Winnebago Tribe among the first to enter industrial hemp industry
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Kevin Abourezk
Indianz.com
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The Winnebago Tribe will soon become the first Indian nation in Nebraska to start planting hemp after receiving a state license to do so last week.
“This is a young industry with a lot of potential,” said Aaron LaPointe, business manager of Ho-Chunk Farms. “The 2019 season will be very small scale at 5.5 acres total. The data we collect during this pilot program gives us a head start for next year.”
Ho-Chunk Inc., the tribe’s economic development corporation, owns Ho-Chunk Farms. Its subsidiary plans to begin planting hemp yet this summer on the tribe’s reservation in northeast Nebraska.