It easily slipped past national attention as an inevitable government shutdown dominated coverage, but for the first time since the 1940s, farmers can cultivate hemp as a crop.

The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, known as the Farm Bill, was approved in Congress with bipartisan support and signed into law by President Trump in late December. It codified a process by which states can seek approval from the federal Department of Agriculture for hemp crops and selling hemp-derived products. The law also removed hemp from the Controlled Substances Act.