The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Wednesday approved industrial hemp production plans for Missouri, Maine and the Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians (in Oregon), according to a USDA news release.
That brings the total number of approvals for state or tribal plans to 58.
The Missouri plan sets the regulatory framework through the 2021 growing season and provides the Missouri Department of Agriculture with primary oversight of production in the state.
The U.S. government legalized production and sale of hemp and extracts in 2018 but only if levels of THC (the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana) are at 0.3 percent or lower on a dry weight basis. Hemp and marijuana come from the same plant.
Because the USDA required no changes in its approval of Missouri's industrial hemp production plan, the state's industrial hemp producers will continue operations under the existing regulatory framework, according to a state Department of Agriculture news release.
The year 2020 is the first Missouri producers may legally grow industrial hemp. The state has 197 registered producers and 75 agricultural hemp propagule- and seed-permit holders.
Abbanna Farms in Lake Ozark is a registered producer. Mill Creek Organic Farms in Brumley is a registered producer and permit-holder. MOEARTH in Columbia is a registered producer.
Missouri has 3,696 acres of planned growth for the first year, according to the state release.
As part of the state plan, producers were to hire third-party samplers to collect compliance samples before harvest. The state has trained and certified 63 industrial hemp samplers.