LEICESTER, N.C. (AP) — It's easy to get swept away in the magic of a hemp farm where dragonflies float and goats bleat on verdant hills. Franny's Farm is a place where practical magic and science meet.

Owned and operated by Franny Tacy and her husband and CEO Jeff Tacy, Franny's is an active hemp farm in Leicester, and one of the grower sites for North Carolina State University's Industrial Hemp Pilot Research Program. The program's aim is to shoulder the burden of trial and error for farmers who want to dig into a swiftly growing industry.

Franny Tacy was a pharmaceutical industry executive f...