The newly confirmed head of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has given final approval to a federal rule laying out regulations for the hemp industry, despite outstanding concerns from advocates about certain provisions.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, who is widely considered an ally of the hemp industry, signed off on the rule following a departmental review that began during the presidential transition. It will take effect on March 22, as originally planned.
“As part of the transition to the new Administration, the final rule was under additional review by the Department,” Bill Richmond, head of USDA’s Domestic Hemp Production Program, wrote in an email to stakeholders on Monday. “The rule has now been cleared by Secretary Vilsack to move forward as published in the Federal Register.”
A separate message from the department’s Agricultural Marketing Service said that as part of the presidential transition, “USDA and many other agencies took the opportunity to review new and pending regulatory actions” and that the “routine process” is done “to ensure longstanding as well as new programs are structured and resourced appropriately and to ensure programs are implemented to best serve their intended stakeholders.”
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