City Roots partnering to create industrial hemp company.

• Position: Brackish Solutions, Cannetics

City Roots farm is partnering with industrial hemp company Brackish Solutions to create Cannetics, an industrial hemp seed and genetics company that supplies permitted hemp growers.

Cannetics, designated a responsible grower of hemp by the S.C. Department of Agriculture, will operate 45,000 square feet of greenhouses at City Roots' eight-acre campus in the Rosewood area to produce seeds, certified organic clones and transplants. Cannetics, City Roots and Brackish Solutions hope to employ more than 40 workers in the next 24 months, according to a news release.

"This is an exciting time for industrial hemp in South Carolina," City Roots co-owner Eric McClam said in the release. "By providing permitted growers with a quality source for seed and starts, as well as resources and services to successfully grow them, Cannetics joins statewide efforts to harness the potential of a new, viable cash crop for South Carolina agriculture."

In May 2017, the state legalized industrial hemp farming, and in December 2017, the agricultural department selected 20 farmers for a pilot hemp-growing program. That program has been expanded this year, with 40 farmers receiving permits to grow up to 40 acres of hemp.

Cannetics aims to help provide a cash crop to state farmers and bring jobs to rural communities, according to the release. Hemp's commercial applications include textiles, apparel, food, paper and insulation, while it also has medical uses in the form of cannabidiol (CBD) oil.

"The Southeastern United States is poised for rapid expansion in...