The nationwide hemp rules are taking effect March 22 as planned, with no additional delay or review because of the changed administration at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The USDA gave notice Monday that the rules have been reviewed and are cleared to take effect as planned. The USDA was giving the hemp plan a second look because it was published less than 24 hours before former President Donald Trump left office in January.

Among other changes, the final hemp rules:

• Allow hemp farmers to use common disposal methods to destroy hemp crops with more than 0.3% THC.
• Give hemp producers 30 days before harvest to get their plants tested for THC, up from 15 days. 
• Give farmers more breathing room before being considered “negligent” for producing hot hemp. The new negligence standard is 1% THC, up from 0.5% THC. 

Not all the final rules have been embraced by the industry, though. The final rules retain a requirement that hot hemp flowers be destroyed and that testing labs be certified by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

The rules also require hemp to tested for total THC content, not just delta-9 THC.

Learn more about the final hemp rules in this free downloadable reference guide, “USDA Final Hemp Rule: A Handbook for Hemp & CBD Businesses.”

The nation’s state agriculture departments have joined the call for raising the THC limit in hemp from 0.3% to a full 1%.

But the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture did not say in its policy statement how states propose making that change.

The platform was adopted Thursday during the group’s winter meeting.

The Hemp Industries Association and other advocates have called a 1% THC limit a necessary change to encourage participation in the hemp sector.

“The 1% threshold will help give growers all across the country, especially those growing for CBD, some greater flexibility with variety selection and maximizing CBD percentages before a crop goes hot,” said Rob Richard, president of the Wisconsin Hemp Alliance.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has insisted that it can’t raise the THC limit on its own.

NASDA’s policy statement does not take a position on whether the Controlled Substances Act should be changed in Congress.

RJ Karney, NASDA’s senior director of public policy, said the group is simply looking to promote more breathing room for hemp producers.

“This is still an upcoming industry that can benefit from greater flexibility to thrive,” he said in an email.

“By expanding the federal definition to less than or equal to 1% THC in dry-matter hemp, we can give farmers more certainty that their crops will be able to make it to market.”