Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker sees industrial hemp as a potential billion-dollar industry for the state. After the Illinois Department of Agriculture began issuing licenses to growers on April 30, it has been one-small-step-at-a-time learning process for farmers interested in the new crop.

The legal version of industrial hemp is related to marijuana, but with far less THC, the psychoactive component that gets people high. It’s grown for its fiber and its oil, which is used to make CDB products. Now that the state’s first harvest is under way, the challenge for growers is to find a market for the crop, which is not corn or soybeans.

 I photographed the harvest of a small test plot on a Sangamon County farm. Owners believe in the potential and have plans to expand production season over season.