As the U.S. hemp industry waits to see what happens next with the federal hemp production program, more state-run programs have decided to keep the status quo for another year.
Less than a week after the U.S. Department of Agriculture closed a public comment period on its hemp rules, five more states announced they will be sticking with their current rules for the 2020 growing season.
One has decided not to run a program at all, handing off interested growers there to federal authority.
States are peeling off
Michigan and Tennessee unceremoniously decided to extend their pilot program rules into the 2020 production season, joining three other states that have come to the same decision in the past week – Colorado, Montana and North Dakota.
“We are evaluating the 2018 bill and potential changes to our program with continued focus on working with producers and industry to advance hemp in Tennessee,” Kim Doddridge, spokeswoman for Tennessee’s agriculture department, told Hemp Industry Daily.
