A north Kerry organic farmer has taken it upon herself to go through the process of getting a licence to grow hemp.

Kate Carmody first saw hemp growing on a farm while travelling around Europe as part of an EU- funded project called Trade It.

“What I liked was that it appeared to be very environmentally friendly. I have a field that’s very waterlogged. I needed a cover crop that would rejuvenate the land and produce a yield.

“It was all rushes, a real quagmire on four acres. So I needed something to cover the weeds and break the substructure. I could have put in grass for silage, but I’ve loads of grass. So I looked to hemp.”

It’s quite a long winded and unwieldy process to get started.

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Source: Oliver Moore: Hemp thrives in coastal north Kerry | Irish Examiner