{"id":69427,"date":"2023-10-17T12:18:53","date_gmt":"2023-10-17T20:18:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2023\/10\/17\/new-hampshire-farmers-interested-in-growing-marijuana-but-oppose-governors-state-run-sales-proposal-survey-finds\/"},"modified":"2023-10-18T19:46:49","modified_gmt":"2023-10-19T03:46:49","slug":"new-hampshire-farmers-interested-in-growing-marijuana-but-oppose-governors-state-run-sales-proposal-survey-finds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2023\/10\/17\/new-hampshire-farmers-interested-in-growing-marijuana-but-oppose-governors-state-run-sales-proposal-survey-finds\/","title":{"rendered":"New Hampshire Farmers Interested In Growing Marijuana, But Oppose Governor\u2019s State-Run Sales Proposal, Survey Finds"},"content":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n

\u201cCannabis is a crop like any other and farmers should be able to successfully manage it on their own. The state does not need to micromanage and create additional taxation around this crop.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

By Ethan DeWitt, New Hampshire Bulletin<\/strong><\/p>\n

In theory, Jim Riddle is as ready as any New Hampshire farmer to try his hand at cannabis if the state makes it legal.<\/p>\n

Riddle grew perennial fruit on a farm in Minnesota for 40 years. He moved to Hillsborough to get closer to his daughter, who is raising a family on her own farm. After a pivot, Riddle now grows hemp in an indoor greenhouse operation. And as a board member of the New Hampshire Cannabis Association, he\u2019s a supporter of the effort to legalize cannabis in the state and create a marijuana industry.<\/p>\n

But even for an advocate like Riddle, jumping into a new crop like marijuana is not as easy as setting aside the land and planting. He would need to research which strains are most feasible to grow, the best matched to the state\u2019s demands, and the most lucrative.<\/p>\n

There are new skills to be learned, too: how to harvest, dry, cure and package the cannabis plants, and how to integrate it into a diverse business.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou want to do your homework and put product out there that\u2019s going to be well received in the marketplace,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I\u2019m nowhere near ready for that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Riddle isn\u2019t alone: While Granite State farmers are aware of the latest push to legalize cannabis in New Hampshire<\/a>, few are putting their hats in the ring just yet, according to Robert Johnson, policy director for the New Hampshire Farm Bureau Federation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had little to no interest from our membership,\u201d Johnson said in an interview, noting that the Farm Bureau has not taken a position on legalization.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the right word is \u2018skepticism\u2019 amongst farmers that it would really be a benefit to New Hampshire agriculture,\u201d Johnson said, adding that he would expect those interested to be smaller boutique farms.<\/p>\n

The questions of whether and how to begin growing are difficult to answer when the state has not even passed a legalization bill, let alone worked out detailed regulations and store plans that could help inform farmers on the best approach forward. But if the state wants to stand up a viable market after legalizing, those answers are important, Riddle and others say. Federal laws prevent the sale of cannabis across state lines, meaning any marijuana products sold in New Hampshire would have to be grown here, too.<\/p>\n

Lawmakers are working on legislation that could pass the House and Senate in 2024, after Gov. Chris Sununu (R) announced in May that he would support a cannabis legalization model with state-controlled retail sales. If that legislation were to pass and be signed into law in the summer of 2024, most farming operations would likely not be fully operational until 2025, legalization advocates say.<\/p>\n

This month, the New Hampshire Cannabis Association released the results of a survey<\/a> that suggests that interest among some New Hampshire farmers is high, even if few are talking publicly about it.<\/p>\n

The survey found that 87 percent of respondents support legalization in general, and that 78 percent \u201cexpressed interest\u201d in growing cannabis if it were legalized. That, notes Riddle, is a higher percentage of support than among the New Hampshire public; a\u00a0University of New Hampshire poll in February\u00a0found 71 percent of respondents supported legalization.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was really encouraging,\u201d Riddle said.<\/p>\n

In total, 69 farmers responded to the survey; the New Hampshire Farm Bureau counts around 2,000 farmer members.<\/p>\n

