Items Tagged with 'hemp'

Hemp supporters are touting the crop's myriad uses and soil-nurturing properties while pushing some ideas for increasing its viability as Congress prepares to update the 2018 farm bill that sparked a growing interest.

The value of the U.S. industrial hemp crop in 2021 was $824 million, the National Agricultural Statistics Service said in its first report on the cannabis crop that was legalized in the 2018 farm bill.

Partially motivated by funding concerns, two prominent hemp-growing states recently decided to let the U.S. Department of Agriculture regulate hemp within their borders, and others are still in the process of deciding whether to hand over authority to USDA as the pilot programs authorized under the 2014 farm bill expire at the end of this year.

The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture set policy for the coming year at a recent gathering, where the organization put a priority on the flow of ag goods in the U.S. and overseas.

A recent memo from the Farm Credit Administration to farm credit banks and associations on hemp financing has a prominent hemp industry group concerned that many growers could have difficulty obtaining loans they need to expand their operations.

House committees begin voting starting today on the first provisions in the massive $1.9 trillion coronavirus aid package President Joe Biden is pushing to pass. The House Agriculture Committee is scheduled to meet Wednesday to approve its portion of the package.

The Senate Agriculture Committee has scheduled a confirmation hearing next Tuesday for Ag Secretary-nominee Tom Vilsack.

More than $2.18 million has been awarded to 11 projects as part of the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Fertilizer Research and Education Program.