ISDA, growers and processors brief House Ag on hemp rules, remediation and market opportunities

Lawmakers on the House Agriculture Affairs Committee heard a multi-part presentation on Idaho’s industrial hemp program from the Idaho State Department of Agriculture and several farmers and processors, who described production practices, market opportunities for fiber and grain, and regulatory obstacles they want the Legislature to address.

Chanel Tewalt, director of the Idaho State Department of Agriculture, told the committee the state’s hemp plan flows from the 2018 federal Farm Bill and Idaho’s 2021 House Bill 126. “Idaho is much more stringent than the federal standard, even in the Farm Bill,” Tewalt said, describing two of the program’s most consequential rules: a 0.3 percent THC limit for crops on farms and a 0 percent THC requirement for products once they leave a processing facility.

Tewalt said those rules were designed to give law enforcement a bright line and that the program is costly to administer because ISDA inspects farms and runs testing. She summarized program requirements that come from USDA—including background checks and denial criteria—and said remediation and laboratory protocols mandated by USDA must be done on-site and are prescriptive.

Industry speakers described how that regulatory design affects on‑farm economics and downstream processing. Tristan Sponseller, owner of Idaho Hemp Processing and Idaho Premium Hay Farms, said about 90 percent of Idaho’s 2024 hemp acreage was grown for fiber for his facility and asked the state to adopt remediation and…