Alabama’s hemp specialists will be gathering to talk shop in Montgomery.
The Alabama Hemp Growers’ Expo is a forum where hemp farmers, vendors, processors and sponsors can network and share their knowledge about the industry.
Austin Chandler is owner of Alabama Hemp, LLC. He said hemp is a versatile plant with “limitless” uses.
“They can actually manufacture car parts out of it—the interiors, like the inside of your car doors, your dashes, anything that could replace plastic. There’s also ‘hempcrete,’ like concrete; you can build with it,” he said.
Chandler said people tend to focus only on hemp’s medicinal aspects.
“If everyone looks at the broad picture, the big picture, of just what cannabis can do for the state—not just a personal level or the level of the farmers—I think that everybody would be a lot more accepting of it,” he said.
Chandler said the expo is important as knowledge about growing and processing hemp is hard to come by. He also said a stigma remains in Alabama around growing hemp, and that many hemp farmers don’t like to let others know about their profession.
The Alabama Hemp Growers’ Expo will be held March 29-30. The first day will be open only to Alabama hemp specialists, but the second day will be open to hemp specialists from Mississippi and Georgia as well.
