Dionne Toombs Researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture say they’re studying ways to boost hemp production and profitability for growers, and are collecting the first national statistics on domestic hemp production to be ready by next year. But Dionne Toombs, director for USDA’s Office of the Chief Scientist, gave no indication this week at
USDA
The U.S. Department of Agriculture kicked off 2021 with the release of federal regulations that will govern hemp production going forward. Find out the key elements of the new rules with a free webinar with leading industry professionals who will provide an overview of what hemp operators need to succeed. There is still time to
Hemp farmers getting federal pandemic assistance will see those payments frozen because of the changed administration. The U.S. Department of Agriculture says that payments under the latest round of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program are on hold “until further notice” — though interested farmers can continue applying through Feb. 26. The latest round of coronavirus
The Senate Agriculture Committee talks to an experienced hemp regulator Tuesday when it considers the confirmation of Tom Vilsack for Secretary of Agriculture. Vilsack, an Iowan, is President Joe Biden’s nominee and served in the same role for all eight years of the Obama administration. He oversaw the USDA during passage and implementation of the
(Editor’s note: This comes from Hemp Industry Daily‘s free updated USDA Final Hemp Rule report, available for download here.) The mishmash of U.S. hemp rules is on its way out. More than two years after Congress made hemp a legal agricultural commodity, farmers finally have one national set of rules for growing it – instead of a confusing,
A top official with the U.S. Department of Agriculture praised the agency’s work on hemp this week, putting into doubt any plans to make additional changes. Sonia Jimenez, deputy administrator for the Specialty Crops Program in the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service, talked up the rules in a newsletter the agency sends to farmers. “The work
Nationwide hemp rules released in the closing days of the Trump Administration aren’t on hold, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. But the agency will be reviewing all programs implemented by the previous administration, as is common when there is a new president. USDA spokesman Matt Herrick told Hemp Industry Daily in an emailed
Farmers still making sense of long-delayed nationwide rules for growing hemp in 2021 and beyond got another wrinkle Wednesday when the incoming administration of President Joe Biden ordered a “freeze” on new regulations. The memo instructed federal agencies — including the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees hemp production — to consider additional 30-day comment
Federal agriculture rulemakers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture released final hemp production rules on Friday, in the final days of the Trump Administration. Changes to the final rule were based on public comments from farmers and industry members about interim hemp rules released in 2019 and are set to take effect on March 22.
The chairman of the National Industrial Hemp Council, Patrick Atagi, will serve on the U.S.’s Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee for Trade in Tobacco, Cotton and Peanuts. Members of the committee provide guidance and recommendations on trade policies to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. “It’s an honor to
