Boom Times Are Here: Hemp Farming Quadruples This Year!

A new report from Vote Hemp, a top hemp advocacy group, indicates the amount of licensed acreage of hemp farming across the US has more than quadrupled this year. 

The report, 2019 US Hemp License Report, says the number of acres of hemp licensed across 34 states totaled 511,442 in 2019, a 455% jump YoY. State licenses to produce hemp were issued to 16,877 farmers and researchers, a 476% YoY jump. 

“We are seeing hemp cultivation dramatically expand in the US in 2019, with over quadruple the number of acres licensed in hemp compared to last year and the addition of 13 more states with hemp programs,” said Eric Steenstra, President of Vote Hemp. “Now that we have lifted federal prohibition on hemp farming, it’s time build the infrastructure and expand hemp cultivation and the market for hemp products across the country so that all can reap the benefits of this versatile and sustainable crop.”

Vote Hemp notes that not all of the 511,442 acres will yield hemp this year. It estimates only 230,000 acres of hemp will be planted. Of that, only 50% will be harvested due to crop failure.

Thirteen new states this year have allowed farmers to cultivate hemp following its removal from the federal Controlled Substances Act via the 2018 Farm Bill. However, Idaho, Mississippi, New Hampshire and South Dakota were the only states that continued the ban. 

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) is expected to release new hemp legalization that will allow for the mass production of hemp in the 2020 growing season. 

USDA officials said last week that hemp farmers would be eligible for federal crop insurance.

The Federal Credit Union Administration has recently said credit unions in rural America are now allowed to provide services for hemp producers.

The Environmental Protection Agency also announced that it’s currently reviewing and will be regulating what pesticides can be used on the crops. 

The Food and Drug Administration is reviewing how hemp-derived CBD could be used in food products or nutritional supplements.

With a record-setting amount of new hemp acreage coming online, spot hemp prices have been stagnating this year.

In red, Hemp Benchmark shows the states where growing hemp is commercially legal. 

Hemp Benchmark breaks down the number of licenses and acreage grown in each state. 

So if any readers are soybean and corn farmers devastated by President Trump’s trade war, now could be the time to overhaul operations and switch fields over to hemp – this could boost farm income as Americans are now stuffing their faces with CBD products.