Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer rarely gets involved in agricultural issues. However, the Hagstrom Report says he asked Ag Secretary Sonny Perdue to delay issuing a U.S. Domestic Hemp Production final rule until 2022. That move would allow hemp growers and producers in his home state of New York and across the country to continue to operate under the 2014 Farm Bill Pilot Program until that time. Schumer notes that COVID-19 is a solid reason for the delay. He also knows about some criticism for the interim final rule and says a delay “will allow USDA to address some of the more pressing regulatory critiques while giving states and producers additional time to come into compliance.” Allan Gandleman is President of the New York Cannabis Growers and Processors Association. He says the more than 700 registered hemp farmers in Schumer’s home state of New York would be negatively affected by USDA’s interim final rule on hemp.
In South Dakota, the state Department of Agriculture said this week it had submitted its plan to regulate industrial hemp in South Dakota to the United States Department of Agriculture for final approval.
“I am looking forward to working with industrial hemp producers and processors in South Dakota,” says Derek Schiefelbein, SDDA Industrial Hemp Program Manager. “The SDDA will continue to develop the program while waiting for approval from the USDA. Processors and growers can look for more information for how to apply in the near future.”
The industrial hemp legislation was passed by the South Dakota legislature in 2020 authorizing the SDDA to create a program to regulate the cultivation and processing of industrial hemp. The SDDA has been working to establish the industrial hemp program to support this new industry in the state.
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