In an effort to keep local regulations consistent with federal policy, the Wisconsin hemp program will transition to the authority of the U.S. Department of Agriculture starting January 1 of next year. The move was announced during a conference call with state agriculture reporters on Thursday, where Agriculture Secretary-designee Randy Romanski said the change will provide growers with the best opportunity to produce hemp in Wisconsin.
"Since the inception of Wisconsin's hemp program, DATCP has been committed to working collaboratively with the industry to establish a program for Wisconsin growers," Romanski said. "Through continued outreach with industry stakeholders and USDA, DATCP's plan is to transition the program from a state-run program to a federal-run program."
Rob Richard of the Wisconsin Hemp Alliance added that since many producers are already working with their local Farm Service Agency office to report their crops, the transition aligns with processes already occurring.
"We learned a tremendous amount of information about the plant in that time," Richard said. "Now that USDA has finalized their hemp rule and we're seeing signs of federal financial resources in hemp research and development, this is absolutely the right time to shift course from a state-centric focused program to a federal program."
Meanwhile, growers are invited to take part in a webinar from on September 15 to learn how to locate and work with their local USDA office and apply for a USDA hemp license.
Since December of 2017, Wisconsin has been administering a hemp pilot program in order to legalize the plant as an agricultural commodity.
Categories: Wisconsin, Crops