In the United States currently, humans can eat foods made from hemp – yet we can’t legally eat meat or eggs from animals that have eaten hemp. But with recent action by the Hemp Feed Coalition (HFC), a Fort Collins, Colorado-based nonprofit seeking to gain federal approval for hemp and its byproducts as a source
Hemp Cultivation, Processing & Extraction News
Oregon has uncovered water violations by 33% of hemp growers last year in an audit reviewing operations in the southwestern region of the state. The state’s Water Resources Department reviewed 187 of the 1,000 hemp farms in the region, which represents about half of the hemp operations in the state, the Capital Press reported. But
The Indiana state House has overwhelmingly voted to reverse a smokable hemp ban being challenged in federal court. A bill approved 69-28 last week would remove references to “smokable hemp” from the state’s 2019 law setting up hemp regulations. Those regulations banned the production and sale of hemp flower products. The bill also repeals a
(This opinion column appears in the February issue of Marijuana Business Magazine.) Everyone in the hemp industry knows the story of Charlotte’s Web: A group of well-meaning brothers working under Colorado’s medical marijuana system developed a cannabis strain that worked miracles on a sick little girl named Charlotte. Word spread about the awe-inspiring results of
Montana is considering a new requirement that medical marijuana growers keep their operations confined to indoor environments, leaving the outdoors for hemp production only. A state Senate committee Thursday heard from hemp and marijuana growers on the bill that aims to prevent cross-pollination between hemp and marijuana, the (Helena) Independent Record reported. The bill would
Sungrown Organic Hemp, a hemp producer California, says the county owes it $9.6 million for incorrectly sampling its 2019 hemp crop, which led to a false determination that the crop was marijuana. The Watsonville farm filed the lawsuit on Tuesday in county court, claiming that the Santa Cruz County Department of Agriculture used faulty sampling
Hemp farmers have a number of choices and sources for the varieties they will plant in 2021. But if they’re electing to use seed-propagated varieties, there are several criteria that growers should consider in selecting genetics. Jeremy Klettke, founder, CEO and head plant breeder at Davis Farms of Oregon in Portland, outlined basic requirements growers
Pennsylvania is awarding $253,000 to organizations with projects designed to increase sales and exports of hemp products. Pennsylvania’s Department of Agriculture is accepting applications for the grants until March 5, PennWatch reported. Projects aimed at promoting consumer awareness are also eligible. “Hemp has presented a unique opportunity to build an industry from the ground up,
(This story appears in the February issue of Marijuana Business Magazine.) Partnership disputes — whether between business partners or owners and investors — continue to be an ugly feature of the marijuana and hemp industries. Such conflicts can be costly and time-consuming; plus, they can sink a cannabis company. But there are steps companies can
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is asking job applicants whether they’ve used hemp before it was legalized in 2018, saying current and past drug use is taken into account in the hiring process. The DEA posted the updated questionnaire for applicants this month, asking prospective employees to “Please include any Hemp or Cannabidiol (CBD) use,
Hemp genetics companies have been actively pursuing patents to protect their intellectual property after years of work to develop novel genetics. But despite intellectual property protection that became available after the U.S. legalized hemp production in 2018, some companies are still opting for more expensive and more comprehensive plant utility patents for the highest level
This story first appeared at Marijuana Business Daily. Cultivation facility design and engineering firm Urban-Gro priced an initial public offering on the Nasdaq exchange to raise $54 million before expenses. The IPO put up 5.4 million shares of the Lafayette, Colorado-based company at a price of $10 per share. Urban-Gro also works in the non-cannabis
Prosecutors have dismissed charges against a Minnesota hemp farmer whose plants had elevated THC levels, saying that they had trouble locating witnesses because of delays in the case. Fillmore County prosecutors filed felony possession charges against Luis Hummel in March 2019 after seizing his plants. They tested at 3% THC, 10 times higher than the THC
A California hemp seed company was closed by the state labor board following complaints that the company hadn’t paid more than a dozen full-time workers since mid-December. The California Labor Commissioner’s Office shut down Castillo Seed Company, based in Half Moon Bay, in late January. The company had sent a letter to its workforce in
Dionne Toombs Researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture say they’re studying ways to boost hemp production and profitability for growers, and are collecting the first national statistics on domestic hemp production to be ready by next year. But Dionne Toombs, director for USDA’s Office of the Chief Scientist, gave no indication this week at
3M’s Don Davidson uses everyday sticky notes to demostrate how hemp could become part of tomorrow’s adhesives (photo via National Hemp Symposium) Industrial conglomerate 3M Co. thinks hemp can be part of the sustainability “megatrend” and is looking at hemp components to do everything from strengthening packaging tape to helping grow human tissue and organs.
