SIU To Plant, Grow Hemp Research Field For New Program

ACROSS ILLINOIS — Southern Illinois University is clearing land in preparation to plant a new hemp research field that was approved by the DEA earlier this year. The Sun-Times said the five-acre field will be planted later this spring and will be split into "test plots" as part of a new program that researchers at the university's colleges of science and agricultural sciences have been planning for years, according to a university spokesman's statement.

The new program is aimed at helping provide research to Illinois' up and coming medical cannabis industry, and for students interested in careers related to cannabis to use for training, according to the Sun-Times.

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Researchers at SIU also want to utilize the program to study how hemp performs with the southern part of the state's crops, including corn and soybeans, and whether it's feasible, the statement said. The Sun-Times said the program is currently in the approval process, just two months after Governor Bruce Rauner legalize industrial hemp in Illinois, according to the university's statement.

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