South Carolina Hemp Farmers Can Now Use Temporary Access to Pesticides for Cultivation

Regulators in South Carolina have approved a list of pesticides that can be used on hemp crops. This eliminates a roadblock that farmers in the state have faced since they could start producing hemp in 2019.

Tim Drake, a State Programs Manager at the South Carolina Department of Pesticide Regulations, shared with Clemson University’s Newsstand Publication,

“We don’t want to be in a conundrum where we have growers who have no pesticides to use,” He added, “We’re already seeing samples of young hemp plants with cutworm damage. These are expensive plants. When you’re paying $4 for a plant you can’t afford to lose too many of them.”

Even though the approved use of pesticides on cannabis plants can certainly be helpful, it is only temporary, until the Department of Agriculture creates federal regulations for pesticides.