It is now legal to grow hemp in the state of Texas, but there is a lot to know before you begin growing. In this session we hear from a Texas farmer who is currently cultivating hemp as well as a representative from the Texas Department of Agriculture for all the nitty gritty details of what it takes to grow and sell hemp legally in the state of Texas.

Randy Rivera is the Director for Agricultural Commodity Programs at Texas Department of Agriculture. Randy was raised in Brownfield Texas and spent part of his young life on his grandparent’s cotton farm in Terry County and from this experience he has always desired to be somehow involved agriculture. Randy raised and showed hogs in FFA in high school. He attended Texas Tech University as an Agricultural Sciences major. Randy’s career with TDA spans 24 years beginning in Lubbock in the seed lab and later working as a pesticide inspector. In 1995 he accepted a position in Austin in the TDA headquarters, where he has worked in various positions of leadership before being promoted to his current position.