(STATEWIDE) Agriculture Commissioner Bryan P. Hurlburt announces that the Connecticut Department of Agriculture (CT DoAg) has received approval from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for the Connecticut State Plan for Hemp Production. The approved plan supports the Connecticut hemp law and governs registration, production, and compliance for hemp cultivation beginning in 2022. 

“USDA’s approval of our state plan for hemp production allows us to align our program with their final rule,” said Hurlburt. “This offers the opportunity for continued growth and diversification necessary for farm sustainability and we look forward to working with producers to administer the program.”

Any growers participating in Connecticut’s program with licenses that expired on December 31, 2021, need to reapply under the new program to grow hemp in 2022. Applications are now being accepted and more information is available here. 

CT DoAg launched the hemp program in May 2019 and since the inception more than 328 acres have been harvested. In 2021, there were 98 licenses issued for 397 licensed lots, including 470,600 square feet of registered indoor hemp growing space and 85 acres planted.

A hemp producer webinar will be held on January 25 from 5:30-6:30 p.m. to review the changes. For more information on the webinar or hemp regulation in Connecticut, please visit: www.CTGrown.gov/hemp.  If you would like to be added to the CT DoAg listserv to receive updates on this program, please email AGR.Hemp@ct.gov  and request to be added. 

The Connecticut Department of Agriculture mission is to foster a healthy economic, environmental, and social climate for agriculture by developing, promoting, and regulating agricultural businesses; protecting agricultural and aquacultural resources; enforcing laws pertaining to domestic animals; and promoting an understanding among the state's citizens of the diversity of Connecticut agriculture, its cultural heritage, and its contribution to the state's economy. For more information, visit www.CTGrown.gov.

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For Immediate Release: Wednesday, January 5, 2022
Contact: Rebecca Eddy, 860-573-0323, Rebecca.Eddy@ct.gov

http://www.ctgrown.gov