According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the market for hemp production in the U.S. was worth more than $820 million last year. Oregon is one of the top 10 hemp-growing states in the nation, with most of the cultivation taking place in Jackson and Josephine Counties. But a moratorium on new licenses to grow hemp in those two counties and a crackdown by state lawmakers on illegal marijuana that has found to be grown on some licensed hemp farms have led some entrepreneurs to question the future of hemp in Oregon. Joining us to discuss the challenges their industry faces are Mason Walker, the co-owner and CEO of East Fork Cultivars, a farm in Josephine County which grows both hemp and marijuana, and Paul Murdoch, the owner and CEO of Horn Creek Hemp, a family-run hemp farm in Jackson County.

The hemp industry was worth almost one billion dollars last year, and Oregon is one of the top-ten hemp growing states in the country. But recently, fears of illegal cannabis grows have lead to a moratorium on new hemp licenses in two Oregon counties. We’ll talk with two hemp growers about the future of the industry in the state.