Idaho farmers are on track to plant almost twice as many hemp acres as they did last year.  According to the Idaho State Department of Agriculture, producers across the Gem State planted 1,273 acres of hemp in 2023, up from the 459 acres reported in 2022, the first-year hemp was a legal commodity within the state.

 

Despite Idaho becoming the last state in the nation to adopt a hemp program, it appears at least some Gem State growers are starting to figure out the agronomics of growing the crop.  While most of Idaho’s hemp acres are grown in the southcentral portion of the state, hemp is being grown throughout the state.  While a few Idaho growers tried growing hemp for the CBD market in 2022, only one did that in 2023 and no one is growing it for CBD this year.  Of all the hemp acres grown in Idaho in 2022, roughly 44 acres, or around 9.5% of all acres, had to be destroyed because they exceeded the legal threshold for THC.  All of those acres were planted to CBD hemp varieties.  

 

No Idaho hemp acres were destroyed in 2023. 

 

Industrial hemp, by federal law, must not exceed 0.3% of THC, the psychoactive compound that gets a user of marijuana high. According to experts, it is impossible to get high from industrial hemp.  Idaho’s hemp program, as required by federal law, has safeguards to ensure hemp grown in the state does not exceed that 0.3% THC threshold.  Industrial hemp products have always been sold legally in the United States but not until the 2018 farm bill was passed was it legal to grow and process hemp commercially in the U.S. 

 

The hemp products sold in the U.S. previously came from other countries.

 

If you have a story idea for the PNW Ag Network, call (509) 547-1618, or e-mail glenn.vaagen@townsquaremedia.com 

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