Grow Hemp in North Carolina

Hemp is generally grown for seed, fiber, or floral materials—each with different production approaches:

Seed: High plant population (e.g., 25–40 lbs/acre with a grain drill) to limit branching and ease harvest.

Fiber: Very high seeding rates to reduce lateral branching and facilitate uniform stalks for harvest.

Floral: Wider spacings (field or greenhouse) to encourage lateral branching and more flowers per plant; floral buds are the harvested material.

Apply for a grower license through the Industrial Hemp Commission. Licenses must be approved by the Commission. Start your application here: application.

No program caps on acreage or greenhouse square footage. Note that more licensed area typically increases licensing costs.

Most licenses range roughly $500–$600, varying with the amount of acreage and greenhouse square footage you license.

Processors include facilities that extract crude/distillate, dry/cure/trim biomass, repackage products, convert crude/distillate into retail-ready goods, or prepare/preroll smokable hemp products, among others.

Visit the Industrial Hemp Processor page, download the registration form, and submit according to the listed instructions.