Hemp

USDA general counsel Steven Vaden points to some of the major differences between authorities for hemp grants.

The agency in the 2014 versus 2018 farm bills, while the 2014 authority referred only to states and certain research institutions, meaning universities. The 2018 farm bill explicitly includes Indian tribes.

Another major difference is how USDA his role has changed from 2014.

At that time, it went down to the states and the states implemented it as they saw fit with very little to no federal government oversight.

The 2018 program gives USDA a more robust role.

It established a complete regulatory framework that required by statute USDA oversight of the tribes and states that submitted their plans under the program.

I've never understood the reasoning behind barring the addition of hemp into Idaho's ag production. Hemp is used to make a variety of commercial and industrial products, including rope, textiles, clothing, shoes, food, paper, bioplastics, insulation, and biofuel. Medicinally, hemp is used for arthritis, asthma, coughs, bloating, and is also used for heart problems including valvular insufficiency, “senile heart,” and weak heart muscles following pneumonia.