But while interest is high among the respondents, many appear to be awaiting the details. Most of the farmers surveyed were not fans of the approach favored by Sununu that would see the state control the sales of cannabis. Of the respondents, 11 percent said they would support it, 63 percent said they were opposed, and 26 percent were undecided.<\/p>\n

New Hampshire Liquor Commission officials have recently said they would prefer a \u201cfranchise model\u201d in which the state sells licenses to store owners<\/a> who can then hire their own staff and manage the store, under strict guidelines from the state. Yet some survey respondents warned that model would still create an effective monopoly by the state where growers would have little means to compete for higher profits.<\/p>\n

\u201cCannabis is a crop like any other and farmers should be able to successfully manage it on their own,\u201d wrote one farmer in a written response to the survey. \u201cThe state does not need to micromanage and create additional taxation around this crop.\u201d<\/p>\n

Survey respondents supported a proposal to allow cannabis farmers to sell their products on-site, outside of the state\u2019s official cannabis stores. That suggestion was made by Liquor Commission Chair Joseph Mollica during remarks to lawmakers in September.<\/p>\n

Most farmers also appeared to support legalizing a \u201chome grow\u201d option that would allow residents to grow their own cannabis plants.<\/p>\n

For New Hampshire cannabis legalization advocates, attracting local farmers is key. Tim Egan, the board chairman of the New Hampshire Cannabis Association, says the association doesn\u2019t want major industrial players to enter the state and take over the market, squeezing out smaller growers.<\/p>\n

As they craft a legalization bill, Egan said lawmakers should take measures to prevent that kind of monopolization. They could limit the number of growing licenses one company could own, reducing consolidation, he said. They could also create different tiers of licenses depending on the size of the farm; by letting smaller farms pay a smaller entry fee, local farmers would be more likely to participate.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re talking about an entry fee of up to $175,000,\u201d he said, referring to discussions in the commission. \u201cSo if you\u2019re talking about a small market farmer in Colebrook, or Derry, or out in western New Hampshire, where are they going to find that capital?\u201d<\/p>\n

Aside from encouraging a competitive market, Riddle says the state should put resources into providing educational materials for farmers who are interested in participating. \u201cSo that people easily know what the rules of the road are, where and how they can access funding,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

That includes guidance on how to produce and prepare the cannabis products for manufacturers and retailers, and how to work with state inspectors and with any tracking system lawmakers implement over sales.<\/p>\n

For Riddle and other farmers, the goal is to convince lawmakers not to just sit back and let the market arrange itself.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to really make sure that free enterprise is front and center, that supporting New Hampshire\u2019s agricultural community is front and center, and that it\u2019s not just all greenhouses, vertically integrated by these multi-state operations,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

As for farmers, most don\u2019t want to stick their neck out about cannabis yet. Even Riddle\u2019s daughter and son-in-law are staying cautious, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cUntil it\u2019s legal, they don\u2019t even really want to talk to me about it all that much,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

This story was first published by New Hampshire Bulletin.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Federal Reserve Bank Says States With Legal Marijuana See \u2018Broadly Distributed\u2019 Economic Boost But Also Bump In \u2018Social Costs\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis \/\/ Side Pocket Images.<\/em><\/p>\n

The post New Hampshire Farmers Interested In Growing Marijuana, But Oppose Governor\u2019s State-Run Sales Proposal, Survey Finds<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n


\n
\nRead More: New Hampshire Farmers Interested In Growing Marijuana, But Oppose Governor\u2019s State-Run Sales Proposal, Survey Finds<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cCannabis is a crop like any other and farmers should be able to successfully manage it on their own. The state does not need to micromanage and create additional taxation around this crop.\u201d By Ethan DeWitt, New Hampshire Bulletin In theory, Jim Riddle is as ready as any New HampshireContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":457,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69427"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/457"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69427"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69427\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":69428,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69427\/revisions\/69428"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69427"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69427"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69427"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}