CF approved to grow hemp at Ocala farm

Students at the College of Central Florida’s Vintage Farm Campus work with young hemp plants after the college received permission from the state to grow the plant as part of their agribusiness program. [Submitted]

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Posted April 15, 2021 | By Carlos Medina, carlos@ocalagazette.com

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The College of Central Florida is growing industrial hemp at its Vintage Farm Campus in Ocala, becoming the first state college in Florida to do so.

The plant will join other crops studied in the college’s agribusiness program, including fruits and vegetables. The program also includes education on greenhouse and nursery production, livestock production and marketing and sales.

Hemp production will focus on seed germination, soil, water, nutrient and light requirements, proper pruning techniques, pest management, harvesting and curing of the crop.

The idea to include hemp was spurred by the growth of the industry that produces everything from CBD oil to fabric and animal feed.

“It was a natural fit to add to the curriculum,” said Tavis Douglass, agribusiness program manager.

Jobs in the hemp industry continue to grow.

“There’s going to be a growing number of jobs in this field, clearly. So, what we want to do is really educate our students on not only how to grow the plants, but also, they learn about hemp,” said Rob Wolf, CF’s Dean of Business, Technology, and Career and Technical Education.

Douglass said the college’s cultivation activity also will add to the research on growing hemp in Florida.

“Because hemp is a relatively unknown crop in our climate, not much is known of how it will perform. Therefore, we will be testing and growing plants under various growing conditions. Additionally, our program will focus on hemp products that may have use in agricultural sectors such as our local livestock and equine industries,” he said.

While hemp is a variety of Cannabis sativa, the plants grown at CF are low in THC, the psychoactive component that produces a high when smoked.

“It’s also very important to note that hemp is used for fiber for clothing, for feed for horses and cattle. There’s a lot of uses for hemp. The first thing people think about when they hear hemp is marijuana. There’s much, much more,” Wolf said.

The college got its license to grow hemp from the Florida Department of Agriculture’s Division of Plant Industry.

While it is low in THC, hemp has cannabinoid compounds, including CBD and CBG, which may have therapeutic properties.

Supplements and therapeutics including cannabinoid compounds are widely available for humans as well as animals.

CF offers an Associate in Science degree in agribusiness management and a Bachelor of Applied Science in business and organizational management agribusiness specialization, which are not available at any other state college. They also offer certificate programs in nursery and landscape and livestock production management.

Wolf said there are currently 80 students in the program, which draws students from other parts of the state. He expects the addition of hemp production to the curriculum to increase enrollment.

The college also plans to introduce a short-term, non-credit course or lecture for the community as an introduction to industrial hemp in fall 2021 or spring 2022.

For information about the programs, contact Douglass at douglast@cf.edu, 352-854-2322, ext. 1737; or Wolf at wolfr@cf.edu, ext. 1281.