Hemp production too risky and restrictive for small farmers, advocates say

(Editor’s note: This story has been updated with additional industry responses.) High input costs, unstable genetics and a steep learning curve impacted most new hemp farmers in the first legal farming season after legalization of hemp as a commodity crop. But small farmers especially are seeing high barriers to entry within the nascent industry, according […]

Florida ag department now regulating hemp, CBD products with new rules, permits

Agriculture officials in Florida are now tracking and regulating CBD and hemp products, a change prompted by a state law that took effect Jan. 1. Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried and the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services oversee products containing hemp and CBD ingredients that are consumed by humans and animals. They also […]

SC tells animal feed, pet treat firms to reformulate products with hemp, CBD

Pet treats and animal food containing hemp derivatives, including CBD, are still not allowed under federal law, and South Carolina agriculture officials say they will start cracking down on companies selling them this month. The South Carolina Department of Agriculture (SCDA) plans to notify consumers and animal feed manufacturers that hemp and CBD are not […]

‘Great opportunity to share knowledge and research’: Q&A with Caren Wilcox, head of fledgling US Hemp Growers Association

In agriculture, it’s rare that a new commodity presents such new opportunities for farmers and businesses in the way hemp has. And the nascent industry has experienced its share of growing pains since the 2014 Farm Bill established a pilot research program for the crop in the United States and the 2018 Farm Bill made […]

Truck driver considers suit against Texas cops after wrongful stops for hemp

A Florida truck driver who was stopped twice last month driving hemp from California to New York is now considering a lawsuit against Texas authorities who jailed him and charged him with felony possession of marijuana. Aneudy Gonzales was stopped for a traffic violation near Conway, Texas, on Dec. 5. Texas Highway Patrol seized roughly 3,350 […]

South Carolina traffic stop underscores problems of transportation protocols for police, hemp industry

Cannabis products seized in December in Wellford, South Carolina (Photo courtesy of Wellford Police Department) Police in South Carolina are saying suspicious behavior by drivers, unprofessional shipping practices and unsatisfactory paperwork caused them to seize a 183-pound shipment of hemp in December that they thought was marijuana. But the Texas hemp distributor who bought the […]

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