U.S. Ag Department Publishes Final Rule for Domestic Hemp Production Program

Thursday, March 25th, 2021 -- 8:59 AM

(Wisconsin Ag Connection) The U.S. Department of Agriculture has published a final rule for the establishment of a domestic hemp production program, effective March 22.

According to the Wisconsin Ag Connection, while Wisconsin will continue operating under the provisions of the 2014 Farm Bill through this year, the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture is working to establish an emergency rule that will allow growers to take advantage of some provisions of the final rule this year.

State agriculture officials anticipate publishing the emergency rule later this spring. In accordance with the federal final rule, the agency's emergency rule will provide a pathway for hemp growers to remediate their crop if an initial regulatory THC test identifies that the crop exceeds the regulatory limit of 0.3 percent total delta-9 THC.

While the remediation options are limited to certain federally permitted methods, they do provide an alternative to crop destruction.  Meanwhile, the new federal rule also caps negligent violations at one per year. In addition, sampling of hemp plants can now include the sampling of the top eight inches of the plant, rather than the top two inches.

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