The Colorado Department of Agriculture, in partnership with Governor Polis and the Office of the Attorney General, recently submitted the Colorado State Hemp Management Plan to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, certifying that the state has the resources and personnel to carry out the practices and procedures set forth in the plan.
The visionary plan holistically addresses the many aspects involved in managing a successful and sustainable state commercial hemp industry, including use of third party approved labs and approved samplers to accomplish 100% variety testing, options for discipline waivers, and post harvest testing under certain parameters.
Feedback received from numerous stakeholders statewide contributed to the plan, including input from farmers, processors and product manufacturers, state and local government agencies, healthcare professionals, financial services providers, law enforcement, and academic institutions.
The Colorado State Hemp Management Plan will begin implementation Nov. 1, 2020, pending approval from USDA.
Colorado was one of the first states in the nation to implement an industrial hemp program, expanding to more than 87,000 registered acres and 5,539 registrations over the last five years, and becoming the largest cultivation state in the nation.
