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Stakeholders in the U.S. state of Kentucky say they will launch a re-branded, independent hemp organization after a falling out with the national Hemp Industries Association (HIA).

The state of New York will not submit a state hemp plan to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), saying the federal program‘s requirements are too strict on growers. The announcement effectively puts on hold the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets’ hemp program.

“It’s an interesting situation trying to figure out how to navigate. Having a revenue stream shut down as a small business is very detrimental for investing in our business and home state here. We’re trying to scale our business, and having restrictions like this are detrimental to us trying to build jobs and providing economic impact. It has a heavy impact on businesses like us.”

On August 6, 2020, the Seventh Circuit denied the Petition for Rehearing regarding the pending smokable hemp litigation in Indiana. The practical impact of this denial means that Indiana will be free to prosecute farmers, small businesses and other entrepreneurs that grow and/or sell smokable hemp beginning on August 13, 2020.

Before the first seed was tucked into Texas soil, farmers and investors eager for a different kind of green revolution flocked to Dallas in January for the Texas Hemp Convention. It was the state’s largest such gathering yet, the culmination of a year’s worth of buzz following the Texas Legislature’s 2019 legalization of industrial hemp. Part of the cannabis family, the plant, unlike its relative marijuana, contains only trace amounts of THC, the psychoactive compound. But it is rich in CBD, a chemical component used as an ingredient in FDA-approved medication and in home remedies to treat anxiety, pain, insomnia, and even seizures.

Read more in Texas Monthly.

The top Democrat in the Senate is asking the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to delay issuing final regulations for hemp until 2022, citing stakeholder concerns and the challenges of state compliance that have arisen due to the coronavirus pandemic.

As U.S. Hemp Roundtable shared in earlier communications, the USDA’s initial foray into regulating the growth and processing of hemp has caused some heartburn for U.S. hemp farmers. It’s an industry consensus that the agency’s Interim Final Rule (IFR) does not provide the kind of flexibility on issues like THC testing, hot hemp disposal and plant sampling that farmers need in order to successfully profit from their hemp crops. That’s why nearly two dozen state hemp programs have chosen to continue to operate under the authorizations provided by the 2014 Farm Bill, which are more flexible than the IFR.

Researchers in the Australian state of Tasmania are studying the nutritional value of hemp for animal feed as they look to expand opportunities for farmers.

Belgian hemp block maker IsoHemp said it has raised nearly €7 million to build a new high-tech factory, as the company sees demand rising for its pre-formed building materials.

As interest in hemp fiber applications grows, U.S. farm technology innovator Formation Ag says it is getting a growing number of inquiries about its mid-size hemp decortication units.

We are excited to see the FDA has submitted new CBD enforcement guidance to Office of Management and Budget for review. While this is certainly exciting news, the devil will be in the details once we are able to review the draft. For now, this is a good sign the CBD industry is potentially evolving away from forced self-regulation to clear federal guidelines.

National hemp groups are organizing a campaign to establish a checkoff program – a sometimes-acrimonious system designed to raise money for industry research and promotion by taxing those who profit from the plant.

 Midwest Hemp Council Member, Mark Boyer, tells us “I will be adding hemp seed oil to our lineup of cold pressed, farm grown oils in hopes of establishing a value based market for this form of hemp. This crop with its many different forms and markets, has the long term potential of being a solid performer as a rotational crop in production agriculture."

The long awaited ruling from the Seventh Circuit on criminalizing smokable hemp arrived late yesterday evening. The decision is a mixed bag for the industry in that the decision affirmed part of the district court’s rationale for the injunction but found that the injunction was too broad. We believe the 7th Circuit’s decision affirms the unconstitutionality of portions of SEA 516 and look forward to addressing those arguments on remand. As of now, the injunction being lifted will officially be in effect on July 29, 2020. You should plan to have all smokable hemp products off the shelf by this date.

Read the ruling here.

• KCA Laboratories awarded North Dakota hemp testing contract for 2020-2021
• KCA Laboratories awarded Massachusetts hemp testing contract for 2020-2021
• KCA received notice of the award from The State of North Dakota through its Department of Agriculture on June 22, 2020 and the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources’ Hemp Program accepted KCA’s bid for testing/analysis of regulatory samples of Industrial Hemp on June 11, 2020

Independent hemp testing laboratory, KCA Laboratories (KCA Labs), has been awarded the hemp testing contracts for the State of North Dakota and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

At Agribusiness Council of Indiana's 2020 conference & expo, Midwest Hemp Council President Justin Swanson, State Seed Administrator Don Robison and HempRise LLC's Charlie Bowman will discuss the rapidly evolving hemp industry in Indiana during an hour long breakout session on Wednesday, August 12. Swanson will focus on state and federal enabling legislation, Robison will focus on the relevant rules and production statistics, and Bowman will provide an overview of HempRise LLC's $52M processing facility in Jeffersonville, Indiana.

For information about the session, click here.

Hemp is important to the future of farming in the U.S. and will create farming and manufacturing jobs for sustainable and healthy USA grown products. The 2018 Farm Bill authorized hemp production but used an outdated definition of hemp that does not work for farmers or the hemp industry. The current definition limiting hemp to 0.3% THC has proven unworkable forcing many farmers to destroy their crops because they were slightly over the limit. We need Congress to change the definition of hemp to allow up to 1% THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) so that farmers can grow hemp crops without fearing that they will later have to destroy them.

The hemp industry continues to demonstrate its economic benefits to both rural and urban communities across Indiana during these unprecedented times. We are excited to sign on to this letter to President Trump along with other leading hemp organizations across the country.