Hemp Farmers have a reason to celebrate!
It has been almost 3 months since the USDA came out with it's final ruling on hemp, and we (like a lot of you) have spent a lot of time trying to figure how it affects hemp farmers in 2021.
When you get right down to there are 5 key benefits which make the final rule different from the interim rule back in 2019...
1. More Time - The testing window has been expanded to 30 days from 15 days. Of all the rules, we feel this is the most significant. The additional 15 days allows you as a farmer to really squeeze every last drop out of your crop and ensure you are offering the highest quality hemp products to your market. This means more cannibinoids, enhanced terpene development, better structure, everything gets another 15 days to ripen and mature. All of this means more $$$ for your crop.
2. Less Samples - The samples will come from fewer plants and be taken from the entire plant. This is more great news for farmers. Less time worrying about the potential of a few hot plants ruining your whole crop plus the samples won't just include the choice flowers but they will also be taken from the leaves, stems, lower branches, etc. This gives you even more latitude to grow the highest quality hemp flowers for your customers.
3. More Flexibility - Non DEA labs will be able to test until 2022. While for some states, this wasn't a big deal, we know it was a huge issue for our growers in states without many DEA labs. This gives those farmers the flexibility they need to safely and accurately test their crops, while the infrastructure catches up. If you combine this change with the previous 2, rural farmers in particular have a much better chance of getting their testing done quickly to ensure compliance.
4. More Options - Remediation options available for non compliant crops. In the event that your crop does come in above 0.3%, you have a chance to save it. The final rule lays out several options for remediation including shredding the entire crop to make a "biomass-like" material and then having it retested. There are also better options for disposal in the event that the crop is not able to be remediated. This is another win for the farmers.
5. More Room - Negligence threshold raised from 0.5% THC to 1% THC. Lastly, the limit for negligence has been raised to 1%, allowing many farmers to breath a huge sigh of relief. Normal variation in fields might occasionally produce individual plants that approach 0.5% THC, which made a lot of farmers wary but 1% THC is another story. With today's stable high quality hemp genetics, the chance of reaching 1% THC is extremely low and farmers have one less thing to worry about, especially if they are using the right genetics...
Here ‘s one of our Mtn Mango plant enjoying the benefits of more time before harvest…
