Published 2 hours ago
Pinched for cash and facing sharp declines in hemp growing and processing, Wisconsin may become the first state to relinquish hemp oversight to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Wisconsin will retain its state-run program through 2021 but may punt some hemp oversight to the federal government in future years because its program is losing money, according a budget memoreleased last month.
“Wisconsin has been running a hemp program since the 2018 growing season, when states were still running pilot programs for hemp. It would be the fourth state to cede hemp oversight to the USDA, joining Hawaii, Mississippi and New Hampshire, though the other states never set up state oversight of hemp. Farmers growing hemp under federal oversight pay no fees but must contract with private third parties for sampling and testing. The USDA does not regulate hemp processors.The change is getting a mixed response from Wisconsin’s hemp farmers…”
