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 enforcement standards that better reflect fiber and grain varieties. “I think the first and foremost, the most important thing that we need to address soon is the, the USDA guideline of 1%,” Sponseller said, urging the committee to consider the federal negligent‑violation threshold for hemp testing.

Sponseller and other growers told committee members they sometimes receive seed and genetics certified to test below the state threshold yet face environmental stressors—drought or heat—that can push THC levels higher. Sponseller described mechanical remediation used for fiber crops: removing the flowered tops that contain most THC and processing the remaining stalk for fiber or hurd; he said that preserved the crop’s value in his experience.

Matthew (Matty) Mead, chief executive of Hempitecture in Jerome, described demand for industrial hemp fiber in building materials and outlined company production and employment metrics. “Hempitecture manufactures bio based carbon negative high performing building materials,” Mead said, showing product samples and telling the committee the company purchased nearly 1 million pounds of hemp fiber in 2024, about 42 percent sourced from Idaho. Mead and other presenters said processors such as Hempitecture and Tristan Sponseller’s facility create a regional market that allows Idaho farmers to monetize fiber.

Mead and Sponseller urged the committee to avoid conflating fiber and grain hemp with CBD cultivars. “We need to stop the conflation. Not all industrial hemp is the same,” Mead said, recommending different remediation and enforcement approaches by crop purpose and citing decortication (mechanical separation) as a way to salvage otherwise over‑limit crops for fiber use.

Growers and processors raised other practical issues: application deadlines and licensing fees set in rule can be costly for small producers; lot definitions (for example, dividing land by an irrigation ditch) can double fees; background checks and annual licensing impose ongoing administrative costs; and state-only regulation for retail products leaves processors at a competitive disadvantage because imported products may not meet Idaho’s stricter processing and post‑processing THC requirements.

Travis McAfee, a small producer from Howe, gave a practical account of planting and harvesting in a remote area and said hemp can be valuable where other specialty crops are not economical. “It smells like you got a skunk outside,” McAfee told the committee in response to a question about crop odor during harvest.

Tim Korney of Thousand Springs Mill and other producers described grain uses and the dual‑purpose potential of some varieties. Several speakers asked the committee to restore or continue research funding: Mead said funding cuts to the Idaho Global Entrepreneurial Mission (iGEM) program in late 2024 shortened university research that supported industry innovation.

Committee members asked technical and policy questions about interstate transport, remediation procedures, testing and lab protocols, and the potential economic upside of loosening the state’s THC threshold toward the USDA guideline. Tewalt answered that Idaho’s rules were intentional, that ISDA enforces USDA-aligned sampling and remediation protocols, and that processors and growers have worked closely with ISDA to implement the program.

What they asked for: presenters urged the Legislature to consider (1) aligning negligent‑violation thresholds for fiber/grain cultivars with the federal 1 percent standard or otherwise providing distinct treatment for fiber and grain; (2) adjusting fees, application deadlines, and lot definitions to reduce costs for growers; (3) clarifying remediation allowances that permit processing‑based remediation such as decortication or field‑level shredding tied to traceability; and (4) restoring or expanding research funding to refine genetics and agronomy.

Why it matters: speakers said industrial hemp fiber and grain can be a new commodity for Idaho farmers, with potential climate and soil benefits as a rotational crop and new market opportunities for processors. State rules that are stricter than federal ones were praised for providing law‑enforcement clarity but were criticized as creating economic burdens for farmers and processors focused on fiber and grain rather than CBD products.

The committee did not take regulatory or statutory votes during the presentation but members indicated they would continue the conversation and work with stakeholders on potential legislative changes.