Hemp industry unions are seeking the farmers’ and producers’ opinions concerning whether they would support a nationwide checkoff program to accumulate funds for industry promotion and research.
Hemp Producers and farmers have to up to 15th Dec to surrender their responses to the Hemp Industries Association (HIA) and the National Industrial Hemp Council (NIHC).
A plethora of U.S commodities have a checkoff system for instance the dairy sector. The revenue it accrued helped support the currently well-known ‘Got Milk?’ campaign.
In July this year, the HIA and NIHC signed a contract to merge efforts in exploring the formation of a marketing checkoff system to promote hemp.
USDA checkoff systems attempt to promote farm products and widen market opportunities for importers, farmers, and industry stakeholders. They are financed through analysis of the produced items at the first sale point. They also enable community producers to acquire resources for education, promotion, and research efforts that can boost returns and production proficiencies.
The current USDA AMS (Agriculture Marketing Services) handles twenty-three checkoff programs for a surplus of commodities such as pork, Christmas trees, cotton, and so on. According to a 2018 study by Texas A&M, the current twenty-three checkoff systems offered returns ranging from $3-17 for each invested checkoff dollar.
According to Patrick Atagi, the NIHC board chair, a checkoff system further authorizes a quickly growing industry and assists Hemp cultivators to compete with farmers of other agriculture-associated commodities fairly.
Hemp production was legalized by the Congress-approved 2018 Farm Bill and accented as law by President Donald Trump. This hemp legalization and exemption from the controlled substances list has alleviated industry revenues.
USDA projects that hemp growers and producers will increase their proceeds by $25.5-million in 2020. The agency estimates sales to rise to $64.5-million during 2021 and get to $100-million after two years.
