Hemp Alerts & Happenings
A monthly newsletter brought to you by the Colorado Department of Agriculture.
Outdoor Sampling is Beginning
Watch Your Emails
This season the Colorado Department of Agriculture (the Department/CDA) is following the 2014 Farm Bill and will randomly select approximately 30% of growers to sample. The Department regularly corresponds with its registrants via email. It is the registrants’ responsibility to read all correspondence timely and ensure that the Department’s emails are not flagged as Spam. On occasion, the Department will mail letters to its registrants. It is the registrants’ responsibility to ensure the mailing address that the Department has on record is correct and accurate. According to the Rules, the registrant must contact the Department with any changes to contact information within 10 days of the change; this includes email and mailing addresses, change in authorized person, change in phone number, etc.

We Listened!
Based on feed back from CHAMP and experiences of other states, starting August 2020, CDA inspectors will be taking samples from the top 12 inches of the mature plant for lab testing. This is a change from 2019 and prior years in which the top two inches was sampled.
Soliciting Hemp Advisory Committee Members
*Due August 31
The Colorado Department of Agriculture is seeking nominations for Hemp Advisory Committee (HAC) members. Members of the HAC advise the Department and confer on all matters regarding the regulation of hemp. They assist the Commissioner and program staff in promulgating rules to carry out the Hemp Act, Title 35, Article 61. The committee provides advice and consultation to the Commissioner and program staff by reviewing rules, recommending new rules or changes to existing rules. The committee also offers 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 serve two to three year terms and may be nominated to serve two successive terms. The HAC will be meeting quarterly (four times a year). The HAC is made up of 10 members. Currently there are six vacancies on the committee that need to be filled. More info.
Planting & Harvest Reports
Remember that planting reports need to be submitted to the Department within 10 days after planting; harvest reports need to be submitted to the Department at least 30 days prior to harvest. If either of the reports are late, the main contact of the registration will receive a late-report warning letter via email. If the Department does not receive either a planting or harvest report by the due date, the Department will proceed with enforcement actions against the registrant (business or sole proprietor), which will result in a fine. If you are not going to grow hemp in your registration time-period, then we advise you close your registration. Visit the industrial hemp webpage to print the form then email it to industrialhemp@state.co.us. Planting and harvest reports can now be submitted through the Hemp Online Portal on the Industrial Hemp webpage, if you already have an account (www.colorado.gov/hemp). If you do not have an account, then submit your reports via email to industrialhemp@state.co.us.
AFTER NOVEMBER 1, 2020
You Must Report to Farm Service Agency
The USDA’s Interim Final Rule (“IFR”) requires that registrants submit the following information to the Farm Service Agency (“FSA”): (a) street address and GPS for each lot or greenhouse where hemp will be produced; (b) acreage dedicated to the production of hemp, or greenhouse or indoor square footage dedicated to the production of hemp; (c) license number. (IFR, § 990.7 Establishing records with USDA Farm Service Agency). FSA will give each registrant a specific number corresponding to the location of where the hemp is being grown. Please contact your local FSA office to receive these numbers. Visit www.colorado.gov/hemp to view the IFR, Act, and Rules. Please visit www.farmers.gov/manage/hemp for additional information.




305 Interlocken Parkway
Broomfield, CO 80021
303-869-9002