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Rising hemp commercially in Maine is rewarding and intensely difficult, as I can personally attest. It’s no shock that simply three years into this new Maine business, most folk have give up, leaving a core of about 49 devoted growers. We’re betting that with arduous work and dedication we are able to create a viable agricultural sector for Maine’s economic system that helps assist household farms and small native companies. The 2021 hemp crop was price $712 million nationally and has great progress potential.
One of many trickier elements of rising hemp is complying with U.S. Division of Agriculture rules so our crop is federally authorized, in contrast to marijuana (hemp comprises solely a minute quantity of THC, the “psychoactive” compound in hashish). This permits us to ship the crop and its by-product merchandise throughout state traces legally and in addition provides us entry to insurance coverage and important monetary companies that will in any other case be unavailable. Complying with USDA rules is necessary to a profitable hemp enterprise.
Sadly, the Maine Legislature at this very late hour has nonetheless not handed a invoice that will guarantee Maine’s hemp program is USDA authorised due to objections to the USDA’s guidelines. Everybody agrees a few of these guidelines are unhealthy and have to be modified. However reasonably than Maine “going rogue” and placing its fledgling hemp business in danger with a noncompliant program, we should always push Congress to repair the USDA rules. Rep. Chellie Pingree has a invoice already drafted within the Home — that’s the right car for addressing the issue.
Each Maine hemp grower I’ve spoken to agrees on this level. The Legislature ought to move the “majority report” model of LD 1942 to assist Maine’s hemp business.
Ed Geis
Camden