November 2019 - Page 4 of 5

MondayNov 11, 2019 9:00 am

Colorado Now Has to Modify Its Rules to Meet Federal Requirements

Hemp farmers all over the country can finally heave a sigh of relief after the U.S. Department of Agriculture released its long awaited interim final rule on hemp. Senator Cory Gardner applauded the USDA soon after the regulations were announced, thanking it for "moving forward on hemp rulemaking and recognizing hemp production as an agricultural activity." He said that legal hemp has the potential to be a major boon to agricultural communities across Colorado, giving farmers another viable and profitable option for their fields. However, farmers in Colorado haven't yet celebrated the news. Even though the Colorado Department of Agriculture…

FridayNov 08, 2019 4:00 pm

Hemp Banking Guidance to be Issued Soon by FDIC

On Tuesday, the FDIC told Banking Dive that within a week, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Federal Reserve and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network are developing interagency guidance on hemp banking for hemp-related businesses. The FDIC also said that last week after the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued the draft rules, the bank regulators also hatched a plan to release their interagency guidance soon. Hemp is a strain of the cannabis plant whose THC levels must remain below 0.3%. It was legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill. However, banks are…

FridayNov 08, 2019 9:00 am

USDA Releases Video Explaining its Draft Hemp Rules

Last week, the U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA) released its interim final rule for hemp. The much-awaited regulations came after months of pressure from stakeholders to regulate the hemp-CBD industry, with some even calling it the Wild West. The Farm Bill of December 2018 legalized the cultivation of industrial hemp, but the industry lacked a formal regulatory structure. Days after the publishing of the final rule, the USDA released a video providing a basic overview of the regulations. A statement from the USDA said that "The U.S Department of Agriculture has posted a webinar to provide an overview of the…

ThursdayNov 07, 2019 4:00 pm

USDA Suggests Hemp Farmers Pay Promotions Fee

On Monday, a top official working for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Heather Pichelman, while addressing the growers for the first time since the unveiling of the national regulations said that the hemp industry is interested in paying fees to promote the crop. She further said the idea of the promotional fees is to ensure that the industry is not left behind as various opportunities arise. Although Pichelman did not comment on any rule changes being considered by the USDA, she urged farmers to review the interim final rules published the previous week by the agency. She also said that…

ThursdayNov 07, 2019 9:00 am

Federal Hemp Rules Scare Vermont Farmers

Last week the federal government proposed new hemp regulations where the amount of THC in hemp will be strictly regulated, causing Vermont hemp farmers to panic. THC is the psychoactive compound found in hemp and its cousin marijuana. On Thursday, the Department of Agriculture released the rules that state that farmers whose hemp has a THC concentration that exceeds 0.3% would be barred from harvesting the crop. Current Vermont law allows farmers to grow hemp with a THC concentration of up to 1%. The state regulators, processors, and farmers are worried that the stringent THC measures could end up hurting…

WednesdayNov 06, 2019 4:00 pm

Highlights of USDA Programs Hemp Farmers Can Benefit From

Although the Farm Bill of 2018 legalized the cultivation of industrial hemp, farmers who planted the cash crop found themselves between a rock and a hard place. While technically, growing hemp was allowed by federal law, the industry was largely unregulated, and hemp farmers were locked out of most of the USDA’s programs. Last week, the USDA passed its much awaited interim final rule on the hemp industry, finally allowing hemp farmers access to its agricultural programs. The new nationwide hemp production rules took effect last Thursday, and starting from the 2020 planting season, growers licensed under federally approved programs…

WednesdayNov 06, 2019 9:00 am

USDA Starts Accepting Public Comments on Hemp Production Rules

On Thursday, the USDA started accepting public comments on hemp production regulations. The process which will be carried out the whole month of December presents the citizens with an opportunity to voice their opinions regarding the interim final rule that was released on Tuesday by the Department of Agriculture. After the legalization of hemp and its derivatives under the 2018 Farm Bill, the USDA wrote a document, which is 43-pages long, covering issues such as places for growing the crop, THC concentration requirement, licensing, and process of destroying hemp that exceeds the required level of THC. The people have to…

TuesdayNov 05, 2019 4:00 pm

Fears of Oversupply Intensify After Huge Hemp Harvest

The hemp industry's rapid growth just might prove to be its undoing. Primarily carried by cannabidiol's (CBD) popularity as a natural alternative medicine, the industry has grown in leaps and bounds, especially since last year's Farm Bill made cultivating hemp legal. As farmers all over the country harvest their crop, it is becoming apparent that there may be a surplus in supply. According to a report released by advocacy group Vote Hemp, the amount of land on which U.S. farmers are licensed to grow hemp quadrupled from 2018 to 2019. Farmers were authorized to produce 511,442 acres of hemp in…

TuesdayNov 05, 2019 9:00 am

First Hemp Processing Plant in Virginia Set to Be Launched

Virginia's first commercial hemp fiber processing plant, Vitality Farms, LLC, will soon be launched in Wythe County according to an announcement Governor Ralph Northam. The facility, currently operating as Appalachian Biomass Processing, plans on investing $894,000 and creating 13 jobs. The plant intends to purchase at least 6,000 tons of industrial hemp valued at $1 million or more from farmers in Virginia in the following three years. In March, Governor Northam aligned Virginia’s hemp law to the 2018 Farm Bill by signing the bill legalizing commercial farming and processing of industrial hemp. The announcement was marked as the first economic…

MondayNov 04, 2019 4:00 pm

Farmers Express Concerns About Newly Released Hemp Regulations

Players in the hemp and cannabidiol (CBD) industry could finally rest easy after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) finally released its proposed regulations on the CBD industry last week. The Farm Bill passed in December 2018 made the cultivation of industrial hemp legal. Still, the industry remained unregulated, and institutions that offered vital services such as insurance companies and banks avoided working with hemp farmers. Last week's news ought to have been a reprieve, finally allowing them access to essential services. However, farmers have come out saying that the long-awaited final interim rule is not the savior they thought…