The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently published an updated version of its Hemp Handbook last month. The first version of the handbook was published in September 2021, followed by a second update in April 2023. This third and newest version was published online in July, called “USDA Hemp Descriptor and Phenotyping Handbook, Version 3,” expands on numerous sections including hemp pathology, agronomic evaluation, and fiber quality, and protocols for things like feral hemp collection, seed threshing, tissue culture, pollen collection, and more.

Throughout all of these versions, the handbook seeks to help researchers with a variety of objectives, from helping “breeders and researchers in identifying accessions with specific traits to facilitate germplasm selection within hemp improvement programs” to filling in gaps in the USDA hemp collection and developing ways to collect and conserve hemp varieties. “The methods and protocols are based on peer-reviewed literature and/or crowd-sourced from the hemp community,” the handbook states. “Robust, reliable, and high-dimensional data generated from these phenotyping efforts will empower conservation of hemp genetic diversity and aid selection of materials with unique trait combinations for breeding programs.”

The USDA’s phenotype results are stored both digitally and are publicly available through the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN) and the Plant Genetic Resources Unit (PGRU), based in Geneva, New York. “The Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN) provides information about USDA national collections of animal, microbial, and plant genetic resources (germplasm) important for food and agricultural production,” the USDA website states. “GRIN documents these collections through informational pages, searchable databases, and links to USDA-ARS projects that curate the collections.”

The GRIN NPGS (U.S. National Plant Germplasm System) doesn’t serve home or community gardeners, or home school or K-12 school education efforts, but instead was made for professional plant breeders and researchers.

The USDA explains on its website that the goal of germplasm collection at the PGRU is to preserve hemp genetic resources. “These resources will be backed-up at the ARS National Laboratory for Genetic Resources Preservation, regenerated, monitored, and maintained with best management practices, so that high quality germplasm can be distributed to researchers and breeders within the hemp community,” the website states. “Vulnerable or threatened genetic resources for hemp wild relatives and cultivars will be safeguarded so that these critical sources of genes for hemp research and breeding are widely available. In addition, new genetic resources for hemp that might be suitable for U.S agricultural systems will be introduced.”

In August, the USDA created a “high-throughput pollen collection device” that was developed to efficiently collect pollen. “Hemp is a new crop added to our seed bank in 2021 and we believe it has a lot of research potential,” said Tony Barraco in a USDA video about the device. “One objective we are exploring is the possibility of collection, long term storage, and distribution of pollen to stakeholders, like we distribute seeds.” The device was conceptualized by a former USDA post-doc Nick Genna and hemp curator Zachary Stansell, as well as hemp geneticist Tyler Gordon and technician Dan Meyers (the last three are also editors of the USDA Hemp Descriptor and Phenotyping Handbook).

The device is wearable like a backpack and includes a 100-micron mesh screen attached to a vacuum nozzle that can be carefully passed across live hemp plant material. Pollen is approximately 25 microns in size, so the vacuum can collect pollen without also collecting larger pieces of raw plant material.

The USDA continues to ramp up efforts regarding hemp, such as its “2023 Hemp Webinar Series” which includes eight videos published over the past few months.

Also last month, the USDA featured a father/son hemp cultivator team for the first time as part of its “Fridays on the Farm” spotlight column. The column covered the operations of their 200-acre hemp farm in Indiana, called Papa G’s Hemp Farm, and how the father once cultivated corn, soybeans, and hay on his property before his son convinced him to grow hemp.

In 2022, the USDA released a report that took a closer look at the growing value of the hemp industry, valuing it at approximately $824 million (considering data collected in 2021). The data was revised in a report released earlier this year, which stated that industrial hemp was only worth $238 million in value, with 2022 industrial hemp data consulted. It also shared that last year industrial hemp was cultivated on 28,314 acres, which was a 48% decrease from outdoor cultivation in 2021.

The benefits of hemp are widespread, from its versatile use as a food, textile, and agricultural good, but also as a source of pollen for pollinators. A recent study released in July explored hemp as a nutrition source for bees (primary sweat bees, but also honey bees and bumblebees as well). Researchers analyzed the chemical composition of four industrial hemp varieties (called Canda, CFX-2, Henola, and Joey). “Overall, the Joey variety was the most preferred by bees, despite expressing lower protein, amino acid, and saturated and monosaturated fatty acid content,” researchers concluded. “Based on our findings, we concluded that industrial hemp pollen provides some nutritional benefits to bees. However, it is important to understand that multiple sources of pollen are needed for sustained bee survival.”

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On October 17, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding announced a $200,000 grant program to award organizations striving to promote hemp.

The department aims to award grant funds to reimburse “half of project costs,” with a minimum grant amount of $1,000. Special consideration will be given to applicants who “leverage other funding and private partnerships.”

“Hemp has presented a unique opportunity to grow an industry from the ground up, supplying seemingly limitless sustainable construction materials, fiber and food products,” Redding said in a press release. “These grants will feed a new industry that was once a staple of Pennsylvania’s economy and is again presenting opportunities for farm income and jobs as well as new possibilities for climate-friendly, environmentally beneficial products.”

Applicants are required to have started on or after July 1, 2022 and completed by June 30, 2023 (although the application window ends on December 2).

This is a slight increase from the department’s grant total of $157,735 in 2021, which was used to fund three different projects to boost hemp product awareness as a useful fiber and food: Don Services for hemp as a building material, Team Pennsylvania (also the host of the Pennsylvania Hemp Summit) spearheads education, and Urban Affairs Coalition All Together Now PA, which promoted hemp education as well.

