Farm Bill deadline missed, leaving U.S. stakeholders waiting

The American hemp lobby and other farm groups have been left waiting as the U.S. Congress failed to pass a new Farm Bill under a deadline that ended Sept. 30.

House and Senate Farm Bill conference committee leaders acknowledged last week that they failed to agree on final language for the bill, and indicated they’ll now look to pass a conference report after U.S. midterm elections in November, industry group Vote Hemp noted in a release.

Eager anticipation

Hemp industry stakeholders in the USA are eagerly awaiting renewal of the U.S. Farm Bill, expected to include language that will categorize hemp as an agricultural commodity and remove it from the Drug Enforcement Agency’s list of schedule 1 drugs. Passage is expected to significantly boost CBD sales and advance other hemp sub-sectors

The missed deadline also means a range of farming programs managed under the present Farm Bill do not have any new funding until a new bill is passed or an extension to the current bill is granted. Several thorny political issues still burden the bill.

‘Constituents not happy’

“Farm Bill negotiations can be unpredictable but we do still expect the Hemp Farming Act language to be included in the final bill and are still hopeful that the bill will be signed into law before the end of this year,” Vote Hemp said in the statement. “There is pressure to get a Farm Bill done and members will hear from constituents who are not happy about the failure to make a deal.”

The post Farm Bill deadline missed, leaving U.S. stakeholders waiting appeared first on HempToday.