Source: POLITICO'S MORNING AGRICULTURE, 1/30/20

Hemp has been one of the hottest regulatory issues in agriculture since the 2018 farm bill legalized the plant for nationwide production. The first growing season with a federal framework in place is right around the corner, and interest within the industry is still booming, based on the flood of comments USDA received on its new hemp program unveiled in October.

Among the thousands of comments from farmers, businesses and lawmakers were plenty of complaints about how the federal rules could hamper hemp growers — though most commenters were glad to have some guidance after being stuck in regulatory limbo for much of 2019.

So who weighed in?
— The American Farm Bureau Federation wants USDA to develop a seed certification program to help farmers who buy seeds overseas with unknown THC concentrations — which could jeopardize their crop's ability to qualify as hemp.
— The National Farmers Union took issue with the rule's "negligence" threshold: If a plant exceeds a 0.5 percent level of THC, farmers risk losing their license. NFU said that's too rigid, especially in the early years as producers try to develop best practices for growing hemp.
— The U.S. Hemp Roundtable, which represents companies that sell hemp-derived products, objected to the requirements that only DEA-certified labs can be used to test hemp, which the group said could lead to testing bottlenecks.