Frankfort, KY — Kentucky’s resurgent hemp sector flexed more economic clout in 2018, with processors reporting sharply higher sales and farmers reaping more than twice as much income from their crop. The state’s hemp processors reported $57.75 million in gross product sales last year, compared with $16.7 million in 2017, Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles said. Processors spent $23.4 million in capital improvements and employed a total of 459 people in 2018, he said. Processors paid Kentucky farmers $17.75 million for harvested hemp materials in 2018, up from $7.5 million the year before, Quarles said. Hemp is deeply rooted in Kentucky’s past. The crop was historically used for rope but has many other uses, including clothing and mulch from the fiber; hemp milk and cooking oil from the seeds; and soap and lotions. Other uses include building materials, animal bedding and biofuels. Hemp-derived cannabidiol, or CBD oil, has become increasingly popular as a health product. The crop was banned for decades due to its family ties to marijuana. Hemp and marijuana are the same species, but hemp has a negligible amount of the psychoactive compound that gives marijuana users a high. Quarles also said Monday that more than 50,000 acres have been approved for Kentucky hemp production in 2019, more than triple the approved acreage in 2018. The number of approved hemp grower applicants for 2019 is set to be 1,047, nearly five times higher than in 2018.