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.