Application Submitted For Hemp As Feed Ingredient For Poultry

The first submission for hemp to become an approved animal feed ingredient has been put forward for consideration by the Association of American Feed Control Officials and the U.S. Food and Drug Association-Center for Veterinary Medicine (FDA-CVM). Once approved, this ingredient application submitted by the Hemp Feed Coalition (HFC) will allow hempseed meal and cake to be legally used as commercial feed for laying hens. Led by coalition leadership, hemp and feed industry experts, and researchers, the submission is a culmination of a two-year-long effort, consisting of an ingredient investigation of hemp seedcake and meal and a clinical trial to demonstrate the safety and efficacy of hemp for laying hens.

“The first one is always the hardest; and it was definitely a group effort to submit the first-ever application in the U.S. for hemp as an official feed ingredient,” Hunter Buffington, executive director of the HFC, said of the first submission.

To meet the FDA-CVM rigorous standards of safety and efficacy, the hemp industry shared Certificates of Analysis from across the United States to demonstrate hempseed cake and meal can be consistently grown and processed. This effort was combined with expertise from hemp and feed industry leaders, research from principal investigators and the support of project champion, IND HEMP, to bring the submission to the FDA-CVM for scientific review.

“The coalition has worked hard over the last two years and we are finally getting our first steps behind us in the world of federal approval; something that most every day Americans would be shocked to know is so heavily regulated,” said Morgan Elliot, co-foudner of IND HEMP. “HFC doesn’t just represent the hemp industry but all the farmers and ranchers out there that deserve the opportunity to monetize their efforts and compete on the global market of industrial hemp.”

Now that the first application has been submitted, the HFC will turn its focus to research on other hemp by-products: oil, sediment, hulls, pulp and screenings to investigate their benefit and safety as feed ingredients. In addition, this work will include the clinical trials necessary to add ruminates to the hempseed meal application that was submitted.

“Opening new markets is our secondary mission,” said Buffington. “Commoditizing safe and healthy by-products from hemp processing will provide farmer and processor revenue and a build a steady supply as the industry matures in the next few years.”

The HFC will be leading those efforts by bringing researchers, hemp and feed industry experts and coalition advisors together for additional applications and Federal regulatory approval for new hemp ingredients as feed for animals.

The Hemp Feed Coalition (HFC) began in 2018 as a pilot project under the Colorado Hemp Industries Association (COHIA) before forming its own non-profit organization in 2020. The HFC intends to continue its mission to gain federal approval for additional hemp by-products as commercial animal feed. For more information on current research and ingredient data collection contact Hunter Buffington at hunter@hempfeedcoalition.org