Licensed hemp acreage has contracted significantly since the 2020 growing season. Our data for 2021 licensed acres is still not complete, but we know it exceeds 160,000 acres.  State reporting continues to be inconsistent across the country, but as new USDA hemp production rules are universally adopted into state plans, reporting to Farm Service Agency (FSA) should improve. 

For 2021, states are operating on widely varying rules, as they have since the outset in 2019. States with USDA approved plans are reporting more consistently, having built the administrative oversight functions into the workflow of the relevant divisions managing the state hemp programs.  FSA data on planted acreage reports about 35,000 acres of hemp planted in 2021.  

Yesterday we noted the considerable acres that go unreported in Oregon due to historical and cultural reasons, but small cannabinoid hemp plantings elsewhere in the US also go unreported to FSA. Cannabinoid…