Mississippi farmers can soon apply for hemp production license

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Mississippi farmers will soon be able to apply for a hemp production license.

Following the passage of the �Mississippi Hemp Cultivation Act�, which legalizes the cultivation of hemp under a state plan to be created and implemented by the Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce, farmers will be able to apply for such a license from August 1st through October 31st.

Unfortunately for farmers, Ag Commissioner Andy Gipson explained that the legislature did not appropriate the necessary funding for the program�s implementation at this time.

�I appreciate the Mississippi Legislature providing farmers with access to a new agricultural commodity.� However, the economic stress of COVID-19 made it difficult for the Legislature to find a way to fund the program.� As a result, the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce cannot implement a state hemp program.� Should the Legislature decide to fund a hemp program, MDAC will request to be the licensing agency,� said Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce Andy Gipson.

Gipson continued, �However, I have been in constant communication with the USDA as we prepared to implement a hemp program for Mississippi. In late June, I notified the USDA that the Mississippi Hemp Cultivation Act had passed, but without funding for the program. I requested the USDA accept applications and issue hemp grower licenses for Mississippians under the USDA plan. The USDA has agreed to this plan, and Mississippians can from August 1 through October 31 submit applications for a hemp license from the USDA under the U.S. Domestic Hemp Production Program.”

Guidance for producers wanting to obtain a USDA hemp production license can be found at www.ams.usda.gov/rules-regulations/hemp/information-producers. Applicants must provide a copy of a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) criminal history report. An applicant will not receive a USDA hemp production license if the applicant has been convicted of a felony related to a controlled substance in the last 10 years.

Due to remote work conditions in Washington, D.C., the USDA strongly encourages all applications be sent electronically to farmbill.hemp@usda.gov for expedited processing. Alternatively, completed applications can be mailed with a copy of the FBI criminal history report to USDA/AMS/Specialty Crops Program, Hemp Branch, 470 L�Enfant Plaza S.W., Post Office Box 23192, Washington D.C. 20026.

All requirements and information related to the USDA Domestic Hemp Production Program may be viewed at https://www.ams.usda.gov/rules-regulations/hemp.� If you have questions, please email farmbill.hemp@usda.gov or call 202-720-2491.

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