Colorado Ag Department Provides State Hemp Plan Status Update

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COLORADO:  The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has requested Colorado clarify and revise certain elements of its State Hemp Management Plan, submitted on June 18, 2020. The Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA) is currently reviewing USDA’s comments and questions and considering revisions as it continues to prioritize representing the needs of the state’s industrial hemp registrants and stakeholders.

“As we have done from day one, CDA is working through the state plan submission and approval process in a careful and comprehensive manner to best serve the needs of Colorado,” said Colorado Commissioner of Agriculture Kate Greenberg. “Given the many changes at the federal level, we are working hard to create a stable and sound regulatory environment so that Colorado’s hemp industry can continue to lead the nation.”
Feedback received from numerous stakeholders statewide and over several months 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, as well as consultation with Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute tribes, as part of CDA’s Colorado Hemp Advancement and Management Plan.

Nominations Sought for Colorado State Hemp Advisory Committee

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COLORADO:The Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA) is seeking member nominations for its Hemp Advisory Committee (HAC). The HAC advises the Department and confers on all matters regarding the regulation of hemp.

Committee members assist the Commissioner of Agriculture and program staff in promulgating rules to carry out the Hemp Act, Title 35, Article 61, and provide advice and consultation to the Commissioner and program staff by reviewing rules, recommending new rules or changes to existing rules. Members also offer advice and consultation on the establishment of an inspection program to determine THC concentration in compliance with the USDA Interim Final Rule and approved Colorado State Hemp Plan.

HAC members meet quarterly and serve two to three year terms. Members may be nominated to serve two successive terms. The committee is comprised of 10 members and there are a number of current openings. Specifically, nominations are sought for the following positions:

  • One member with experience in hemp regulation – to serve until July 31, 2021.
  • One member who is a farmer from a cooperative – to serve until July 31, 2022.
  • One member who is a commercial farmer – to serve until July 31, 2022.
  • One member with experience in seed development and genetics – to serve until July 31, 2022.
  • One representative from a research institution of higher education –  to serve until July 31, 2022.
  • One representative from the cannabinoid industry – to serve until July 31, 2021.

CDA welcomes nominations from those interested in serving from third party Hemp Associations. People from diverse constituencies and communities of color are encouraged to apply.

Applications are due August 31, 2020. The nomination form is available here. Please contact industrialhemp@state.co.us with questions and learn more about CDA’s industrial hemp program here.

CDA Announces Colorado’s 2018 CDA-Approved Certified Hemp Seed Varieties

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CDA-LogoCOLORADO: The Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA) is announcing that six industrial hemp seed varieties have passed the 2018 statewide THC validation and observation trial and are now eligible to be grown by the members of the Colorado Seed Growers Association for production of “CDA Approved Certified Seed.”

In 2018, the CDA Approved Certified Hemp seed program trialed eight varieties of hemp across Colorado’s diverse growing conditions to validate if they would grow mature plants that test at or below 0.3% THC concentration on a dry weight basis. During 2018, the program approved six new varieties approved to be grown as a class of “CDA Approved Certified Seed.”
CDA Hemp Seeds
To be CDA Approved Certified Seed, hemp varieties must be produced and labeled by members of the Colorado Seed Growers Association according to Association of Official Seed Certifying Agencies (AOSCA) standards.
The seed varieties were grown and tested in the Northeast, Arkansas Valley, Front Range, the San Luis Valley and on the Western Slope.  These five locations with distinct differences in daytime and nighttime temperatures, in altitude, length of growing season, and soil types, provide the CDA with a broad representation of Colorado’s growing conditions. Growers planting with CDA Approved Certified Seed would be considered very low risk for testing purposes.
For seed availability please contact the seed companies listed. The CDA Approved Certified Seed program requires that all individual seed packages be tagged with both CDA tags and certified seed tags. CDA does not sell seed and has no information about seed availability or variety performance; please check with the individual seed companies listed.
CDA Approved Varieties to Date
For more information on the certified seed program, visit the CDA’s Industrial Hemp web page or contact Terry Moran, Industrial Hemp Certified Seed Specialist, at 303.869.9078 or email Terry.moran@state.co.us.