The press release praised Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration for its support and development of the state’s hemp program. In July at the Pennsylvania Hemp Summit, the state agricultural department announced a $460,000 program to help hemp cultivators and other unique crops through Specialty Crop Block Grants. “We are building a new industry, literally from the ground up,” Redding said at the event.

Back in 2019, Wolf also signed the Pennsylvania Farm Bill, which provided “strategic investments” in state agriculture, and noted the inclusion of hemp as an animal feed.

In other hemp news, tiny homes were created in Europe by Margent Farms using corrugated hemp sheets. The surprisingly spacious two-story homes were created with sustainability, affordability, and design consciousness in mind. “The fibres sequester carbon, locking it in and stopping it releasing back into the atmosphere, resulting in a very low-carbon product. The high cellulose content (60–70%) of the plant makes it a very strong and durable material. The sheet is bound with a sugar based resin made entirely from agricultural waste. Our hemp sheets are a natural alternative to corrugated steel, PVC, bitumen and cement,” the construction company said on its website.

Earlier this summer, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper signed a bill to remove hemp from the state’s list of controlled substances. “Agriculture is North Carolina’s largest industry and giving North Carolina farmers certainty that they can continue to participate in this growing market is the right thing to do for rural communities and our economy,” Cooper said in a press release.

A hemp-focused museum exhibit debuted in June in Barcelona, spotlighting the unique uses of hemp as an important trade crop and source of income for merchants in Japan. Called “Cannabis Japonica,” unique clothing samples and literature are on display through February 2023.

Japan is undergoing its own cannabis renaissance as well. While cannabis is strictly regulated, the country’s health officials are proposing that medical cannabis be legalized to align its regulation with other major countries.

A new report from Technavio examined the global industrial hemp market, and projects that the industry could grow up to $6.47 billion in value between 2021 and 2026. Specifically, the report suggests that the leading hemp product will be textiles. “The industrial hemp market share growth in the textile segment will be significant during the forecast period. Hemp fibers possess significant properties, such as high absorption capacity and good thermal and electrical properties, like low static electricity charge and high heat of sorption,” the report states. “Hence, hemp is used in the manufacture of apparel, fabrics, denim, and fine textiles, thus increasing the demand for hemp in the textile segment. Therefore, owing to these factors, the textile segment of the market in focus is expected to grow during the forecast period.”

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The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has begun mailing out surveys today to all of the nation’s hemp producers, with the hope that their comments will help the agency collect data about operations and production.

The USDA’s first hemp survey, entitled the “Hemp Acreage and Production Survey,” was mailed out on October 18. It’s the first time that the agency has tried to collect data about hemp harvests. “The Hemp Acreage and Production Survey collects information on the acreage, yield, production, price, and value of hemp in the United States,” said the USDA’s National Agriculture Statistics Service (NASS).

“The Domestic Hemp Production Program established in the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (2018 Farm Bill) allows for the cultivation of hemp under certain conditions. The Hemp Acreage and Production Survey will provide needed data about the hemp industry to assist producers, regulatory agencies, state governments, processors, and other key industry entities.”

The USDA sent out mailers to the country’s 20,500 producers, but those producers also have the choice to answer the survey online instead, using a 12-digit code included in their mailer. Answering the survey is required by all producers, as according to the USDA Agricultural Research Service’s Domestic Hemp Program, and it must be completed by October 25. NASS plans to review all of the submitted data and publish the results in February 2022.

“This inaugural hemp survey will establish a necessary benchmark and provide critically-needed data for the hemp industry,” said Kevin Barnes, NASS Acting Administrator. “The information collected can help inform producers’ decisions about growing, harvesting, and selling hemp as well as the type of hemp they decide to produce. The resulting data will also foster greater understanding of the hemp production landscape across regulatory agencies, producers, state and Tribal governments, processors, and other key industry entities.”

Hemp Survey Follows This Year’s New USDA Final Rule

Earlier this year on January 19, 2021, the USDA released information regarding its final rule on hemp production, after two years of discussion. The rule took effect on March 22, 2021, and amended key text in the original 2018 Farm Bill. These new rules include:

1. The 0.3 percent THC limitation where product that is less than one percent is no longer considered “negligent.”
2. The immediate destruction of hemp that does not meet the 0.3 percent THC requirement to include composting, burial or burning.
3. Hemp testing to be conducted by DEA-registered facilities after December 31, 2022, (when more facilities become available to serve the national demand).
4. Hemp samples will be gathered 30 days after harvest (previously it was 15 days).
5. The allowance of a performance-based sampling approach.
6. Tribes may invoke their jurisdiction on their territory.

Two years was a lengthy amount of time to finalize these rules, but many industry members agreed it was necessary in order to establish properly researched hemp farming regulations. “It’s a process, like anything else, to legalize a new market while making sure all foreseeable hiccups are addressed at the onset of a harvest,” said Michelle Donovan, senior counsel at law firm Clark Hill. AJ Payack, the president of Vermont Organic Science, agreed that the rules will pave the way for the hemp industry.

“It’s about time that the USDA released rules for the hemp space,” said Payack. “There will be extreme testing that needs to be done on CBD products for GMP compliance.  While I don’t necessarily think that’s a bad thing companies are going to need a lot of capital for GMP compliance.”

Meanwhile, hemp continues to be a focus for research, growth and progress. Oregon State University recently received a $10 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture last week. California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 45 on October 6, establishing a framework for the manufacturing and sale of hemp products such as smokable hemp, and infused foods and drinks, which went into effect immediately. In August, a Texas judge ruled the ban on smokable hemp as unconstitutional.

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