Two North Dakota farmers are appealing a federal judge's decision that Congress should resolve the question of whether they may legally grow industrial hemp.

An attorney for David Monson, of Osnabrock, and Wayne Hauge, of Ray, filed a notice on Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Bismarck, saying that the men would take their appeal to the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis.

North Dakota's Agriculture Department has rules that regulate industrial hemp production, and Monson and Hauge have secured a state permit, which is supposed to allow them to grow the crop. But the farmers will also need a permit from the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, which the DEA has declined to grant.

U.S. District Judge Daniel Hovland ruled last month that federal law considers industrial hemp to be the same as marijuana, which is considered an illegal drug, even though industrial hemp advocates say the crop does not share marijuana's mind-altering properties.

In his ruling, Hovland suggested asking Congress to change the definition of industrial hemp to explicitly distinguish it from marijuana.

Monson and Hauge argued that the federal government should not be allowed under the law to interfere in a state-regulated hemp production initiative.

The two men's state licenses to grow hemp expire at year's end, and they said they intend to apply for new licenses to grow the crop next year. The deadline for applying is Jan. 1, Agriculture Commissioner Roger Johnson said.

A state license requires the applicant to be fingerprinted and undergo a criminal background check.