More than two years after Congress passed the 2018 Farm Bill, making hemp a legal agricultural commodity, farmers finally have one national set of rules for growing the crop. And they officially take effect Monday.
Market saturation for CBD hemp affected Minnesota farmers in 2019, but they adapted by shifting toward grain, fiber and CBG in 2020. https://www.hempgrower.com/article/what-is-cbd-future-in-hemp-cultivation/
No part of the global economy has escaped the COVID-19 pandemic, which has claimed more than 2.5 million lives around the world and sickened countless more. But few industries were in the kind of infancy the hemp industry was in when the World Health Organization declared the virus a global pandemic on March 11, 2020.
Outdoor hemp and marijuana growers are getting ready to get their crops in the ground in the coming weeks, but before they sow seeds or plant clones or seedlings, it’s important to get a good start with proper soil testing, conditioning and preparation.
The nationwide hemp rules are taking effect March 22 as planned, with no additional delay or review because of the changed administration at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
As industrial hemp programs continue to develop, disparities between acres licensed and acres grown vary, depending mainly on licensing fee structures. https://www.hempgrower.com/article/hemp-growers-farmed-fewer-acres-than-licensed-in-2020/
For many farmers, the 2020 hemp season added heartache to an already grim pandemic year. Excess biomass from 2019 left deteriorating in storage drove wholesale prices to new lows. But the year’s end yielded a bright spot in one market segment: smokable hemp flower. https://www.hempgrower.com/article/smokable-hemp-market-potential-flower/
While smokable hemp presents an opportunity for growers, its varying legal status across states makes the market’s long-term viability uncertain. https://www.hempgrower.com/article/smokable-hemp-market-sustainable-laws/
Industrial conglomerate 3M Co. thinks hemp can be part of the sustainability “megatrend” and is looking at hemp components to do everything from strengthening packaging tape to helping grow human tissue and organs.
As the DEA battles the hemp industry over its latest proposed rule, processors discuss how extraction works and how the rule could impact their operations. https://www.hempgrower.com/article/hemp-extraction-explained-intermediary-waste-dea-hia/
