hemp can find its way into a product, chances are Moyer’s dabbled in it.
She takes special pride in the product that began her business journey and spurred the creation of her company: hemp root salve.
Moyer said she started experimenting with hemp in 2014 after reading studies about the use of its roots to treat arthritis.
“What we found just from tinkering around was [that] the roots help people with nerve pain, muscle pain, joint pain, skin conditions–all kinds of things that we just had no idea [about],” Moyer said.
Moyer then discovered that, by running hemp seeds through an oil press, she could use the resulting oil as a base for the salve, which she said increases its benefits. She now incorporates her company’s hemp seed oil into its other products like CBD drops.
The Christian County hemp business owner said the new provision set to take effect in November 2026 would deliver a painful blow to the industry.
“The new law that affects hemp production is ultimately going to affect more than 98% of the total industry,” Moyer said.
She says over 90% of the acreage used to grow hemp in Kentucky is for cannabinoid production, and very few businesses in the industry deal in anything other than cannabinoids.
“The problem is, companies like mine – you know, animal bedding, and me working on a bourbon recipe and sending powder to a pasta maker – I'm not making big money doing that. It’s a labor of love,” Moyer said.
“We know there’s a million things you can do with this crop, but it’s unaffordable for us to try to go out and do all of those things. We need [the] full-spectrum CBD sales to be able to keep the lights on so that we can do bedding and seeds and protein powder, because they don’t pay the bills – not on a small scale.”
Hemp businesses seek alternatives to restriction
Willse said the future of hemp farming is uncertain. Farmers could potentially see issues with business contracts and a decrease in profits.
Hemp farmers typically receive one-year contracts with processors, who in turn hold their own one-year contracts with extractors, creating a supply chain beginning at the farm level. With the marketability of hemp uncertain after the new federal restriction, Willse said the state of these contracts is not guaranteed and farmers are currently unable to plan for next year.
“All of a sudden you don’t know that your crop – your crop that you’ve been making a living off of – is going to be able to be contracted or sold next year,” Willse said.
Moyer said while the new federal hemp provision is meant to remove “bad actors” from the industry, the 0.4 milligram THC limit could take away full-spectrum CBD – and even CBD isolate – from people “who are only looking for therapeutic value.”
With less than a year before the new THC restriction goes into effect, Moyer said hemp advocates in the state want to pursue federal legislation that would not necessarily overturn it, but would allow states to be in control of regulation. She said there will also be efforts to remove the “bad actors” from the industry and achieve more funding for offices to regulate hemp products and determine their safety.
Willse normally decides how much of each crop he’s going to put in the ground and where in December, but this year he’s holding off. He said he’s waiting to see if Congress passes another resolution to keep the federal government funded beyond Jan. 30 – in hopes that legislators will change or clarify the THC restriction on hemp passed in November.
“I think it’s just really important that the regulators see the market that’s built and value that and approach it in a way that allows it to continue to exist,” Willse said. “And I think bumping up the product limits, extending a year, and setting the container definitions and the synthetic cannabinoid definitions correctly will do that, and it will be a positive step forward.”
