Senator Scott Wilk, R-Santa Clarita, served as the keynote speaker for the grand opening of a 100-acre hemp farm in the Antelope Valley.

The event featured a keynote speech from Wilk, accompanied by the President of Antelope Valley College, and SoCal Farms executives.

“Industrial hemp is used in 25,000 different products,” Wilk said. “With the increased production of hemp, it is likely California will also see an uptick in the manufacturing of these hemp-related products. This means good jobs and a host of other benefits to our region.”

SoCal Farms is the first hemp farm to have approval from the Los Angeles County Agriculture Commissioner to cultivate hemp in the area, according to company officials.

“The number one crop in the Antelope Valley is alfalfa,” Wilk said. “Hemp uses a third of the water necessary compared to alfalfa.”

Formed by a coalition of agricultural industry leaders who are “dedicated to the research and cultivation of high-quality hemp”, SoCal Farms has planted around 100-acres of hemp in Los Angeles County. The operation required approximately 50,000 hemp seeds, according to farm officials.

First 100 acres of industrial hemp planted in LA County. Ribbon cutting at SoCal Farms -the first hemp farm to have approval from the LA County Agriculture Commissioner to cultivate hemp in the area. pic.twitter.com/seOLkXSa52

— Scott Wilk (@ScottWilkCA) May 17, 2019

Wilk is the author of Senate Bill 153, which seeks to bring California’s hemp industry regulations in line with federal requirements, according to officials.

See Related: Senator Scott Wilk’s Hemp Bill Clears Committee On Agriculture

“I am very pleased to see SB 153 moving with bipartisan support,” Wilk said. “Industrial hemp is a natural fit for California’s arid climate. Farmers in the Antelope Valley will be able to save five-acre-feet of water per acre by switching to it.”

“In California, 49 percent of water goes to the Pacific, 41 percent for agriculture, 10 for urban,” Wilk said. “And agriculture makes up two percent of the state’s GDP.”

Wilk previously introduced and successfully passed a similar bill in 2018, SB 1409, which also sought to streamline California’s hemp production regulations and bring them into compliance with existing federal laws.

Late in 2018, Congress passed H.R. 2, the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, which instituted new requirements for states’ plans for the licensing and regulation of industrial hemp cultivation.

In addition to bringing California’s hemp regulation and cultivation laws into compliance with the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, SB 153 would require the Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, in consultation with the governor and the attorney general, to develop and submit a state plan to the secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture on or before Jan. 31, 2020.

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