Hemp Proliferation! Adjustments to 2014 Farm Bill Act
The federal act that initially spun up the movement within the hemp agricultural world was the Farm Bill Act of 2014. This year, on the 21st of June, certain adjustments were made to the Farm Bill Act. The modifications affect several different agricultural sectors such as cotton, wool, grain, sugar, and dairy. So of course, among those, the new adjustments affect hemp agriculture as well.
Sec. 7125 Supplemental and Alternative Crops; Hemp
“Reauthorizes a research project for supplemental and alternative crops including canola and hemp.”
This is merely the authorization to continue growing hemp specifically for research projects. This was authorized originally in the Farm Bill Act of 2014.
Sec. 7401 Critical Agricultural Materials Act
“Reauthorizes the Critical Agricultural Materials Act, and includes hemp as an eligible product.”
This amendment authorizes hemp as a critical agricultural material (CAM). The purpose of this act is as follows: “The authority for this program is under Section 5(d) of the Critical Agricultural Materials Act (7 U.S.C. 178), as amended (Pub. L. 95-592) to develop and demonstrate industrial polymers that are manufactured from domestically produced agricultural materials and are of strategic and industrial importance to benefit the economy, defense and general well-being of the Nation. Many such products replace petrochemical-based products, and offer opportunities to create new businesses and new markets for agricultural materials.”
Sec. 7415 Legitimacy of Industrial Hemp Research
“Requires the Secretary to conduct a study and report on the economic viability of the domestic production and sale of industrial hemp.”
Section 7415 essentially defines what a pilot program is and how it applies to hemp agriculture, what industrial hemp is, and what the term “state department of agriculture” means. The addition to this section requires the Secretary to conduct a study independent of the research from universities and farmers to prove the legitimacy of hemp cultivation and hemp commerce.
Sec. 10111 Hemp Production
“Amends the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to allow states to regulate hemp growth and production, based on a state or tribal plan that includes information on locations of hemp production, testing for THC concentration, disposal of plants that are out of compliance, and negligence or other violations of the state or tribal plan. Requires states and tribes without USDA approved plans to follow federal laws and regulations promulgated by USDA on hemp production.”
The Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 made it “the policy of Congress” to find scientific methods of streamlining commerce and trade of agriculture. The amendment as mentioned earlier allows for this process to be handled by state government specifically with regards to hemp. The stipulation is that if the state doesn’t get USDA approval, then the hemp program(s) in the said state will still have congressional oversight.
Sec. 10112 Rule of Construction
“Clarifies that nothing in this title authorizes interference with the interstate commerce of hemp.”
This portion is pretty straightforward. It is simply iterating that there was and is nothing in the original Farm Bill Act that allows for the interference of state to state transportation of hemp for commerce means. This means that neither state nor the federal government can halt legal transit of hemp between states.
Sec. 11101 Definitions
“Defines cover crop termination and defines hemp as used in section 297A of the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946.”
The definition of hemp was implemented into the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946. It is defined as follows: “The term ‘hemp’ means the plant Cannabis sativa L. and any part of that plant, including the seeds thereof and all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, and salts of isomers, whether growing or not, with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis.”
Sec. 11106 Insurance period
“Amends section 508(a)(2) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act by adding hemp.”
This section of the Federal Crop Insurance Act states, “Except in the cases of tobacco, potatoes, and sweet potatoes [and hemp], insurance shall not extend beyond the period during which the insured commodity is in the field.” This is important because it means that insurers backing hemp will continue to ensure even after the product has been harvested.
Sec. 11112 Submission of policies and materials to the board.
“Amends section 508(h) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act to allow the Corporation to waive the viability and marketability requirement in the case of a policy or pilot program relating to the production of hemp.”
The section referenced here states this: “A complete 508(h) submission must be a viable and marketable insurance product that protects the interests of producers, is actuarially appropriate, and ensures program integrity.”
This essentially means that those stipulations which require an insurance product to have a certain level of viability and marketability are not applied to the production of hemp when said hemp is derived from either a policy or pilot program.
Sec. 11120 Agricultural commodity
“Amends section 518 of the Federal Crop Insurance Act by adding hemp.”
There is a term used called “agricultural commodity” to describe specific products that are achieved via agricultural processes. Hemp was added to this list.
Sec. 11121 Reimbursement of research, development, and maintenance costs
“Amends section 522(b) of the Federal Crop Insurance Act to allow the Board and Corporation to waive the viability and marketability requirements in the case of research and development relating to a policy to ensure the production of hemp.”
This amendment ties directly into the amendment above which references section 508(b). An eligible applicant of 508(b) has the ability to be reimbursed by the entity which governs this sector (named the “Corporation”) for research and development relating to a hemp insurance policy.
Work Cited
“7 U.S. Code § 1522 – Research and Development.” LII / Legal Information Institute, 2008,
www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/7/1522.
“7 U.S. Code § 1518 – ‘Agricultural Commodity’ Defined.” LII / Legal Information Institute, 2008,
www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/7/1518.
“7 CFR 400.705 – Contents for New and Changed 508(h) Submissions, Concept Proposals, and
Index-Based Weather Plans of Insurance.” LII / Legal Information Institute, 2018, www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/7/400.705.
“7 U.S. Code § 1508 – Crop Insurance.” LII / Legal Information Institute, 18 June 2008,
www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/7/1508.
“To Amend the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 to Provide for State and Tribal Regulation of Hemp
Production, and for Other Purposes.” Hempsupporter.com, 10 Apr. 2018, hempsupporter.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/COMER_011_xml.pdf.
“Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946.” Ams.usda.gov, 14 Aug. 1946,
www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/Agricultural_Marketing_Act_Of_1946%5B1%5D.pdf.
“7 U.S. Code § 5940 – Legitimacy of Industrial Hemp Research.” LII / Legal Information Institute, 2014,
www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/7/5940.
“Critical Agricultural Materials.” Nifa.usda.gov, US Department of Agriculture, 2014,
nifa.usda.gov/sites/default/files/rfa/14_CAM.pdf.
“Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018: Section by Section.” Agriculture.senate.gov,
www.agriculture.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Section-by-sections%20(Committee
%20Print).pdf.
