USDA Hemp Final Rule: Hits And Misses

Last Friday, January 15th, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (the "USDA") announced today's publication of its hemp production final rule in the Federal Register, which will go into effect on March 22, 2021. This final rule builds on the interim final rule (the "IFR") that was published on October 31, 2019. It includes revisions based on three public comment periods (you can read more on this issue here and here) but also takes into account "lessons learned from the 2020 growing season."

These new hemp regulations contain six key provisions, which include:

1. Licensing requirements;
2. Recordkeeping requirements;
3. Procedures for testing the THC level concentration in the hemp plant;