PORTLAND, Ore. — The state’s young hemp sector, battered though it might be, is the most valuable in the United States, according to the first official national hemp report.
The Oregon crop was worth about $248 million in 2021, one-third of the U.S. total of $752 million that was broken down by state, the Department of Agriculture data revealed. California was a distant second, at $72 million.
Those figures include the biggest hemp segment, “floral hemp” — hemp used for the extraction of oils, most commonly CBD-laden, and for smoking — as well as hemp produced for fiber and plants grown for clones and transplanting.
The full list of Oregon crop values for 2021 isn’t yet available, but at $248 million, hemp would have ranked seventh among Oregon agricultural commodities in 2020, beating out such mainstays as potatoes and hazelnuts.
Hemp segments broken down only by regional production — grain and seed — pushed the total value of U.S. hemp to $824 million.
Oregon dominated in floral hemp, with $235 million of the national total of $623 million.
The state didn’t have the most acres, at 1,650 (Montana led with 4,500). Nor did it lead in production, at 2.4 million pounds — Utah churned out 3.3 million pounds, and Kentucky and California also topped Oregon.
Read the full story at the Portland Business Journal.
