Hemp Alerts & Happenings

A quarterly newsletter brought to you by the Colorado Department of Agriculture
September 2023
Hemp Fiber Tour
Aliyah Field of Adama Design with Brian Koontz in her hempcrete house in La Veta, CO.
The hempcrete house was designed and built by Aliyah Field with hemp hurd fiber sourced from Monte Vista, CO.
Brian Koontz and Wondirad Gebru from the Plant Industry Division of CDA visited the above pictured hemp home on August 29th. Also in attendance, were several players in the hemp fiber supply chain including a builder, equipment manufacturer, processor, and growers in southern Colorado. To date, five hemp homes have been built in Colorado which is encouraging for hemp fiber growers and the supply chain.
Farm Service Agency (“FSA”) Lot Numbers
It is now a federal statute to create an FSA “lot” number and report your hemp plantings to CDA as well as FSA. Contact the local FSA office to create a farm record. If transplanting the hemp crop, FSA will not issue a lot number until the hemp is in its final location within your registered land area (“RLA”). If your hemp crop acreage is solely planted outside within your RLA, a crop report will need to be completed with FSA after planting. For more details about registering with the FSA and other Hemp Program requirements, please refer to the frequently asked questions on our website or contact hemp@state.co.us. 

The deadline for hemp producers to register with FSA was July 15, 2023. If you have not done so already, you must call your local FSA Office to be added to the Crop Reporting Register. In the event your crop has not been registered prior to submitting your planting report, the Hemp Program must be provided with a FSA-578 commodity report at hemp@state.co.us.
Harvest Reports and Sample Collection
Remember that as hemp registrants you need to submit your harvest report at least 30 days prior to harvest. For your convenience, you can enter that information yourself into your Hemp Online Portal account.

Before you harvest your hemp lot(s), it needs to be sampled. You must contact an authorized sampler within 30 days of your harvest date to have samples collected from each lot. Review the list of certified labs to send your samples for analysis.

The hemp program will email the registrants a letter of compliance if the hemp sample results are within the acceptable THC level. If your sample results are not within the acceptable THC level, the hemp program will email you instructions on what to do next, including any remediation or disposal options.  

Additionally, CDA inspectors will be conducting random inspections of registered land areas throughout the year. For your random inspection, please ensure to have the following documents available for inspection:

  • Planting and harvest reports
  • Regulatory THC results
  • FSA-578 form
  • Receipts for buying or selling hemp seeds or clones
  • Petition, if applicable
  • Crop off-site storage form, if applicable and
  • Remediation/disposal form, if applicable.
Colorado Hemp Networking Directory

The Hemp Networking Directory is where Colorado growers, manufacturers, processors, and consumers connect in support of a strong future in our hemp industry.

Add your business to the directory today!
Hemp Advisory Committee Meeting on September 12th
The Hemp Advisory Committee (HAC) will have a hybrid meeting on Tuesday, September 12th from 1pm - 3pm at CDA’s Broomfield office and via ZOOM.

Topics:
  • CDA 2023 Farm Bill recommendations.
  • Priorities regarding Grain/Fiber, Processing, Feed
  • FDA approval of CBD.

For more information about the public meeting, agenda and recording, please visit CDA’s Hemp Advisory Committee website page. 


305 Interlocken Parkway
Broomfield, CO 80021
303-869-9050