Nebraska’s Department of Agriculture (NDA) lodged the state’s plan for hemp with the USDA last Friday for review – a significant milestone in the state’s renewed embracing of the crop.
Nebraska has certainly changed its tune on industrial hemp in recent times. Only half an acre of the crop was legally cultivated in the state in 2018, but in late May this year, Governor Pete Ricketts signed a bill into law enabling farmers to grow industrial hemp as an alternative crop and which aligns state law with federal law since changes under the 2018 Farm Bill.
The legislation seeks to promote the expansion of Nebraska’s hemp industry “to the maximum extent permitted by law” and gave NDA authority to regulate the cultivating, harvesting and processing of hemp for research purposes in Nebraska under a licensing agreement until such time the U.S. Department of Agriculture approves its plan.
Read the full article at hempgazette.com