Animal Feed Officials Are Considering Hemp Seed for Chicken Feed

The Association of American Feed Control Officials (AAFCO) is set this week to consider a proposal that would allow chicken feed producers to use hemp seed for up to 20% of their product, Brownfield Ag News reports. The change will be discussed during the organization’s annual meeting this week and, if approved, could be a major boost to the industrial hemp industry.

Hemp seed was granted preliminary FDA approval as an ingredient in chicken feed in January, the report said.

“It’s only 20% hemp in with the feed, but this has been an ongoing investment I guess you could say. There’s a lot that goes into getting a food approved for animals and that will open up markets for farmers to start growing grain for animal food production.” — Rachel Berry, president of the Illinois Hemp Growers Association, via Brownfield Ag News

Notably, AAFCO and FDA recently announced that their Memorandum of Understanding covering animal feed ingredient recommendations will not be renewed this year after its October 1 expiration, AquaFeed.com reports. FDA will continue to honor the recommendations until then but, as the recommendations typically take about 30 days to process, AAFCO will stop accepting requests starting September 1.

In 2020, the Hemp Feed Coalition pushed for hemp to be allowed in chicken feed but the proposal floundered.