News

Hemp growers want farm bill certainty

Hemp growers say they need farm bill certainty from Congress.

“Another one-year extension is not going to hurt anything.”

Chris Berry, vice president of the Illinois Hemp Growers Association, says their growers need to know what the next farm bill contains more than any others.

“The compliance issues.”  He says, “That you have to even have a license.  That there’s a special license; that there’s a special harvest sampling protocol that you have to follow.  That you need to be in close contact with the Department of Ag. There’s a lot more compliance burden.”

He tells Brownfield the new farm bill proposals could ease some of those burdens.

“One of which is some exemptions for fiber and grain growers.”  He says, “It will make the large scale row cropping less burdensome as far as compliance goes. Basically status quo with minor improvements.”

But Berry says the clock is ticking.  The current farm bill extension expires at the end of September.

Brownfield spoke with Berry at the 2024 Hemp Research Open House at the University of Illinois.

AUDIO: Chris Berry – Illinois Hemp Growers Association