Wyoming takes another step toward hemp production

Farmers in Wyoming are getting closer to having another crop to cultivate now that the state’s Department of Agriculture has submitted a plan for hemp production to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Last month, Gov. Mark Gordon signed the first state-level hemp law since passage of the 2018 Farm Bill.

Wyoming’s new law calls for the state to chart its own course for a hemp industry, but it won’t issue licenses until the USDA approves its regulatory plan.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue said in late February that the USDA will not review state plans until the agency finalizes federal hemp production regulations this fall for the 2020 hemp season.