Upcoming Changes in Indiana with the 2018 Farm Bill
- Marijuana production is not legal in the state of Indiana.
- If you are growing unlicensed hemp, you are a marijuana producer.
- Upon signature of the 2018 Farm Bill by the President, a letter from the Office of the Indiana State Chemist is forwarded to Governor Holcolmb for consideration.
- Parallel to this activity, the legislature will consider the appropriate changes to make Indiana law consistent with Federal law.
- At this point, a letter is sent to the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue, for program recognition under federal law.
- In 60 days, a response is given from the USDA to determine if the program is in compliance with the Farm Bill.
- At this point, administrative rules have been created to facilitate legal hemp production, and will include licensing, background checks, recording of sites, testing and fees.
- A license to grow hemp is required, and hemp must test below 0.3% THC. In the absence of a license, any cannabis production regardless of THC level is considered marijuana.
- Marijuana production is still not legal in Indiana.
So, technically, nothing changes for the 2019 season.
Create your business plan now, get your contract in place, and start ordering seed for 2020.
This website provides information to support 21st century hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) cultivation in the Midwest. All crops have issues with respect to production; however, with a crop like hemp, which was banned in the United States for over eighty years, large information gaps have developed with regards to production, pest management and economic impact. Unlike other agronomic crops, U.S. hemp production faces additional obstacles in form of U.S. government drug policies.
The goal of this website is to inform the public about industrial hemp as a crop, and to identify the challenges faced by modern industrial hemp producers in the North Central Region—from the legal production of the crop, to the pest management that will be necessary to produce long-term sustainable yields of hemp. We have tried to use our present experience growing hemp and years of additional experiences with other cropping systems to inform our production practices. What we have learned sometimes conflicts with “conventional wisdom”. We hope this website continues to improve on what we know and provides a sound foundation for those interested in growing industrial hemp.
