Businesses hope to be processing South Dakota hemp later this year

Last summer, about 10 people and 1,600 tons or so of harvest spearheaded the inaugural season of legal hemp farming in South Dakota.

Tuesday, almost twice as many farmers showed up at 9 a.m. to a fluorescent-lit, steel-chaired meeting at an American Legion in Tea to learn about the new crop.

John Peterson, of Dakota Hemp, is a fifth-generation farmer from Wakonda who hopes to offer presentations like Tuesday's for farmers. He and three other men helped explain the crop and its potential for profit, especially if there's opportunity to help cutting down travel all the way to Kansas or Montana just for farmers to process their crops.