Hemp’s farm bill goals: Raised THC threshold, clearance as dietary supplement
Congress should encourage development of the hemp market by including provisions in the new farm bill that would allow the sale of hemp as a food additive and dietary supplement and raise the THC allowance for hemp plants, said the hemp industry on Wednesday. The 2018 farm bill legalized hemp, and its successor “could prove monumental for farmers and businesses,” said the industry.
Bills would allow CBD in supplements, foods, and beverages
Companion bills in the Senate and House would allow the hemp derivative cannabidiol, also known as CBD, to be used in dietary supplements, foods, and beverages, the bills’ four sponsors said on Thursday.
Hemp industry pivots toward grain and fiber
After a brutal shake-out that chopped hemp acreage in half in two years, the industry is focusing on hemp as a source of grain and fiber, a less profitable but possibly steadier market than cannabinoid (CBD) oil, used in food, beverages and dietary supplements. Analysts say the unclear regulatory status of CBD has throttled sales.
Growers back checkoff program for industrial hemp
A large majority of farmers and processors of industrial hemp support the creation of a checkoff program to pay for research and promotion of the newly legalized commodity, said two trade groups on Tuesday. The National Industrial Hemp Council and Hemp Industries Association said they would …
After two years of work, USDA publishes national hemp rule
Two years after the 2018 farm bill legalized the cultivation of industrial hemp, the USDA completed work on a regulation to oversee production. Some advocates say hemp could become a profitable crop grown across the country while other analysts say comparatively low demand will limit hemp …
One-year extension of hemp pilot is on congressional agenda
The government-funding bill proposed by House Democrats on Monday would allow states to operate until Sept. 30, 2021, under the rules of the industrial hemp pilot program created by the 2014 farm bill. The hemp industry and state agriculture officials say the pandemic has made it impossible …
More growers, less hemp in industry slowed by uncertainty, pandemic
The first year of nationwide cultivation of industrial hemp has been a mixture of retrenchment and optimism for growth in the longer term. "The industry isn't going to go away," said hemp entrepreneur Morris Beegle on Thursday. "It's going to become more of a whole-plant industry."
FDA mulls ‘risk-based’ approach to CBD products
Americans are consuming the cannabis derivative cannabidiol (CBD) in food, beverages, and supplements, and dosing their pets with it as well, but "there is still much that we do not know about ... potential risks," said FDA commissioner Stephen Hahn on Thursday.
Amid growing interest in hemp, USDA stands firm on rules
A lot of farmers will give industrial hemp a try this year, the first time cultivation is allowed nationwide, USDA officials predicted on Thursday. But they said there was no way they could allow more THC in hemp despite complaints that the limit of 0.3 percent is so low that some growers will be penalized unfairly for a "hot" crop.
Farm group supports higher THC limit for industrial hemp
The government should triple the level of THC permitted in industrial hemp, and give farmers three times as long to harvest a field after it is tested, said national convention delegates in voting on American Farm Bureau Federation policy on Tuesday. Both provisions are sore points with …
USDA approves state hemp production plans
For all its cachet as a potential money-making crop for American farmers, industrial hemp ranked midway between safflower and flaxseed in plantings, with an estimated 230,000 acres in 2019, and industry leaders disagree whether 2020 will be a year of expansion or retrenchment. But the USDA is approving state plans to regulate hemp production and offering crop insurance for hemp growers, steps that could help establish the crop.
Ten pesticides approved for use on industrial hemp
With the 2020 growing season on the horizon, the EPA announced on Thursday the approval of 10 pesticides for use on industrial hemp, the first such products cleared for hemp. The 2018 farm bill legalized cultivation of the crop and the USDA released guidelines in October that opened the gate …
FDA won’t endorse CBD as ‘generally recognized as safe’
In a potential blow to the hottest-selling hemp product, the FDA said it "cannot conclude that CBD (cannabidiol) is generally recognized as safe among qualified experts for its use in human or animal food" because a lack of scientific evidence. The warning came as USDA gathers public comment on a rule that opens the way for nationwide cultivation of industrial hemp in the new year.
Hemp farming may be more pioneer life than Wild West
For all its Gold Rush aura, hemp farming may be more like life on the frontier, where everything must be built from the ground up, said advocates of industrial hemp on Thursday. Hemp can require a lot of manual labor to keep weeds under control, it’s hard to find processors for the crop, and marketing networks are rudimentary.
USDA embraces hemp as a crop, but many hurdles remain for growers
At the same time that the agency opened the gate for farmers across the nation to grow industrial hemp in 2020, the USDA tempered optimism about a new, money-making crop on Tuesday with caution of obstacles for an emerging industry. The hottest hemp product, cannabidiol (CBD), is sold in a …
Will high risks on industrial hemp bring high rewards?
Industrial hemp faces more regulatory and legal hurdles than many other newly hatched industries, says a report from agricultural lender CoBank. While growth in the industry is driven by cannabidiol (CBD), widely available in foods and as a supplement, two other markets hold potential: the fiber and the grain and seed sectors.
Bright hopes, uncertain pace for industrial hemp
The 2018 farm bill legalized the production of industrial hemp and farmers are clearly interested in a potential new cash crop, but many obstacles must be overcome before the industry can take root, said lawmakers and federal regulators on Thursday.