The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is requesting permission from the White House to conduct a survey of about 20,000 farmers to collect data on hemp production. In a notice published in the Federal Register on Thursday, the department said it wants to launch an annual “Hemp Acreage and Production Survey,” and it’s soliciting public comment on whether the effort would be useful and how to most effectively administer it to minimize the burden on respondents. This appears to be a follow-up to a February notice USDA posted on its intent to request the survey from the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB). It’s unclear at this point what information USDA would specifically be requesting about hemp, but the title—” Hemp Acreage and Production Survey”—indicates that it would help inform issues related to cultivation that the department oversees since the crop was federally legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill.
Kyle Jaeger, Marijuana Moment, 07/15/2021 09:11:00