The best case scenario is that the DEA will grant North Dakota farmers permission to grow industrial hemp, Eidinger says. However, if the federal agency chooses instead to reject the applications or simply refuses to acknowledge them, the next step could very well be a federal courtroom.

North Dakota has been ignored by the DEA in the past, Johnson says. When the state provided funding for hemp research at North Dakota State University a few years ago, the DEA stopped communicating with the researchers, effectively ending the project.

The DEA’s actions have caused frustration among farmers who want to add hemp to their farming operations. North Dakota hemp supporters just want a chance to show the federal government they’re not “wackos,” Johnson says, adding that the farmers are just interested in growing a legitimate crop, not being a part of a drug conspiracy.

David Monson, who farms more than 700 acres of cropland in northeastern North Dakota, concurs. Monson, a member of the North Dakota House of Representatives, planned at press time to be first in line in January to apply for a license to grow hemp in North Dakota.

A solid, respectable citizen, Monson goes a long way toward dispelling the myth that hemp supporters secretly want to light up. Among his many responsibilities, Monson is the superintendent of schools in Osnabrock, N.D., as well as a member of the North American Industrial Hemp Council. As a state legislator, he’s labored since 1997 to make hemp farming legal in North Dakota, he says.

It’s frustrating for Monson to see farmers in Canada, just 25 miles north of his Cavalier County farm, earning $300 to $600 an acre for growing hemp. That’s a much higher value than the wheat, barley, soybeans and pinto beans Monson is growing.

Hemp would also be valuable as a rotational crop. In the northeastern corner of the state where Monson farms, it’s been difficult to break the hold of fusarium head blight, or scab—a crop disease that attacks cereal crops and reduces yields. Other crops, such as sugar beets and potatoes, can’t be produced in that area due to the rocky soil. Growing hemp would also provide significant environmental advantages, Johnson says. The crop grows rapidly with little or no need for pesticides.

Considering all the positives and the fact that there is a demand for hemp, Johnson doesn’t understand why North Dakota farmers shouldn’t have the option to grow it. “To me, it’s just a question of, ‘Why not?’” he says.

North Dakota has “bent over backwards” in an effort to address the concerns of the DEA, Johnson says. For example, prospective hemp producers would be required to consent to a criminal background check and have their fingerprints taken. All hemp fields must be identified using geopositioning (GPS) instruments. Hemp seed planted in North Dakota must contain less than three-tenths of 1 percent of THC. Officials would need to have 24-hour access to all fields, Johnson says. If a field is out of compliance with the state’s rules, it will be destroyed. “Any realistic person would look at this and say, ‘My God this is a case of significant overkill,’ but there is no way that the DEA would allow this without these things as a minimum,” Johnson says.

Holly Jessen is a Biodiesel Magazine staff writer. Reach her at hjessen@bbibiofuels.com or (701) 746-8385.

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