Important Hemp Transportation Information
If you are transporting hemp in any form into the state of Florida, you must stop at an Agriculture Inspection Station and have the following paperwork:
- Phytosanitary certificate
- COA showing the total THC Delta 9
- Bill of sale
What Is an Agricultural Inspection Station?
https://www.fdacs.gov/Agriculture-Industry/Agricultural-Inspection-Stations
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Office of Agricultural Law Enforcement operates 23 agricultural inspection stations to protect Florida’s agriculture and ensure a safe food supply. There’s a station on every paved highway going into and out of the state.
The stations are open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. They are staffed by law enforcement officers whose main duty is to prevent plant and animal pests and diseases and unsafe food from entering Florida.
Who Has to Stop at an Inspection Station?
The following vehicles must stop and submit to inspection:
- Trucks,
- Rental trucks,
- Vans,
- Trailers AND
- Any vehicles carrying agricultural, horticultural or livestock products
Rules Update
Food Safety Rule which covers processing, manufacturing, distributing, and retailing.
The Food Safety Rule has been filed for adoption. PDF of final rule and guidelines are attached.
- Hemp extract (CBD intended for ingestion) has been incorporated into existing Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) Division of Food Safety programs. The rule will be effective January 1, 2020.
- Available January 2, 2020 (January 1 is a holiday): Hemp Food Establishment Permits for processing, manufacturing, distributing and retailing.
- Starting on January 2, 2020, Food Safety inspectors will be ready to conduct food establishment inspections, enforce rules and pull samples for testing for the Hemp Program.
Feed Rule which covers animal food.
The Feed Rule has been filed for adoption. PDF of final rule is attached.
- Hemp extract in animal feed has been incorporated into existing FDACS Division of Agricultural Environmental Services programs. The rule will be effective January 1, 2020.
- Available January 2, 2020 (January 1 is a holiday): Permitting, testing and enforcement for processing, manufacturing, distributing and retailing hemp extract in animal feed.
Seed Rule
The Seed Rule will be filed for adoption in January 2020.
Cultivation Rule
The Cultivation Rule should be filed for adoption in January 2020. Please note that this rule is slightly delayed due to a need to align the Florida Cultivation Rule with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) final interim rules, which were released on October 31, 2019. FDACS still expects cultivation to happen in the first quarter of 2020.
Clarifications on Hemp Program
- Permits are not limited in any part of the process.
- The program is horizontal integration. This means you can do any part of the process you want. You can do one part, a few parts, or all. This will be a business choice you make.
- Certified seeds per Senate Bill 1020 are seeds certified by the Association of Official Seed Certifying Agencies (AOSCA
