USDA Approves Texas, Delaware, Nebraska Hemp Plans
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has approved plans for the production of hemp under the U.S. Domestic Hemp Production Program for the states of Delaware, Nebraska and Texas and for the Colorado River Indian Tribes, the Fort Belknap Indian Community, the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska, and the Yurok Tribe.
USDA continues to receive and review hemp production plans from states and Indian tribes on an ongoing basis. Plans previously approved include those for the states of Louisiana, New Jersey, and Ohio, and the Flandreau Santee Sioux, Santa Rosa Cahuilla, and La Jolla Band of Luiseno Indian Tribes.
“This is a victory for Texas farmers. With USDA approval of our Texas Hemp Plan, we are one step closer to giving our ag producers access to this exciting new crop opportunity,” said Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller. “It is still not legal to grow hemp – so don’t put those seeds in the ground just yet. We’ve got to get our rules approved and get our licensing program up and running, but the dominoes are dropping pretty quick. We’re almost there.”
Administrative rules were published (but not adopted) in January 2020. The Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) rulemaking process ensures the department receives stakeholder and public input regarding the new hemp program. TDA’s administrative rules relate to licensing, production, testing, seed certification and other program oversight, as necessary. Once the USDA plan is approved by USDA and the administrative rules are adopted, industrial hemp can be grown and cultivated legally in the State of Texas.
The Delaware Department of Agriculture will not release registration materials and participant guides to the public until Feb. 7, online at https://de.gov/hemp.
“Now that NDA (Nebraska Department of Agriculture) has an approved state hemp plan in place, we can begin issuing licenses for the commercial cultivation, processing, handling and brokering of industrial hemp in Nebraska,” said NDA Director Steve Wellman.
To view the finalized plan as approved by USDA, visit NDA’s website at nda.nebraska.gov/hemp. License applications for 2020 will be available on the NDA website beginning on Monday, Feb. 3.
To produce hemp, growers must be licensed or authorized under a state, tribe, or USDA production program. The program a grower is licensed under depends on the location of the hemp growing facility. If a state or tribe has an approved plan or is in the process of developing a plan, growers must apply and be licensed or authorized under its hemp program. If a state or tribe does not have a plan and does not intend to have a plan, growers can apply for a license from USDA as long as production of hemp is allowed in the state or tribe.