To be allowed to grow hemp, one must reside in a state with a federally approved plan. Wisconsin is one of 18 states whose plan has been submitted but not approved yet, leading to worries as the October 31 deadline to transition to new rules has been looming close. While the Trump Administration hurriedly grafted an extension of the deadline onto a budget bill, the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) was readying for a tumultuous transition period.
"Pending USDA’s approval of Wisconsin’s state plan for hemp production, new hemp program rules will start November 1, 2020," DATCP warns the state’s 1,200-odd licensed hemp growing enterprises. "Hemp lot samples collected by DATCP on and after November 1, 2020, will be subject to new rules that result in lower acceptable hemp THC levels."
Wisconsin has been allowing the cultivation of cannabis plants for nearly three years, now, under the authority of the 2014 Farm Bill. The bill allows states to conduct research by growing hemp—which is cannabis with less than 0.3% of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive component of the plant—which is why our hemp program is called the Hemp Pilot Research Program. Our hemp growers and processors have been required to submit a research plan to become licensed since the research program was established in March 2018.
However, hemp has been federally legalized by the 2018 Farm Bill, supposedly taking over the existing state hemp plans. The federal Department of Agriculture (USDA) has caused extensive delays before delivering general rules to implement the new federally legal hemp growth operations. Then, USDA created more delays, still failing to approve of nearly half of the states' plans even two years after the bill passed.
Looming Deadline
When a state doesn’t have an approved plan, the law states that the generic federal rule of the 2018 Farm Bill applies by default. This has been a source of concern, as the generic rule is less advantageous for our farmers than the hemp pilot research program already in place. The original deadline, on October 31, 2020, was just one month away, and USDA still hadn't been heard regarding our state's new plan, when DATCP chose to warn our local hemp industry:
“DATCP encourages current pilot program participants to have their hemp sampled and harvested before October 31, 2020,” they wrote in a bold, red warning. “As required by new federal rules, the method DATCP uses for testing and calculating THC levels will not change, but the way DATCP assesses the result as a pass or a fail is changing.” If a farmer's hemp crops are revealed by tests to contain more than 0.3% THC, they have to destroy the entire batch. Currently, there is a reasonable margin of error, meaning that plants that test slightly above the threshold can still be considered acceptable and be commercialized. DATCP warns that the new rules "will result in a smaller range for a passing THC level."
The announced transition for Wisconsin farmers was well underway, with DATCP planning to deliver (free of charge) transition licenses, when Congress threw a wrench in the planning. Signed into law on October 1, H.R.8337, the Continuing Appropriations Act of 2021, extends the 2014 Farm Bill, under which Wisconsin’s hemp program operates, until September 30, 2021.
Although positive for our hemp farmers, this development blindsided the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture. As of press time, DATCP still maintains the warning about transitioning to generic federal rules. “DATCP is aware of the bill that recently passed and is evaluating the impact this has on the transition already in progress for a new state hemp plan,” announced Leeann Duwe, Public Information Officer for DATCP.
Until a clear agreement is reached between state and federal departments of Agriculture, Wisconsin farmers are encouraged to act quickly to harvest and sample their hemp crops and ensure that they benefit from the more beneficial rule possible.
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