In late October, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced they were establishing the U.S. Domestic Hemp Production Program, which basically creates a consistent regulatory framework around hemp production throughout the U.S. So with efforts underway to get this established, some wonder how farm credit associations will treat farm loans for hemp. Chairman/CEO of the Farm Credit Administration, Glen Smith, recently told a House Agriculture panel how they will be handling loan requests by farmers for hemp production.
The interim final rule formalizing USDA’s Hemp Program has been published in the Federal Register and public comments on the rule are being accepted. For information on available programs, visit farmers.gov/hemp.