After a brief delay, the Alabama Department of Agriculture & Industries is now accepting hemp applications from eligible growers, processors/handlers and universities. The final day to apply is November 14, 2019.
Alabama turned toward the industrial hemp-growing business in 2016, when the state Legislature passed the Alabama Industrial Hemp Research Program Act, tasking ADAI with the development of a licensing and inspection program for the production of industrial hemp.
The program launched in the beginning of 2019, after the national farm bill of 2018 declassified hemp as a schedule 1 drug and deemed hemp as an agriculture commodity. This legislation defines hemp as all parts of the plant containing less than 0.3 percent THC, including derivatives, extracts, and cannabinoids.
“As the hemp industry continues to grow in Alabama, critical research data is being collected and evaluated,” says Commissioner of Agriculture & Industries Rick Pate. “The department’s goal is to administer the program in a fair and timely manner to benefit hemp producers and develop industrial hemp as an alternative crop.”
For more information and updates, please visit: www.agi.alabama.gov.
