A Congressional Research Service (CRS) report published in November found a nearly 50% reduction in the amount of hemp planted in the U.S. from 2021 to 2022. The CRS reports that, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s 2021 and 2022 National Hemp Report, the value of hemp crops in the U.S. fell 48% from 54,152 acres in 2021 to 28,314 acres in 2022.
According to the CRS report, USDA found that the farm-level value of total utilized hemp production was $238.4 million in 2022, down from $824 million in 2021 – a 71% reduction in value.
According to the data, the value of hemp grown outdoors for flower fell 71% from $623 million in 2021 to $179 million the following year, while the value of hemp grown indoors for flower dropped from $64.4 million in 2021 to $24.7 million – a 62% decrease.
The value of hemp grown outdoors for grain fell 40% from 2021 to 2022, from $6 million to $3.6 million, hemp fiber value fell from $41.4 million to $28.3 million, a 32% decrease, while hemp grown outdoors for seed plummeted 96% from 2021 to 2022, from $41.5 million to just $1.5 million.
The value of hemp grown indoors fell from $64.4 million in 2021 to $24.7 million in 2022, while the value of hemp grown indoors for seed sank from $23.7 million in 2022 to just $600,000 in 2022, a 98% decrease. Hemp grown indoors for clones also nosedived from 2022 to 2023, from $23.8 million to just $700,000 – a 97% decrease.
The report notes that the USDA estimates about 20% of hemp grown during the crop year will exceed legal THC limits, which demonstrates the inherent risks to farmers of growing hemp within USDA’s regulatory framework, and that those rules could play a role in the crop reduction year over year.
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