Move over corn?

Hemp is on track for commercial production in 2020

by Travis Fischer

Iowa farmers may be testing out a new crop next year as restrictions against growing commercial hemp are lifted nationwide.

While useful for its grain, seed and fibers, hemp production in the United States has faced legal obstacles due to the plant’s other commonly known use as the drug, marijuana.

The distinction between “hemp” and “marijuana” is an arbitrary one. They are the same plant, Cannabis sativa L., with the only difference being the concentration of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) on a dry weight basis. THC is the chemical compound produced by Cannabis responsible for giving users the high feeling that marijuana is known for.

Legally, a cannabis plant with less than 0.3 percent THC is considered hemp. A cannabis plant with more than 0.3 percent THC is marijuana, which remains illegal.

Along with THC, the Cannabis plant is also used to produce Cannabidiol (CBD), another chemical compound found in the plant that has found use in treating pain and anxiety.

As attitudes about Cannabis have shifted across the country, state and federal regulators have opened the door to legalizing the production of hemp for various products. While likely

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best known for its role in the production of CBD oil, hemp can be used for several commercial products, including textiles, paper and rope.

Legal hemp production in the United States started in 2014 with a series of pilot projects run out of a small number of states, but with the 2018 farm bill hemp is on the way to become legalized nationwide as an agricultural commodity.

Earlier this year the state legislature passed Senate File 599 to allow hemp to be legally grown in Iowa. Though the law is technically in effect now, there are still several legal hurdles to be overcome before farmers can start growing.

Immediately after Governor Kim Reynolds signed the bill, the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) started drafting a plan for licensing and regulating the production of hemp in Iowa to be submitted to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

“The rest of the bill is contingent on the USDA approving our plan,” said State Entomologist Robin Pruisner.

However, before the USDA will look at the state’s plan, they need to come up with one of their own. The provisions in the 2018 Farm Bill removes hemp from the list of federally controlled substances but those provisions don’t come into effect until the USDA creates their own rule-making process. Once a baseline set of rules are in place, IDALS will be able to submit the state plan for Iowa. The USDA will then have 60 days to approve or deny it.

If all goes well, commercial hemp production should be viable for the 2020 growing season, however there will still be many things for farmers to consider before diving in.

Before planting, farmers will need to apply for a license from IDALS. Applicants will be subject to fingerprinting and a national criminal history background check. People with felony controlled substance convictions within the last ten years will be automatically disqualified.

Once the background check is complete, the farmer will have to determine how much they want to invest in hemp. A license fee will have to be paid for each crop site and an individual farmer can only grow up to 40 acres of hemp.

Before harvesting, the licensee must give the Department of Agriculture 30 days notice to have their crop site tested for THC. If the crop sample shows a THC level of below 0.3 percent, the crop will be certified and harvested as hemp.

A crop that shows THC above 0.3 percent is legally considered marijuana and would need to be destroyed at the farmer’s expense.

“Farmers need to understand risks and one of the risks is failing that THC test,” said Pruisner.

Long before harvest, or even planting, Pruisner says there are still many other things to consider before a farmer decides to experiment with hemp. In particular, securing a contract with a buyer ahead of time should be done before planting to make sure you can move the product once harvested.

“This crop is different than the row crops we’re used to in Iowa,” said Pruisner. “You can grow corn about any way you want and somebody’s going to buy it. We’re not at that point in the hemp industry yet.”

Farmers looking to get into the CBD business will face even more complications.

The overlapping legal restrictions against Cannabis, THC and CBD have created a labyrinth of laws that have proven difficult to navigate.  In 2014, the state passed the Medical Cannabidiol Act, allowing registered patients to possess CBD products even though they were still illegal to produce or sell.  In 2017, the program was expanded, allowing patients to purchase CBD products from among five state licensed dispensaries.

Outside of that exception though, CBD products are still currently illegal to produce or sell in Iowa and may continue to remain that way even after the hemp bill comes into effect.

Even though farmers may be able to grow hemp for CBD products in 2020, those products largely remain illegal as the FDA has not approved CBD for human consumption. For this reason Iowa food processing facilities cannot process CBD products either, so farmers will have to make arrangements to have their crops transported out-of-state. While other states have passed laws making CBD legal for consumption, Iowa defers to the federal regulations in this matter.

“The Department of Inspections and Appeals licenses food processing facilities, but they cannot give a license to a facility that is processing something that is not legal for consumption,” said Pruisner.  “Until the FDA changes their stance on the legality of consumption, it cannot be legally extracted here in Iowa.”

With hemp being a relatively new market it will take some time to figure out what works and what doesn’t.  Pruisner jokes that you can ask 10 different hemp growers about how to control THC levels and you’ll end up with 12 different answers.

“I think as we get more experienced here in the United States, we’re going to get better in genetics and management and we’re going to see that number fall,” said Pruisner.  “But this is still a very new industry.”

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