LONG EDDY - When Andrew Rosner and his business partner Kristen Hallett heard that New York State was going to begin giving out licenses for farms to grow hemp they wanted to try and get their feet in the door.

They were already farming on Hallett's land in Long Eddy, growing herbs and selling them to restaurants in New York City.

In 2017 when licensing opened up they applied and received one and were among the first 100 licensees in the state.

They immediately started to research growing hemp for CBD purposes, meeting with a consultant in Colorado and making contacts in states where it was legal.

“We literally hit the ground running,” Rosner said.

In the first year they grew hemp plants from seed, starting indoors and then moving the plants outdoors, and expanding to different seeds.

“It was a really amazing and challenging first year,” Rosner said.

Their company, Source Botanica, focuses on producing the highest-quality flower that is extracted for CBD products.

They are a small farm that uses only organic materials along with ecological cultivation strategies that contribute to the health of the soil.

Hemp refers to varieties of the Cannabis Sativa L. that contain negligible amounts (less than 0.3%) of the psychoactive compound known as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

While hemp comes from the same cannabis species as marijuana, they differ in their chemical makeup and uses.

The 2018 Farm Bill changed federal policy regarding industrial hemp, including the removal of hemp from the Controlled Substances Act and the consideration of hemp as an agricultural product.

Rosner sees the hemp industry as a great opportunity for Sullivan County, and vice versa, with the county having open land and a rich agricultural history, offering a possible symbiotic relationship.

“I think hemp could help carry that tradition in Sullivan County,” he remarked. “One of the things that attracts people to the county is the rural spirit, and it's an industry that would help protect existing farmland and also offer economic development.”

The county legislature recently discussed wanting to attract the hemp industry with the purposes of producing products such as fiber, clothing, building materials and more.

While Rosner's business focuses more on CBD, he sees the benefit of bringing a robust hemp industry here, and says the county could be a leader in that.

“Every industry is thinking through what are the best ways to be sustainable,” he said.

Hemp can be used to make bio-plastics and is also beneficial for farming and soil, making it a sustainable product.

And in addition, research is showing there are a multitude of health benefits to CBD, from relieving pain to reducing anxiety.

“As we emerge from this past year with COVID I think there is a real re-consideration of how do we create opportunity for people. And I think economic development is an important area,” Rosner said. “So these are really important conversations.”

[This is part two of a series that will take a look at the hemp industry, new laws and uses in New York State and its impact on Sullivan County.]