Wisconsin is set to become the first state to relinquish authority over its state hemp program to the federal U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The announced transition will occur on January 1st, 2022. Starting on that date, Wisconsin farmers and hemp processors will have to comply with the final rule on hemp released by USDA earlier this year. The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) has overseen a very rocky few years for hemp in the state. When the 2014 Farm Bill was signed into law, industrial hemp became a legal crop in Wisconsin under a research pilot program. Wisconsin hemp growers and processors have been required to submit a research plan to become licensed as providers of hemp for research purposes. When the 2018 Farm Bill fully legalized hemp, confusion was sown by numerous delays in USDA’s efforts to publish a final rule and roll out a legal hemp structure across the nation. In October 2020, Wisconsin farmers and processors were scrambling to keep up with federal regulations. USDA had failed to approve Wisconsin’s hemp plan, and lawmakers extended the deadline for Wisconsin farmers in the nick of time. DATCP still transitioned to a different hemp program while awaiting USDA’s final rule on hemp, which was more than two years in the making.
420 Intel – Marijuana Industry News, 10/17/2021 20:00:00