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Hemp farmer hopeful for future
By JOHN TILLMAN
EO Media Group
P
ENDLETON — For a few years, hemp
— non-psychoactive variants of the
genus cannabis — looked as if it might
offer Eastern Oregon farmers a profit-
able alternative crop.
Hemp is grown for seed, fiber and extracts,
such as seed oil and cannabidiol, commonly
called CBD. Fiber was the traditional use, espe-
cially in naval applications. Today, hemp clothing
still is available.
When the 2018 federal Farm Bill removed
hemp and its extracts from the Controlled Sub-
stances Act, many farmers joined the stampede
to get in on the seemingly lucrative venture.
Rebecca McCormmach is a Pendleton area
farmer and hemp seed oil business owner. She
said that was an exciting time with a lot of
learning.
“And learn we did, one challenge at a time,”
she said. “2018 was a unicorn year boasting per-
fect weather for farming, with perfect summer
temps and a mild fall. There was much ease and
success in farming hemp in these conditions.”
But the next two seasons would bring some-
thing quite different.
While 2019 brought crop devastation from
freezing temperatures and hail storms, 2020 saw
record highs baking young seedlings to a crisp
See Hemp, Page 20
Rebecca
McCormmach
of Pendleton in
January 2019
feeds her horse,
Apple, a treat
laced with CBD,
or cannabidiol, oil
from hemp she and
her partner grew on
their farm north of
Pendleton.
East Oregonian, File