Iowans hope to cash in big on hemp. But they need lawmakers' help to make it happen

The farm bill's hemp provision opens up production of a plant that can be used for food and animal bedding, as well as to make cloth, high-protein feed, fuel and plastics that are biodegradable, said Christopher Disbro, the Iowa Hemp Association's board president. For example, North Face and Patagonia already use hemp fiber in their winter gear. And BMW uses it as a composite fiber in its doors, Disbro said."The real exciting part for Iowa farmers is that we can be the center of the next economic boom," Disbro said.But legislative leaders must consider a raft of issues before hemp seeds hit Iowa soil, decisions that could set up Iowa to cash in — or risk missing out on billions of dollars in the hemp industry, experts say.The choices lawmakers face include deciding whether to allow hemp to be used to make increasingly popular and lucrative cannabidiols — the non-psychoactive compound that's in everything from chocolates to body creams and dog treats to relieve a host of maladies."There will be a windfall of investment coming into this industry, from every direction, and we need to make Iowa a magnet," said Ethan Vorhes, a northeast Iowa cattle producer who wants to grow hemp as a feed supplement. "Or those investment dollars will go somewhere."Iowa is one of 11 states with no hemp production laws.