Contact Us
AgNet
  • About KDA
      • Office of Commissioner
      • Office of Administrative Services
      • Office of Agricultural Marketing
      • Office of Agricultural Policy
      • Office of Communications
      • Office for Consumer & Environmental Protection
      • Office of Legal Services
      • Office of State Veterinarian
      • Request an Official Appearance
      • International Trade
      • Kentucky Hunger Initiative
  • LICENSING & LAWS
  • Forms
  • News
      • Deer hunters encouraged
      • Deer hunters encouraged to donate to Kentucky Hunters for the Hungry
      • USDA Ag Census
      • Commissioner asks farm producers to complete USDA Ag Census
      • Kentucky Agricultural News
      • Press Releases
      • News Archive
      • Ag-Related Resources
      • Kentucky Hunger Initiative
      • Dicamba Training
      • Hemp Program
      • Licensing and Certification Portal (login required)
      • Livestock Entry Requirements
      • Market News
      • Pesticide Registration and Renewal
      • Pesticide Training and Testing
  • Online Services
      • Nuisance Weed Spraying Program
      • Ag Businesses Directory
      • Ag Ringtones
      • ARD Inspector Search
      • Free Web Page Builder
      • Hay for Sale
      • Hemp Licensing Portal
        (login required)
      • KDA Calendar of Events
      • Landscape Plant Availability Guide
      • Licensing and Certification Log In Portal
      • Licensing and Certification Registration Portal
      • Nuisance Weed Spraying Program
      • Online Permitting System
      • Pest Control Company Directory
      • Pesticide Complaint Form
      • Pollinator Protection Registration System
      • Product Registration and Renewal System
      • Purebred Breeders Directory
      • Service Agency
      • Stray or Abandoned Horses
      • Weights, Measures & Motor Fuel Complaint Form
  • Ag Policy
      • KADF Applicants
      • Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund Applicants
      • Kentucky Agricultural Development Fund (KADF)
      • Administrators
      • Applicants
      • Applicant Reporting
      • County Agricultural Development Councils
      • Kentucky Agricultural Development Board
      • Kentucky Agricultural Finance Corporation (KAFC)
      • Application Deadlines
      • Kentucky Agricultural Finance Corporation Board
      • Lender & Mentor
      • Loan Programs
      • Kentucky Agricultural Policy Publications
      • Annual Report 2019
      • Annual Report 2020
      • Annual Report 2021
  • Animal
      • Animal Disposal and Rendering
      • Animal Health
      • Animal Marketing Programs
      • Aquaculture
      • Beekeeping
      • Brands
      • Composting
      • Emergency Management
      • Equine
      • Farmed Cervids
      • Livestock
      • Livestock Welfare Complaints
      • Market News
      • Movement and Identification
      • Online Permitting System
      • Poultry
      • Purebred Breeders Directory
      • State Veterinarian
      • Stockyards and Dealers
      • Stray or Abandoned Horses
  • Plant
      • Farmers Markets
      • Forage/Hay Testing
      • GAP-Good Agriculture Practices
      • Ginseng
      • Grape and Wine
      • Hemp
      • Hemp Licensing Portal
        (login required)
      • Horticulture
      • Landscape Plant Availability Guide
      • Organic
      • Plant Marketing Programs
      • Produce Safety Program
  • Regulatory
      • Aerial Recreational Devices
      • Amusement Ride Inspections
      • Brands
      • Composting
      • Egg Licensing
      • Food Programs
      • Grain Licensing and Regulation
      • Grain Licensing Search
      • Licensing and Certification Portal
        (login required)
      • Market News
      • Organic Program
      • Pest Control - Agriculture
      • Pest Control - Structural
      • Pesticide Product Registration
      • Pesticide Complaint Form
      • Pesticide Training and Testing
      • Public Pest and Recycling Assistance
      • Rendering
      • Stockyards and Dealers
      • Teen & Tobacco
      • Weights and Measures
      • Weights, Measures & Motor Fuel Complaint Form
  • Promotional
      • Ag Businesses
      • Ag Education
      • Agritourism
      • Appalachia Proud
      • Buy Local
      • CSA - Community Supported Agriculture
      • Eat to Win KY
      • Emergency Management
      • Farm License Plate
      • Farm Safety
      • Farm to Campus
      • Farm to Fork
      • Farm to School
      • Farmers Markets Directory
      • Farmland Preservation/PACE
      • Farms Are Fun
      • Forage/Hay Testing
      • Free Web Page Builder
      • Good Agricultural Practices - GAP
      • Grants
      • Homegrown By Heroes
      • Hunger Initiative
      • International Trade
      • Jobs for Vets
      • Junior Chef
      • Kentucky Proud
      • Kentucky Wine
      • Livestock Tag
      • Local Food Purchase Assistance Grant
      • Market News
      • Mobile Science Activity Center
      • Promotion and Development
      • Shows and Fairs
20
DEC

Quarles Submits Kentucky's Industrial Hemp Plan to USDA

 

Kentucky is the First State to Apply for Federal Approval of Hemp Program

 

WASHINGTON (Dec. 20, 2018) — Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles submitted the Commonwealth’s regulatory framework for hemp to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) for approval as required in the 2018 farm bill. Kentucky is the first state in the nation to apply for USDA approval of its hemp program.

