The hemp industry took a major plunge in 2022, a new report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) shows, and stakeholders say the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) refusal to issue regulations for CBD products is largely to blame.
USDA’s National Hemp Report shows significant losses in the value and cultivation of the non-intoxicating cannabis crop across every metric that it analyzed for 2022.
Last year, “the value of hemp production in the open and under protection for the United States totaled $238 million, down 71 percent from 2021,” the report says.
The National Hemp Report Agricultural Statistics Board Briefing is available. The Hemp Acreage and Production Survey was a joint effort by #NASS, @USDA_AMS, @usdafsa, @usdaRMA, @USDA_ERS, and @usda_oce. https://t.co/MmjYdwFXqA
— National Agricultural Statistics Service (@usda_nass) April 19, 2023
Farmers grew 28,314 acres of industrial hemp in the open last year, which is nearly 50 percent lower than the prior year.
Floral hemp production fell 66 percent, grain hemp dropped 44 percent, fiber hemp declined by 34 percent, seed hemp plummeted 92 percent and hemp clones/transplants were down 94 percent.
The data is the result of a survey that USDA mailed to thousands of hemp farmers across the U.S. in January.
The first version of the department’s hemp report was released early last year, setting a “benchmark” to compare to as the industry matures. Across the board, the market declined in the…
