RAY FARMER FIGHTING TO GROW HEMP PRODUCT

Ray farmer Wayne Hauge knows a good cash crop when he sees
one.

In industrial hemp, he finds almost boundless potential. Its uses
span from fabrics, to food products to biofuels.

Hemp's red light comes in the form federal regulations which
mistakenly label it in the same category as marijuana.

In January of 2007, Hauge said he originally received a certificate
for growing industrial hemp from the North Dakota Department of
Agriculture.

"In January of 2007, I had to apply for a federal license for
cannabis because the federal DEA (Drug Enforcement Agency) does not
recognize the word 'industrial hemp,'" he recalled.

He complied and filled out the application to grow the product with
the DEA.

State Ag Commissioner Roger Johnson hand-delivered Hauge's and
Osnabrock farmer David Monson's applications to DEA headquarters.

"They were less than receptive," Hauge said. "Hemp is identified
differently under North Dakota law than cannabis because it is less
than .3 a percent THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol)."

Basically, one cannot get a high from industrial hemp.

"It is a cousin to cannabis, but it contains no psychoactive
components - THC," he explained.

"Because of a delay in processing the applications, the decision was
made to take the matter to U.S. District Court in Bismarck," Hauge
continued. "U.S. Judge Daniel Hoveland just dismissed the case, and
we filed an appeal in the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals."

The motion of appeal was done earlier this month. The date of when
arguments will be heard is still pending.

Financially backing the legal action is nation's leading advocacy
group for the product, Vote Hemp.

"One of our goals is to get some fact-finding to discuss in court the
definition of industrial hemp," Hauge said. "We have no interest in
growing cannabis."

Just a couple of hours north of us in Canada, Hauge said industrial
hemp is grown for multiple products.

"They're growing it, and they're doing well with it. They make soaps,
lotions, ropes and twine. When you combine its fibers with flax,
cotton and silk, it makes a very soft product. Hemp could make a nice
prom dress," he said. "They've got hemp granola bars and hemp milk
in three flavors."

He said the unopened hemp milk could set on a shelf almost a year
unrefridgerated.

He recently received multiple samples of what hemp can produce.

He said there should be no fear in some hemp farmer trying to hide or
grow pot within a hemp section.

Hauge said any industrial hemp grown in North Dakota would be
required to have GPS coordinates to identify specifically where the
hemp is grown, and producers would have to agree to an inspection at
any 24-hour period.

"A producer would have go through a background check and be
fingerprinted," he stated.

Hauge said industrial hemp would actually weaken the strength of any
marijuana plants near the hemp.

"They are not going to put anything other than hemp in the middle of
the field because it would cross-pollinate," Hauge explained.
"Marijuana growers stay away from the stuff (hemp). It would reduce
the THC, making the marijuana worthless."

He said not only is hemp very durable, but with new processing
methods is also soft.

"Stalks are dissected into six-inch segments, put into a vat of
enzymes and dissolved into a goo. That goo can be converted into
multiple materials such as body armor, and uncover sports apparel,"
Hauge said.

He added it is proving popular for the outside of jackets.

"You combine it with some materials, and it's stronger, but lighter,"
he said.

He believes hemp is a good rotation crop, and likens it to flax for
root depth.

According to Hauge, the hemp product also is more eco friendly for
biofuel products than many other vegetations.

"It is more 'green.' It requires less chemicals to produce the
biofuels," he said.

Until the recent spike in wheat prices, acre per acre, Hauge said the
hemp was among the most profitable for a farmer.

In January, Ag Commissioner Johnson renewed the farmers' grower
licenses.

In a recent new release, Johnson said he did not encourage Monson or
Hauge to plant industrial hemp.

Monson and Hauge filed the lawsuit in federal court in an effort to
end DEA's ban on commercial hemp farming in the U.S. The lawsuit was
dismissed in November, and the appeal was filed in the Eighth Circuit
Court of Appeals two weeks later.