The hemp industry is one of the most exciting and fastest-growing sectors in the United States. Here are five of our favorite hemp stories from 2021.
USDA Gives Hemp Farmers Breathing Space on THC Testing
Under newly released rules by the UDSA, hemp producers will have more breathing space around federally mandated limits on THC levels. The decision was based on farmers' and hemp industry members' feedback and saw the amount of THC levels raised from 0.5% to 1% before producers will be marked as criminally negligent. This change takes effect on March 22, 2021.
The current production rule comes from the 2014 Farm Bill, which nearly half of all hemp production states work under. All states and tribal cultivation and manufacturing programs will have until December 31, 2021, to bring their productions inline with the USDA's final hemp production rules.
Hemp Prices Continue to Grow
Prices for CBD and industrial hemp genetics rose this month, reports Hemp Benchmarks, which is unsurprising for the time of year.
However, overall prices are down when compared to this time last year. Industrial seed prices remained the most consistent over time. For the second month in a row, the smokable CBD flower's assessed price increased and is confirmed to be the only product category to demonstrate a year-on-year price increase.
Could Hemp Baby Greens Be the Next Big Thing in Salads?
Baby greens are the salad of choice for trendy tastebuds. In a new trial, hemp baby greens are being grown and tested as a potential rival to the niche crop reports Hemp Industry Daily. However, while hemp seed and grain foods have been certified safe by the USFDA, hemp baby greens' legality is unclear. No legal precedent has been set for hemp plants to be produced and marketed as a leafy green.
New Shipping Restrictions Could impact hemp Industry
In late December 2020, the government passed a bill that prohibits USPS from shipping vaping products. While the "Preventing Online Sales of E-Cigarettes to Children Act," targets nicotine vapes, the law is reportedly so broad that companies that sell vaping products online are being warned to find alternative ways to ship their products or face the consequences.
Rod Kight, a cannabis attorney in North Carolina, has confirmed that while the law doesn't call out the hemp industry or hemp products specifically, "they're participants within the industry who are selling vape products, then it absolutely affects them," he told Hemp Industry Daily.
CBD Energy Drinks Sell Out in Queen Elizabeth's Farm Shop
Does the Queen of England drink CBD drinks? Trip, a UK-based company that sells hemp-derived CBD products, is stocked in the Windsor Farm Shop at Windsor Castle and is proving to be very popular with visitors who are reportedly buying seven or eight cans at a time.
