Michigan hemp farmers are operating under the U.S. Department of Agriculture now that the state has shut down its industrial hemp program.
According to Hemp Today, the change means farmers are subject to stricter pre-harvest THC testing protocols that require all tests to be conducted at Drug Enforcement Administration-approved laboratories once that program is up and running.
Compliance requirements also are more stringent, with more detailed recordkeeping and reporting mandated.
But some of the changes will benefit hemp farmers, according to Hemp Today.
For example, licensing fees will be lower than the $1,350 that hemp farmers were paying to grow their crops.
“Now that more uses of industrial hemp products in the building and animal feed sectors are starting to emerge, this move (to USDA) may encourage farmers and processors to look again at the possibilities that industrial hemp could provide to their operations,” Blain Becktold, president of iHemp Michigan, told HempToday.
The USDA protocols will take effect in 2025 after the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) stops overseeing the hemp industry at the end of this year.
The Michigan agency, which has regulated hemp production in the state since 2019, is stopping its oversight because it believes the “program is no longer financially sustainable,” according to Morning Ag Clips.
The agricultural news outlet noted that Michigan currently has 34 licensed hemp growers, down from 631 in 2020.
The MDARD also cited the added time and expense of continued investigation and enforcement efforts against farms growing marijuana under the guise of hemp.
Although the agency has been regulating hemp farming, the industry’s regulatory activities were moved under the purview of the state’s Cannabis Regulatory Agency in 2022.
