A local industrial hemp-advocacy group hopes to plant seeds of knowledge and awareness Saturday as an official partner with the nation’s fifth annual Hemp History Week.

Hemp Talks/Western Slope will have an informational booth at the Dolores River Festival as the event wraps up.

“Partnering with a national organization sort of puts us on the map as a local advocacy group,” said Hemp Talks organizer Sharon Stewart. “It gives us the opportunity to tap into larger resources.”

At the group’s monthly meeting earlier this month, she announced that Mancos Valley Resources had recently approved the local advocacy group to fall under its umbrella as a nonprofit organization.

“This designation is really exciting,” she said. “It allows us to apply for grants and accept donations. It will be very helpful and allows us to do much more.”

Stewart also revealed that two local farmers – approved to grow industrial hemp research and development plots this year – are expected to start planting the area’s first hemp seeds this month, despite some “legal gray issues.”

“These local farmers are going out on a whim and hoping for the best,” she said.

A bit of good news for local farmers came in late May when the House of Representatives blocked the Drug Enforcement Administration from using funds to interfere in state-legal industrial hemp research. Colorado legalized industrial hemp earlier this year.

According to Stewart, Scott Perez of Mancos has been approved to grow a 1-acre test plot, and Merle Root of Pleasant View intends to grow a 10-acre plot.

“These two farmers’ growing research and development plots will provide some insight to those wishing to grow larger commercial crops,” Stewart said. “People want to see some numbers, and hopefully, we will have that type of information for them later this year.”

She said other farmers had expressed interest in growing hemp, but decided to “wait and see.” The biggest issues are seed availability, water issues and THC levels – the psychoactive ingredient of marijuana.

“THC acts as a sunscreen for the hemp plant,” she said. “One concern is that THC levels could rise in any hemp grown locally due to our high elevation.”

All industrial hemp grown in Colorado must contain less than 0.3 percent THC. State regulators will randomly screen research and development test plots to check THC levels of hemp.

“I’m hoping the state will take a bigger role this summer to help determine which strains would grow best here,” Stewart said.