(Frankfort, KY) – Kentucky’s Hemp Pilot Program signals the re-emergence of industrial hemp as an agricultural commodity and this has Kentucky hemp farmers excited. “This announcement jumpstarts our return to the hemp industry,” said Andrew R. Graves, CEO of Atalo Holdings, Inc. “Return” is the correct word because Atalo Holdings, of Winchester, Kentucky, is comprised of seventh

generation hemp farmers and seed scientists whose product was once acclaimed as “the best in the world.”

“My great grandfather was a hemp farmer here in Kentucky and my father grew up working with industrial hemp as part of the farming operation,” says Graves. “Our hemp quality and yield was respected world-wide and we’re excited to return to productivity.”

It has been a long wait for Graves and his partners but they haven’t been idle. From

1937 until recently, cultivation of industrial hemp has been illegal in the United States, however, the Atalo partners have been active in seed research as well as development and commercialization techniques in Canada. The group also has been part of the ongoing talks championing legislative initiatives in Frankfort and Washington. Their work is about to pay off.

W. David Spalding, President of Hemp Oil Kentucky, an Atalo Holding subsidiary, was a founding member and director of the Kentucky Hemp Growers Cooperative, served 27 years as a horticulture research associate for University of Kentucky and 10 years as an economist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. According to Spalding, “the goal of Atalo Holdings is to work closely with our worldwide partners and Kentucky farmers to open up markets for American hemp and to become a leader in the research, development and commercialization of industrial hemp.”

Contact: Joe Hickey jhickey@ataloholdings.com