SR-112: Science of Hemp: Production and Pest Management, 2020

Bernadette Amsden, Samantha Anderson, Ric Bessin, Susan Fox, Nicole Gauthier, Ross Guffey, Tom Keene, Tyler Mark, Bob Pearce, Christopher Schardl, Jonathan Shepherd, Frank Sikora, Desiree Szarka, Raul Villanueva | Mar. 13, 2020 (New)

Hemp is grown for fiber, grain, and cannabinoid extraction in Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Until recently, Cannabis sativa has been classified as a Schedule 1 controlled substance in the US. The Agricultural Act of 2014 (Farm Bill) allowed for reintroduction of industrial hemp under a pilot research program. Acreage increases and addition of state legislation resulted in over 78,000 acres of hemp grown in 23 states by the end of 2018. Hemp became a legal commodity under the 2018 Farm Bill, and by the end of 2019, over 500,000 licensed acres were documented across 45 states. Canada re-introduced the crop in 1998, and in 2018, almost 78,000 acres of hemp were licensed and planted.

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AEN-114: Using Weep Berms to Improve Water Quality

Carmen Agouridis, Ross Guffey, Richard Warner | Nov. 9, 2012 (New)

Non-point source pollution (NPS) occurs when rainfall and snowmelt flows over the ground, picking up pollutants such as pathogens, sediments, and nutrients on its way to streams, rivers, lakes, and other bodies of water. More than 50 percent of the nation's rivers and streams and nearly 70 percent of the nation's lakes are impacted by NPS. Pathogens, sediments, and nutrients are the biggest contributors to impairment of rivers and streams while mercury, nutrients, and PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) are the biggest contributors to the impairment of lakes. One method of managing NPS pollution is through the use of structural best management practices (BMPs). Structural BMPs are designed to decrease the volume of runoff that enters water bodies by increasing infiltration rates. Examples of structural BMPs include rain gardens, stormwater wetlands, and riparian buffers. A newer structural BMP is a weep berm.