Farmers of Iowa strike a major win as the plan that the state agriculture department submitted has been approved by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Applications will begin being accepted starting April 1. Farmers will be allowed to cultivate up to 40 acres.
Iowa is one of 12 states that now has USDA approval for their hemp production plans. There are also 14 American Indian tribes that have been approved as well.
“We know farmers are eager for new opportunities, and this milestone means they are one step closer to being able to grow hemp during the 2020 growing season,” Mike Naig, Iowa’s Secretary of Agriculture, said in a statement.
The state will hold a public hearing to allow the comments on the plan that will take place during a teleconference on April 3.
The state government then plans to publish an official notice in the Iowa Administrative Bulletin on April 8. The Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship stresses that until that is published, it remains illegal to grow, possess, buy, or sell hemp in the state.
“Once the official notice is published in the Iowa Administrative Bulletin, non-THC hemp derivatives such as cannabidiol are no longer considered a Schedule 1 Controlled Substance,” Robin Pruisner, an administrator for Iowa’s Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, told the press.
“However, it does not legalize cannabidiol for consumption in Iowa, nor the extraction/processing of hemp derivatives.”
CBD products are currently only available in a small number of approved pharmacies throughout the state.