Two associated hemp drying companies and their chief executive have each been fined nearly $200,000 by state environmental regulators in Oregon. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality issued fines of $198,786 to Columbia Hemp Trading Company and $196,288 each to related company Columbia 410 and CEO Jacob Crabtree. The firms were operating out of the
NBA Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas is investing $3 million in his company One World Pharma, which grows hemp and marijuana in Colombia. Thomas, who played 13 seasons for the NBA’s Detroit Pistons, became CEO of One World Pharma in July. The company is located in Las Vegas but has a 30-acre regional cultivation facility
A clear majority of hemp farmers and processors support establishing a federal program to promote the crop, according to a survey by two industry groups, but not everyone supports paying for it. The National Industrial Hemp Council and the Hemp Industries Association polled their members late last year on the question of having a checkoff
A Canadian hemp producer says it has acquired the water rights necessary to pursue its plan to grow hemp in northwestern Colorado and process the hemp into construction components for affordable homes on the same land. Global Hemp Group says it has acquired control of Western Sierra Resource Corp. of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, and its
U.S. farmers could bring home almost $10 billion less in annual income in 2021 because of slowed federal pandemic payouts to farmers. The U.S. Department of Agriculture projects that farm income in 2021 will decrease $9.8 billion, to $111.4 billion. The falling income forecast comes as Congress pumps the brakes on pandemic-related relief funds for
(Editor’s note: This story is part of a recurring series of commentaries from professionals connected to the hemp industry. Julie Lerner is CEO of PanXchange, a commodity trading platform and benchmark price provider.) Basing the multibillion-dollar, pie-in-the-sky forecasts for the U.S. addressable market for CBD on retail shelf prices disturbs me. It’s as illogical as
A Michigan company making broad-spectrum hemp teas is battling claims that its products falsely promised 0.0% THC content. Total Life Changes LLC of Fair Haven, Michigan, has been sued by a New Jersey man who says the company’s instant Iaso Tea is “intentionally misleading the general public” by carrying a label that says it “contains
North Carolina CBD maker cbdMD has hired Sibyl Swift, a former U.S. Food and Drug Administration official as a consultant to lead the company’s regulatory efforts and prepare products for certifications. Swift served in various roles at the FDA from 2014 to 2020, most notably as the associate director for research and strategy in the
A bipartisan bill that was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives Thursday could push legal CBD through Congress, providing consumer access and protection while clearing the supply chain bottleneck. The Hemp and Hemp-Derived CBD Consumer Protection and Market Stabilization Act of 2021 is sponsored by Representatives Kurt Schrader, a Democrat from Oregon, and Morgan
Mexico is moving ahead on medical marijuana regulation — and all hemp and marijuana companies that envision doing business there in the future should start preparing now, lawyers say. The Mexican government has begun setting a regulatory structure for medical cannabis in the country, making it possible for companies to start applying for research licenses
A New Mexico district court has invalidated the state’s hemp production rules that allowed regulators to revoke or suspend licenses without notice and imposed strict testing requirements. Santa Fe District Court Judge Bryan Biedscheid said the New Mexico Department of Health’s rules were invalid because the agency failed to consult with the Medical Cannabis Advisory
The U.S. Department of Agriculture kicked off 2021 with the release of federal regulations that will govern hemp production going forward. Find out the key elements of the new rules with a free webinar with leading industry professionals who will provide an overview of what hemp operators need to succeed. There is still time to
In the two years since hemp became a legal commercial crop in the United States, producers’ challenges in sourcing a consistent supply of predictable, reliable genetics haven’t subsided, as the industry establishes itself and plant-breeding efforts continue. Growers looking to source reliable hemp genetics may consider looking at seed from varieties that have been produced
A publicly traded California biotech company announced Tuesday that four of its hemp seed varieties have been aproved by the national variety board of the Association of Official Seed Certifying Agencies. Davis-based Arcadia Biosciences received eligibility for certified seed production for its GoodHemp brand varieties including Rogue, Umpqua, Santiam and Potomac. All four varieties are