A southeast Minnesota hemp grower has reached a settlement with the state Department of Agriculture after suing the agency for ordering him last year to destroy his crop worth an estimated $3 million, his lawyer said.
Luis Hummel, owner of the 5th Sun Gardens hemp farm near Lanesboro, received a letter from the Agriculture Department in May revoking his license. Law enforcement in Fillmore County had stopped someone who possessed cannabis products belonging to Hummel’s company and was traveling to the Twin Cities on his behalf. Hummel was ordered to destroy his crop. He refused and sued the department.
In a twist that highlights the shifting legal landscape around one of Minnesota’s fastest-growing cash crops — the number of hemp farmers in Minnesota rose from 51 to 549 in 2019 — Hummel also faced felony charges from the Fillmore County Attorney’s Office connected to the traffic stop that got his license revoked.