On October 31, 2019 the USDA published the Interim Final Rule (IFR) for Establishment of a Domestic Hemp Production Program. Additionally, USDA released supporting documentation providing guidance on sampling, testing, and lab test result reporting.
You can read these documents in their entirety here:
Concerns With the USDA IFR Rules
AgHS has numerous concerns with the USDA IFR. After careful review, we find that the IFR contains onerous policies and procedures that will make compliance difficult for many U.S. hemp farmers.
Here are a few of the concerning excerpts in the IFR:
15-DAY HARVEST WINDOW — State and Tribal plans must incorporate procedures for sampling and testing hemp to ensure the cannabis grown and harvested does not exceed the acceptable hemp THC level. Sampling procedures, among other requirements, must ensure that a representative sample of the hemp production is physically collected and delivered to a DEA-registered laboratory for testing. Within 15 days prior to the anticipated harvest of cannabis plants, a Federal, State, local, or Tribal law enforcement agency or other Federal, State or Tribal designated person shall collect samples from the flower material from such cannabis plants for delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration level testing. If producers delay harvest beyond 15 days, the plant will likely have a higher THC level at harvest than the sample that is being tested. This requirement will yield the truest measurement of the THC level at the point of harvest. Accepting that a pre-harvest inspection is best to identify suspicious plants and activities, and that the sample should be taken as close to harvest as possible, the time was selected based on what would be a reasonable time for a farmer to harvest an entire field. This 15-day post-sample harvest window was also designed to allow for variables such as rain and equipment delays.
DEA REGISTERED LABS — Testing procedures must ensure the testing is completed by a DEA-registered laboratory using a reliable methodology for testing the THC level. The THC concentration of all hemp must meet the acceptable hemp THC level. Samples must be tested using post-decarboxylation or other similarly reliable analytical methods where the total THC concentration level reported accounts for the conversion of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA) into THC. Testing methodologies currently meeting these requirements include those using gas or liquid chromatography with detection. The total THC, derived from the sum of the THC and THCA content, shall be determined and reported on a dry weight basis. In order to provide flexibility to States and Tribes in administering their own hemp production programs, alternative sampling and testing protocols will be considered if they are comparable and similarly reliable to the baseline mandated by section 297B(a)(2)(ii) of the AMA and established under the USDA plan and procedures. USDA procedures for sampling and testing will be issued concurrently with this rule and will be provided on the USDA website.
NON-COMPLIANT CROP DESTRUCTION — Disposal of non-compliant plants. State and Tribal plans are also required to include procedures for ensuring effective disposal of plants produced in violation of this Part. If a producer has produced cannabis exceeding the acceptable hemp THC level, the material must be disposed of in accordance with the CSA and DEA regulations because such material constitutes marijuana, a schedule I controlled substance under the CSA. Consequently, the material must be collected for destruction by a person authorized under the CSA to handle marijuana, such as a DEA-registered reverse distributor, or a duly authorized Federal, State, or local law enforcement officer.
NEGLIGENT VIOLATIONS — This rule specifies that hemp producers do not commit a negligent violation if they produce plants that exceed the acceptable hemp THC level and use reasonable efforts to grow hemp and the plant does not have a THC concentration of more than 0.5 percent on a dry weight basis. USDA recognizes that hemp producers may take the necessary steps and precautions to produce hemp, such as using certified seed, using other seed that has reliably grown compliant plants in other parts of the country, or engaging in other best practices, yet still produce plants that exceed the acceptable hemp THC level. USDA seeks comments whether there are other reasonable efforts to be considered. We believe that a hemp producer in that scenario has exercised a level of care that a reasonably prudent person would exercise if the plant does not have a THC concentration of more than 0.5 percent on a dry weight basis. USDA arrived at that percentage by examining the test results of samples taken from several States that have a hemp research program under the 2014 Farm Bill and by reviewing results from plants grown from certified seed as well as uncertified seed and tested using different testing protocols. Under this scenario, although a producer would not be considered “negligent,” they would still need to dispose of the plants if the THC concentration exceeded the acceptable hemp THC level.
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