Following the green light from the USDA, hemp should finally (legally) appear Idaho fields again next year.
Idaho was the last US state to have a ban on hemp cultivation. In April this year, the state’s senate voted in favour of HB 126, the Industrial Hemp Research and Development Act. HB 126 was subsequently signed into law by Governor Brad Little not long after.
But that didn’t mean cultivation could begin. The Idaho State Department of Agriculture was tasked with developing a hemp plan in harmony with the 2018 Farm Bill, which then required the USDA’s approval. On November 1, that approval was granted.