Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture Jonathan Shell has joined the call for a two-year delay to new federal restrictions on hemp products, saying immediate action is needed to help Kentucky farmers.
Kentucky Congressman James Comer has already called for such a delay, as he recently co-sponsored a bill to add a two-year extension before the new federal rules go into effect this November.
Shell and Comer, both Republicans, penned a letter calling for the delay last Thursday to U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, the fellow Kentucky Republican who was responsible for the provision passing into law last November.
“The provision included in the November CR has introduced significant uncertainty into the marketplace at a critical moment,” wrote Comer and Shell. “Hemp is an annual crop, and farmers are making decisions now about seed, worker contracts, financing, and acreage for the upcoming growing season. Without additional time and clarity, many Kentucky producers face the risk of planting decisions that could jeopardize the long-term viability of their farms.”
McConnell’s provision in the bill to reopen the federal government last year would ban the sale of hemp-derived products that include more than .4 milligrams of THC per container, saying this was needed to protect children from intoxicating products.
The new restrictions are set to go into effect in November, but Kentucky hemp farmers and businesses have sounded the alarm that the new changes would make most CBD and low-THC hemp products illegal at the federal level, putting them out of business.
Sen. Rand Paul, another Kentucky Republican, made the same argument last year in his effort to block McConnell’s provision, then called for delaying enforcement of it in December.
In January, Comer announced his cosponsorship of a House bill filed by Indiana GOP Rep. Jim Baird that would delay the hemp provision's enforcement date by two years.
The letter from Comer and Shell last week noted that Baird’s bill “would not resolve the broader policy questions surrounding hemp,” but would “provide farmers, processors, and regulators with the certainty needed to plan responsibly” while Congress considers the proper path forward for the industry.
The two Kentucky officials added that this additional two years “is essential to avoid unintended consequences for family farms and rural communities that have acted in good faith under existing federal and state law.”
Spokespersons for McConnell did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the letter.
