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Industrial hemp growers have list of priorities for next farm bill
The next farm bill could lay the foundation for industrial hemp acreage to really take off.
Minnesota Industrial Hemp Association president Dave Ladd says USDA’s first industrial hemp survey released in February indicates there’s a lot of room for growth.
“But there’s some things that I’m going to be watching in the farm bill discussions (like) research and development authorized funding. Also the USDA Rural Development Programs (and) what could industrial hemp producers be eligible (for) under those frameworks?”
He tells Brownfield regulatory uncertainty and access to capital have been obstacles.
“To make sure that lenders can provide funds and have a comfort level (because) each one of these resources, whether it be community banks, commercial banks, USDA, credit unions, what have you, they all have a different regulator.”
Ladd hopes to see more risk management tools for industrial hemp included in the 2023 Farm Bill and says there are several ongoing pilot programs that will help establish a baseline.