According to the new estimates released by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), one in five farms growing hemp in the 2020 planting season would lose its crop because the level of THC would be more than the stipulated federal limit of 0.3%, making the plant illegal.
The Hemp Industry Daily released the USDA estimates in a special report, “USDA Hemp Rules: A Handbook for Hemp and CBD Businesses” late last week.
The free report, which was released by the USDA on October 31, outlines the contents of the agency’s interim final rules governing the formation of the domestic hemp production program.
According to the report, the USDA estimates that 20% of hemp stacks sent to the lab for testing would contain more than the stipulated 0.3% THC, which is referred to as ‘hot’ or illegal.
The U.S Department of Agriculture further noted that it is impossible to know precisely the amount of hemp that would fail the test because of being hot.
The USDA said that it arrived at this estimate after reviewing information from the discussions held with states operating a hemp program under the 2014 Farm Bill.
The USDA’s new rules are of benefit to hemp producers because they provide a margin of error referred to as “Measurement of Uncertainty” in which farmers whose crops test below 0.5% THC are not violating the federal rules unless the test is above the margin of error, therefore, the federal authorities would not prosecute hemp growers for a crime provided the crop THC ranges between 0.3% and 0.5%.
Hemp plants that fail to meet the stipulated 0.3% threshold must be destroyed and cannot be used in any manner, even in states where both hemp and marijuana are legal.
The USDA has a seed-to-sale tracking system where marijuana can be traced; therefore, producers would not be able to transfer hot hemp and use it as marijuana.
Hemp growers and industry advocates have voiced their concerns over the new USDA testing regulations, particularly the one that allows only Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) registered labs to test the levels of THC in hemp plants. This is because they are afraid that challenges could arise in the hemp supply chain, especially in remote areas, such as delays in testing.
Others are afraid that the DEA will be deeply involved in hemp industry regulation since the legal production of hemp has been authorized in the U.S. and yet the DEA primarily focuses on illegal substances.
One wouldn’t be surprised to learn that hemp industry actors like Marijuana Company of America Inc. (OTCQB: MCOA) and Neutra Corp. (OTC: NTRR) have already submitted their comments explaining why the USDA needs to rethink its hemp testing rules.
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