The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is “undervaluing” the hemp industry, relying on market research in a way that could be “inadvertently hurting the very same farmers they are trying to regulate,” according to a new analysis.
The research firm Whitney Economics released the report on Thursday, saying it identifies an improper methodology for data collection on the value of the cannabis crop that’s “contributing to the misperception that farmers are not benefiting from the rise in the hemp-derived cannabinoid industry.”
USDA started annually surveying hemp farmers across the country shortly after the crop was federally legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill. And while the value of hemp increased from 2023 to 2024, industry stakeholders have routinely pointed to the lower-than-expected average value of products such as grain, fiber and consumable cannabinoids as a reflection of insufficient regulatory policies.
“The lower value of the crop is making it tougher for farmers to raise money, inhibiting infrastructural development and suppressing market growth,” Beau Whitney, chief economist of Whitney Economics, said. “These USDA errors are also disincentivizing farmers from adding hemp into their crop rotations.”
“In reality, farmers in the hemp industry are benefiting by their contribution more than corn or soy farmers,” he
Read full article on Marijuana Moment
