Hemp regulatory plan proposed

The Agriculture Committee heard testimony Feb. 12 on a bill that would regulate the growing and handling of industrial hemp in Nebraska.

Congress legalized the cultivation and sale of hemp—defined as cannabis with no more than 0.3 percent tetrahydrocannabinol, the plant’s main psychoactive compound—with the 2018 Farm Bill by removing it from the federal Controlled Substances Act.

Under the federal bill, states that wish to regulate the production of hemp must first submit a plan to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. A plan must include a practice to maintain information on where hemp is produced and procedures for conducting annual inspections of hemp producers, testing the plants’ THC levels and destroying plants grown in violation of the law.

Omaha Sen. Justin Wayne, sponsor of LB657, said the bill is intended to meet those requirements. Under the bill, the state Department of Agriculture would establish, operate and administer a registration program for hemp growers and a licensing program for processor-handlers.

A coming amendment would change some aspects of the bill, Wayne said, but the proposed regulatory program would allow Nebraska farmers and manufacturers to grow and process a crop for which there is a surging market.

Andrew Bish of Bish Enterprises testified in support of the bill, saying it would give farmers an alternative commodity crop and create jobs. His company manufactures and sells equipment to hemp producers, Bish said, and other Nebraska businesses process hemp stalks and sell milling equipment to hemp growers.

“If Nebraska businesses are allowed to compete in a fair and open market,” he said, “Nebraska can and will be a leader in this industry.”

Allan Jenkins, an economics professor at the University of Nebraska at Kearney, also testified in support. He said hemp cultivars, or varieties, can be used for a number of products, including seeds and oil for human consumption. That includes cannabidiol, a non-psychoactive component of cannabis plants that is the subject of intense product development and several medical studies, Jenkins said.

One of the most attractive features of hemp, he added, is that it allows small-scale cultivation.

“Today an ordinary citizen has no reasonable chance of becoming a corn grower,” Jenkins said. “But even a few acres of high-CBD hemp cultivar can create a significant second income for a family.”

Also testifying in support was John Hansen, president of the Nebraska Farmers Union. He said the union would prefer that the state create its own plan to regulate hemp consistent with the 2018 Farm Bill rather than wait for the USDA to implement its own.

“There might be some additional costs,” Hansen said, “but I think that the benefits of assuming the responsibility here at the state level far outweigh those additional costs.”

Amelia Breinig, assistant director of the state Department of Agriculture, gave neutral testimony on the bill. She said the department supports the 2018 Farm Bill and hemp as a commercial product in Nebraska.

The department is waiting to see Wayne’s proposed changes to LB657, Breinig said. Any proposed regulatory program would need to comply with federal law and include enough funding for the department to carry it out, she said.

No one testified in opposition to the bill and the committee took no immediate action on it.