Hemp

DENVER — Outdoor marijuana growers are reporting an increase in cross-pollination from hemp farms, a development that could mean marijuana cultivators might lose upwards of tens of thousands of dollars if their plants become unmarketable as flower products.

As the marijuana and hemp industries increasingly share the same cultivation territory, the number of conflicts is likely to increase, particularly in areas with thriving outdoor cannabis cultivation.

The Cannabis Industrial Marketplace runs various shows throughout the United States. Show locations include:

Farmers and ancillary hemp businesses are not happy with the THC testing standards outlined within the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) interim federal rules for hemp production.

The rules require that hemp crops not exceed 0.3% total THC, which is derived from the sum of delta-9 THC and THCA content, on a dry weight basis.

Iowa farmers will have the opportunity next year to begin growing hemp.

Late last month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued regulations pertaining to the production of industrial hemp. The growth of the fairly new crop, licensing and testing procedures, and possible destruction of plants that fall short of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, requirements will be governed by the rules.

ATLANTA — Georgia farmers are poised to cash in on the cannabis craze.

By the end of the year, state officials plan to submit proposed rules to the federal government for growing hemp, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

That means Georgia farmers could begin legally raising the crop as early as this spring.

BOISE — Attorneys representing a Colorado-based company suing the Idaho State Police for seizing a shipment of hemp in January are pointing to new federal rules governing hemp production and transport to bolster their legal arguments.

The new rules also mean the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office will not prosecute people who are transporting hemp grown under 2014 and 2018 federal legislation in states where it is legal to do so, provided there is full compliance with the rules and proper documentation.

The USDA's proposed hemp rules would toss aside a testing policy that advocates hoped would finally make Washington a top hemp-producing state.

The USDA says the testing protocol it recently outlined would best measure the level of the intoxicating chemical THC in harvested hemp plants. The procedures, however, differ from ones Washington planned to implement next year to keep hemp from testing "hot."

The newly formed Hemp Federation of America is planning its first fly-in to Washington next week, just as Reuters reported that the farmers are having a hard time finding a market for this year’s crop.

The group of growers, processors and allied businesses will arrive in Washington on Thursday, Nov. 14, a spokesman said.

Will Wheeler, an Oklahoma rancher and farmer who is serving as HFA’s board chairman, said in a news release that an industry with a domestic market of an estimated $800 million to $2 billion annually needs a trade association in Washington.

Image: A drying hemp plant at AgraPharm's warehouse in Vanport, Pa.

At AgraPharm LLC’s warehouse in Beaver County, the scent of cannabis is potent.

“What you're smelling today is about only a third of what it really smells like when we first harvest the crop,” said AgraPharm’s CEO Ed Santillan.

The hemp drying inside was harvested about two weeks ago. There are rows and rows of it, stalks as much as 8 feet long, hanging from orange plastic netting secured to the ceiling.

The agency setting baseline national minimums for hemp production says growers should tax themselves to promote the new crop.

A top official with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Heather Pichelman, said Monday in the agency’s first address to hemp growers since releasing national regulations that the industry “has clearly shown interest” in paying fees to promote hemp.

“The idea here is that a rising tide lifts all boats,” she said.