State officials and industry groups are raising concerns about USDA's new regulations for hemp, with some suggesting that the department delay some "unworkable" portions of an interim final rule that was released last fall.
In a letter to USDA, Minnesota Ag Commissioner Thom Peterson said the Oct. 31 deadline for states to switch over from pilot programs to USDA-approved plans is “not practical.” He said staff would ”not be able to manage” necessary documentation before Nov. 1 and growers “would also be inconvenienced by this timing of changing over during harvest.”
The Kentucky Hemp Industries Association also asked its state ag commissioner to keep the state in the pilot program’s jurisdiction “until the USDA and FDA requirements are clarified.”
The group cited concerns over “THC compliance testing processes, the 15-day period between sampling and harvest, access to hemp genetics, restrictions on certain deliverable materials, and the effect of the overall interim regulation on an emerging industry.”
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