Hemp producers have put in countless hours of work readying their crops for sale, but a cloud has been hanging over that work.
With the passage of last year's tight restrictions on THC content in hemp-derived products set to take effect in December, the question is: Can lawmakers in Washington reach a deal to avoid a crackdown?
Back in April, Kentucky hemp farmer Asa Phillips took a chance on 300 acres of hemp. He told WDRB it was a gamble.
"I've got faith that we'll get something done. But if we're looking at number-wise, I don't know if it's 50-50 chance that we'll get something done or 50-50 we don't," he said.
The short-term government funding bill signed by President Donald Trump last month delayed the effective date of the hemp THC ban from November 12 to December 11, giving Congress more time to consider regulating the products rather than banning them.
While the outcome will affect growers, processors, and sellers across the country, the rise and potential fall of the products is inextricably linked to Kentucky. Sen. Mitch McConnell is credited with helping resurrect hemp, but now he's the lawmaker responsible for the stricter regulations — changes he maintains are necessary to keep dangerous products out of the hands of children.
Meanwhile, other Kentucky lawmakers in Washington, including Sen. Rand Paul and Congressman Andy Barr, have been working to forge a compromise.
For the time being, a big question mark hangs above the industry.