Hemp is projected to be an “up and coming” industry in the agronomy and plant science field over the next few years. What once was a good business through the late 1940s started to flounder after the 1937 “Marihuana” Tax Act, and by the late 1940s, not even the USDA was interested in the crop. U.S. production eventually stopped. So, how does the United States bring back the hemp industry? There are plant breeding issues, agronomic issues, and then there are basic market infrastructure issues as well. Why grow—or research—hemp if you can't sell it or its derivatives? These questions and more will be answered at The Science of Industrial Hemp conference, to be held in Denver, CO, 28–29 July 2016. The meeting is co-sponsored by CSSA and ASA. Sean Murphy, publisher of Hemp Biz Journal, started his publication due to the dearth of information regarding the hemp industry. “No one was looking at the breakdown of hemp industry segments,” Murphy says. “If we are going to invest in these hemp industries, we need data.” And so, he hired a team of researchers and compiled the first issue in September 2015. “Now that hemp is back in America, we need information on everything, from seed to plant, the harvesting required, and marketplace connections to sell product,” says Eric Carlson who works for the Cannabis Chamber of Commerce. “There is a lack of info about ‘who are the buyers’ and ‘how do we process into a market commodity.’” Carlson is also in the hemp industry as a business owner. He has supply contracts for food companies and has patented a fiber processing technique. Both Carlson and Murphy are speakers at the meeting. Hemp's “sibling plant,” marijuana, has gotten a lot of attention, which has been bad for the hemp industry. The main ingredient that people value marijuana for—THC (tetrahydrocannabinol for those so inclined) —is found in only very low doses in hemp. In fact, to be able to grow hemp, the crop must have less than 0.3% THC. On the positive side, hemp has many other attributes. It can be grown as a fiber crop, an oilseed crop, and some varieties are even good for food products as high-protein ingredients. But, the “bad rap” given to marijuana has stalled the rise of the hemp industry. Regulations are still mostly state by state, causing confusion for researchers and potential growers and investors. These topics will be covered during the meeting as well. One product likely to come out of increased hemp production is a product called CBD. Both THC and CBD are “cannabinoids,” but CBD stands for “cannabidiol.” Their biological actions are different, and Hemp Biz Journal is preparing a report about the potential market of CBD products to be released this summer. For more information about the meeting, visit www.crops.org/meetings/hemp-meeting.