The South Carolina Department of Agriculture will accept applications for hemp farming permits for the 2021 growing season from Jan. 1 through Feb. 28, 2021.
The state's Hemp Farming Program has grown from 20 farmers in 2018 to 265 farmers in 2020 - and each year, the program has changed as state and federal laws changed. When the federal government approved South Carolina's State Hemp Plan in April 2020, the program entered a new period of regulatory stability, one that SCDA expects to continue in 2021. The agency now has six full-time staffers devoted to hemp regulation.
Requirements to receive a hemp farming permit include: