The USDA\’s Final Ruling On Hemp Regulations

The U. S. Department of Agriculture has just published its final ruling on hemp. This signals what might turn into an era of stabilization for this industry. The industry has been in a constant state of change since it was legalized in the Farm Bill of 2028. This decision will hold if the incoming political administration decided to keep the regulations in place. The final ruling is scheduled to take place on March 22nd, and it will replace the the interim rule by the USDA. This was called the USDA\’s interim final rule, or IFR. On hemp. This ruling was originally published on October 31, 2019.

With this final ruling, the USDA will finish a thorough and transparent ruling process that commenced with a listening forum on hemp in March 2019. This was stated by the USDA Marketing and Regulatory Programs. They further explained that the USDA staff had taken into consideration the information provided to them in three comment sessions. They also said that based on the experiences from hemp growers over the duration of a growing period, that they would develop regulations that met the intent of Congress and that would also provide a fair and consistent process for states and individual producers.

This process would provide outreach and education, as well as assist in the growers\’ achieving compliance with the necessary requirements.