KANSAS CITY, Mo. – It’s been decades in the making, but the cards are seemingly falling in line for the hemp plant to play a much bigger role for farmers across Missouri and Kansas.
In this week’s 41 Files Podcast, 41 Action News anchor Christa Dubill joins host and co-anchor Taylor Hemness to talk about a special story on the emergence of the plant in agriculture.
Dubill says farmers are excited about the opportunity to grow the crop, but it’s not without dangers – if regulators find the hemp crop too high in THC (the active ingredient in marijuana), they risk their crops being confiscated and losing out on any markets.
But the advantages of hemp, mainly in the versatility in what it’s used to produce, and its relatively low impact on the environment, have become such that regulators and farmers are giving it a shot.
Later in the podcast, Christa and Taylor are joined by 41 Action News reporters Cat Reid and Ariel Rothfield to talk about candidates running in both the Democratic and Republican primaries for Kansas governor.
Cat and Ariel say there are clear front-runners in each primary, but because of the large fields in both parties, the winner may not need to get much of the vote to advance to November’s general election.
Finally, the group talks democratic prospects of defeating Republican incumbent Rep. Kevin Yoder in Kansas’ 3rd Congressional district.
Show notes:
In this week’s episode of 41 Files: 41 Action News Today Anchor Taylor Hemness is joined by anchor Christa Dubill and reporters Cat Reid and Ariel Rothfield. At the 01:45 mark, the group talks about Christa’s special story on hemp and how local farmers are ready to take advantage of loosened regulations on the crop. Then, at the 16:00 mark, the group takes a political turn, looking at the primaries for both Democratic and Republican candidates for Kansas governor. At the 34:25 mark, we touch briefly on the race among Kansas Democrats in the primary to face off in November against incumbent Kevin Yoder. Finally, at 36:50, we talk election night pizza.
