The hemp industry is closely watching a court case being argued Wednesday that spotlights the issue of interstate transportation of the highly touted commodity.

The Environmental Protection Agency will consider adding industrial hemp to the allowable uses for 10 pesticide active ingredients, the agency announced Wednesday.

Farmers should join the enthusiasm about industrial hemp’s huge potential, ranging from medicinal uses to bioplastics, chemicals, fuels, paper and bioremediation – but proceed with caution.

When it comes to food or “health” products containing cannabidiol, commonly known as CBD, the federal government is not keeping up with the marketplace, where sales of CBD products topped $500 million in 2018.

From the Southeast to New England, the Pacific Northwest to the mid-Atlantic, and most places in between, states are embracing hemp as a welcome alternative for growers struggling with low commodity prices.

Producers will be allowed to import hemp seeds after a procedural correction from the Department of Agriculture corrected a state of limbo for the industry.

The delay in passing and implementing the 2018 farm bill has left hemp producers and state departments of agriculture dealing with a world of uncertainty regarding everything from importing seed to providing guidance to law enforcement about how to regulate the transportation of hemp across state lines.

The Farm Credit Administration will issue guidance as soon as next week to system institutions on lending to producers who are clamoring to get financing for industrial hemp, but the commodity’s future remains clouded by regulatory hurdles.