The Daily Freeman reports that New York's first legal recreational cannabis crop since New York banned the plant in 1914 is beginning to sprout. "Hopefully, it benefits the farmers. Been a long time since there’s been a real cash crop,” said Frank Popolizio of Homestead Farms and Ranch just north of Albany. Popolizio is an amateur wrestling coach and promoter who also raises cows, turkeys, and chickens to sell to humans as food, and has never used cannabis himself. “I’m open-minded, and I’ve come to understand that there is value,” he said. Cannabis grown outdoors is weaker than if grown under indoor lights, but some prefer it. “It’s called sun-grown marijuana,” said grower Moke Mokotoff of Claverack Creek Farm. “And a lot of aficionados just like the way it smokes better.” Costs are lower to as sunlight is free. But there are other threats outside, such as insects and thieves. “We plan to have people sleeping in the field,” Mokotoff said. Read more about this story in the Daily Freeman.