USDA

USDA officials last week delayed the enforcement of a rule requiring consumer hemp products to be tested by labs registered with the DEA; it’s the third year in a row that officials have delayed enforcing the rule.

According to a recent Congressional Research Service report, there was a nearly 50% reduction in the amount of hemp crops planted in the U.S. from 2021 to 2022.

The USDA has approved the cultivation of a hemp plant varietal engineered by Growing Together Research Inc. that has genetically reduced levels of THC and cannabichomene (CBC).

Virginia Tech’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences has received a $600,000 USDA grant to study industrial hemp and investigate the regulation of biosynthetic pathways for cannabinoid production.

Shane Pennington is the New York-based counsel for Vicente Sederberg LLP, a national cannabis law firm that represents cannabis industry clients and works on state and local cannabis policy reform.

Vermont’s hemp program will be operated by the USDA beginning January 1, 2023, but regulatory oversight for hemp testing and hemp-infused products will remain under the purview of the Vermont Cannabis Control Board.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) signed a bill to permanently exempt hemp from the state’s controlled substances law.

Advertisements for hemp-based products saw a slight bump during the lead-up to Father’s Day but the total number of ad spots still comprised less than 1% of all agriculture-related advertising ahead of the holiday.

USDA Emergency Relief Program funds are not available for cannabis cultivators due to the plant’s federal status as a Schedule I Controlled Substance. Hemp farmers are not subject to the same provisions.

According to the USDA’s National Hemp Report, U.S. farmers planted 54,200 acres of hemp in 2021, valued at $712 million.

Alaska’s hemp plan was approved by the USDA last week, allowing its farmers to market their products nationwide for the first time.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved New York’s hemp plan. All currently licensed growers must reapply under the new program.

Researchers at Washington State University and several partnering West Coast universities have received a five-year, $10 million U.S. Department of Agriculture grant to study hemp and its agricultural benefits.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has approved Virginia’s plan for continuing to regulate the state’s industrial hemp industry.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to send 20,500 hemp producers across the country their first Hemp Acreage and Production Survey.

The USDA has raised the limit for hemp THC levels that trigger a crop’s eradication from 0.5% to 1% THC.

The USDA has expanded its pilot hemp crop insurance offerings into new states and announced improvements to the insurance program.

The National Industrial Hemp Council has been awarded a $200,000 grant by the USDA to help develop industrial hemp exports.

The USDA has approved New Mexico’s hemp plan; the new rules will take effect for all growers licensed after October.

Michigan’s industrial hemp plan will officially go into effect on December 1 after the USDA issued its approval.

Hemp farmers will have access to the second round of the USDA’s coronavirus relief plan, which will cost $14 billion and continue through December 11.

Federal officials have approved industrial hemp program proposals for Maine and Missouri.

New York’s Agriculture Commissioner Richard Ball said the state will not submit an industrial hemp plan to the USDA until federal regulators change certain program requirements.

The USDA has officially approved Minnesota’s hemp cultivation program; the final regulations are unchanged from the state’s 2016 pilot program.