The hemp industry continues to look for federal guidance on production for 2020.
It’s been more than a month since Hemp Industry Daily first reported that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) had completed its draft of the federal hemp production rules and submitted it to the White House Office of Budget and Management, which reviews all regulations adopted and implemented by a presidential administration.
After hearing that news, the industry anticipated the USDA regulations would soon be released.
But since then, there’s been little to no word on when to expect the USDA rules, though Denver-based cannabis attorney Garrett Graff of Hoban Law Group told Hemp Industry Daily it’s likely the rules will be forthcoming within the next month.
That time frame reportedly was endorsed by a top USDA official last week during a Senate Agriculture Committee hearing.
“As you might imagine with anything at the federal government level, things move slowly, and oftentimes there’s false alarms and expectations that might go by the wayside,” Graff said.
“We still hold promise that the federal government will get the regulations implemented sooner versus later.”
Graff said that at one point the USDA was suggesting it would release the regulations in November, but then the timeline was moved up to Aug. 1. Now, it looks as if the original November date was more accurate.
And amid other pressing federal issues – including the U.S. House of Representatives’ formal impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump – hemp production guidance isn’t exactly taking precedence.
“To be entirely candid, that may very much have something to do with all the other goings-on in Washington DC unrelated to hemp,” Graff said.
“As important as this is to the hemp industry, and we feel that burn very directly, it’s but one of many things that folks in DC are handling.
“And so, unfortunately, it’s not always an issue utmost importance to them.”
A USDA spokesperson reached by Hemp Industry Daily declined to talk on the record about the holdup, saying only that the agency is “exercising due diligence” in getting the rules ready.
What if the Regulations are Delayed?
Since March, the USDA has assured the hemp industry that it would release production rules this fall, in time for farmers to make plans for the 2020 production season.
But what happens if the rules continue to be delayed?
According to Graff:
The hemp industry would continue to operate under the 2014 Farm Bill, and U.S. states with established hemp production programs would continue the status quo.
States with new legislation based on the 2018 Farm Bill that specifically referenced the need to submit a hemp plan to the USDA before cultivation can begin would be hamstrung by a lack of federal regulations.
Pain points needing clarity within the industry, including certified genetics, confirmation that interstate transport is allowed and clarification on how THC testing will be carried out in a universally consistent form across the country, would remain unclear.
Even if regulations aren’t released within the next month, the industry will continue to operate, Graff said.
“It would be ideal if the USDA regulations were in place within the next 60 days because most state legislatures enter into legislative session in early January,” giving states time to update their own hemp rules to comply, Graff said.
The USDA has 60 days to approve each state’s hemp plan.
“As long as those state hemp plans are being evaluated by the USDA early next year, I still believe that there would be sufficient time to uphold the stated goal of the USDA, which is to have all these plans in place in time for planting season come next April, May and June,” Graff said.
But for farmers, waiting until the last minute for regulations is not ideal or even realistic, according to Steven Turetsky, general manager for Colorado-based Shi Farms.
“You’re really racing against the clock then,” he said.
“Let’s say that the (USDA) plans come out January and states start to enact those regulations in February and open up applications. I can’t