“Kentucky’s regulatory framework perfectly aligns with the requirements spelled out in the farm bill,” Commissioner Quarles said. “Hemp growers, processors, and manufacturers deserve swift action so they can proceed with confidence. Kentucky has led the charge on industrial hemp with bipartisan support for the past five years. Now we are eager to take the next step toward solidifying Kentucky’s position as the epicenter of industrial hemp production and processing in the United States.”

Commissioner Quarles attended the presidential farm bill signing ceremony earlier today in Washington and personally delivered the state plan to USDA.

The federal farm bill that Congress passed last week assigns regulatory authority of industrial hemp to the states and establishes minimum requirements that a state regulatory framework must meet to win USDA approval. The 2018 act removes industrial hemp from the federal Controlled Substances Act and gives hemp growers access to USDA programs such as crop insurance.

 

Download Commissioner Quarles' State Plan

 

Individuals and businesses must be licensed by the KDA to grow or process industrial hemp in Kentucky. The KDA has received more than 1,000 applications to participate in the state’s industrial hemp research pilot program in 2019. An informational and networking session in October in Elizabethtown attracted some 750 farmers, processors, manufacturers, educators, and others interested in participating in the program.

Participants in the 2018 program grew more than 6,700 acres of industrial hemp, the most in the five-year history of the program and more than double the acreage grown in 2017. Kentucky licensed processors paid Kentucky growers $7.5 million for harvested hemp in 2017 and reported $25.6 million in capital improvements and investments and $16.7 million in gross product sales.

 

Under Kentucky’s industrial hemp research pilot program, the KDA works closely with state and local law enforcement officers and provides GPS coordinates of approved industrial hemp planting, processing, and storage sites to law enforcement before any hemp is planted. Participants also must pass background checks and consent to allow program staff and law enforcement officers to inspect any premises where hemp or hemp products are being grown, handled, stored, or processed.

Commissioner Quarles also applauded Congress and President Donald J. Trump for a farm bill that will maintain federal programs that are vital to Kentucky agriculture.

 

“The farm bill maintains and enhances important protections for grain and dairy farmers who have endured low commodity prices for the past five years,” Commissioner Quarles said. “It also locks in funding for the Market Access Program, which helps farmers and agribusinesses sell American products abroad, and animal health programs to protect our livestock from disease outbreaks. We appreciate the work of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Congressman James Comer on the conference committee to get a farm bill that serves the needs of Kentucky agriculture. We also are grateful to President Trump for signing this legislation, which is critical to the future of rural America.”

 

 

For a photo from today's signing ceremony, click here.

 

Caption:

 

Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture Ryan Quarles was invited to attend the signing ceremony for the 2018 Farm Bill, which legalized hemp. Afterwards, Commissioner Quarles personally delivered Kentucky's state hemp plan to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, left.

 

 

 

Press Release Sign-up

    In the News

  • 4/21/23 - Kentucky Agricultural Development Board approves more than $1.8 million for projects across the commonwealth
  • 4/24/23 - Commissioner Quarles celebrates April as Goat Month in Kentucky
  • 4/27/23 - Clays for a Cause raises more than $270,000 for Kentucky Hunger Initiative
  • 5/1/23 - Commissioner Quarles, Kentucky cattle producers celebrate May as Beef Month
  • 5/9/23 - New state veterinarian named
  • View All Press Releases...

    Broadcast Schedule

  • Across Kentucky
  • Cromwell Ag Network
  • Morning Ag Report - WKDZ 106.5 FM

    Kentucky Farm Fact

  • Kentucky has 184 organic farms that account for $14 million in sales. #KyAg365

KDA Video

Beekeeping 101: A Guide for Beginners

State Apiarist Tammy Horn Potter tells beginner beekeepers the four essential tools they need to get started.

Commissioner Quarles asked Facebook to stop rejecting pages that promote hemp

Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles told legislators about the conflict with a social media giant.

Commissioner Quarles talks to WHAS11 about Industrial Hemp in Kentucky

Commissioner of Agriculture Ryan Quarles talked to WHAS11's Chris Williams about the enthusiasm for industrial hemp.

The Kentucky Hemp Comeback

Kentucky farmers are exploring industrial hemp, a crop that connects Kentucky’s past to its future. Kentucky businesses are taking that raw material and turning it into products.

ABOUT KDA AGNET CONTACT US REQUEST AN APPEARANCE
KY Department of Agriculture |Phone: (502) 573-0282 |Fax: (502) 564-2133 |1-800-327-6568 |Disclaimer |Ag links
  • © Kentucky Agriculture Department. All rights reserved.