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Texas Department of Agriculture Hemp Licensing<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Texas Department of Agriculture opened their online portal for hemp license applications on March 16.\u00a0\u00a0 Applications number about 600.\u00a0 Many applicants have received their licenses.\u00a0 Several are awaiting their lot permits.\u00a0 One grower last week noted that TDA suggested they list the full acreage of their farm (101 acres in this case) as the Facility rather than a portion of the farm in their application.\u00a0 This simplifies licensing if the growers needs to move to a different portion of the farm (if you don\u2019t cross the property of others or travel a public roadway).<\/p>\n AgriLife Extension plant pathologist Dr. Tom Isakeit, College Station, and I met March 11 in Austin with TDA staff who are developing and managing the program.\u00a0 We shared our guesses at how many license applications there would be.\u00a0 My guess was 1,000.\u00a0 That was much less than I estimated last fall.\u00a0 I think the greatly depressed prices in the CBD market are likely the largest factor.\u00a0 Also, prospective growers better realize growing hemp is a lot of work, there don\u2019t appear to be that many buyers, and the difficulties in ensuring how to get quality seed.\u00a0 In other words, the level of risk in growing hemp comes from several directions.<\/p>\n The TDA hemp page, https:\/\/www.texasagriculture.gov\/RegulatoryPrograms\/Hemp.aspx<\/a>, now has several new items of interest.\u00a0 These include:<\/p>\n Texas Department of Agriculture and \u201cApproved\u201d Hemp Varieties<\/strong><\/p>\n TDA rules state that only certified or approved varieties may be planted in Texas for 2020 hemp.\u00a0 There are no certified varieties yet in Texas.\u00a0 (Some varieties might be certified in other states.)\u00a0 In my March newsletter I commented about Sunbelt Hemp having the first certified hemp varieties for Texas.\u00a0 Dr. David Baltensperger, chairman, Texas A&M Dept. of Soil\u00a0 Crop Sciences, who sits on the Texas State Seed & Plant board, clarified that their approval of the Sunbelt Hemp lines enables Sunbelt to produce seed that can be certified in Texas.\u00a0 This includes Sunbelt submitting a reference sample of the seed to TDA.\u00a0 Anticipate that Sunbelt\u2019s Texas certified seed could be available in 2021.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n As of April 30, TDA lists 306 approved hemp varieties for Texas.\u00a0 The full list is at https:\/\/texasagriculture.gov\/Portals\/0\/forms\/COMM\/Hemp\/TDA_Approved_Hemp_Varieties_04-30-20.pdf<\/a>\u00a0 This high number does not likely represent nearly that many varieties.\u00a0 There are 29 approved varieties with \u2018Cherry\u2019 in the name.\u00a0 This is due to Cherry Wine being an early and common variety for CBD production.\u00a0 (Some growers have cautioned me that Cherry Wine can readily \u201cgo hot,\u201d producing too much THC.\u00a0 This could be due to genetics or perhaps impurity of seed. \u00a0See Kentucky Dept. of Ag. comments about this variety below.)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Kentucky Dept. of Agriculture 2020 Hemp Variety Assessment\u2014\u201cProhibited\u201d and \u201cConcern\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n In January 2020, the Kentucky Dept. of Agriculture posted \u201cHemp Program Summary of Varieties:\u00a0 Including Varieties of Concern and Prohibited Varieties.\u201d\u00a0 See<\/p>\n https:\/\/www.kyagr.com\/marketing\/documents\/HEMP_LH_Summary_of_Varieties_List_2019.pdf<\/a>\u00a0 The document lists the 305 varieties legally grown in Kentucky 2017-2019.\u00a0 Based on THC testing, 27 varieties are prohibited in Kentucky, and 39 more are designated as \u2018Varieties of Concern.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Prohibited Varieties<\/u> in Kentucky, according to Doris Hamilton, Kentucky Dept. of Agriculture (via an e-mail shared with Univ. of Kentucky\u2019s Dr. Bob Pearce) are excluded from legal planting based on the following criteria:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Varieties of Concern<\/u> in Kentucky had at least one test > 0.3% THC.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Can the Kentucky data tell us anything about the Texas approved varieties?<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n To some extent, yes.\u00a0 Of course, production conditions in Kentucky are different. \u00a0And no hemp varieties have yet been tested in Texas.\u00a0 Furthermore, many varieties not harvested in timely fashion are more likely to go hot.\u00a0 Late harvest leading to too-high THC is not fully the fault of the variety (but includes the grower).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Most hemp varieties listed in the Kentucky document are also on the approved Texas Dept. of Agriculture list.\u00a0 However, note the following:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Cannabinoid Hemp Varieties<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Fiber Hemp Varieties<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Grain Hemp Varieties<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Please recognize that as growers strive to increase the hemp plant\u2019s CBD (or other cannabinoid) content, there is risk of potential increase of THC levels.\u00a0 Therefore, established growers in many states test their hemp weekly starting a few weeks after flowering.\u00a0 It requires time and cost to do so.\u00a0 But it is truly a small fraction of overall costs and minor relative to cannabinoid crop value.\u00a0 You do not need a large acreage to justify sampling each variety of your crop.\u00a0 Consider this even if you have less than on acre.\u00a0 This may be especially true if you are a first-time grower (which we all are) and you are growing a different variety for the first time.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Here\u2019s another example how this data might be limited:\u00a0 Reports from several states indicate BaOx is a good CBD hemp variety.\u00a0 But in Kentucky it is a Variety of Concern. In Pennsylvania BaOx is prohibited.\u00a0 Seed dealers for BaOx believe most of this concern stems from impure seed (see results, Fig. 1).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I have already bought a variety that is Prohibited or a Variety of Concern in Kentucky<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n What should you do?\u00a0 You probably can\u2019t and shouldn\u2019t necessarily return the seed.\u00a0 Just know that some evidence suggests you have a variety that might be more prone to higher THC.\u00a0 Unless you see a visual difference among plants (or poor germination?) you may never know if your seed was impure.\u00a0 But you can ensure you conduct timely harvest to reduce the potential for THC >0.300%.\u00a0 You may decide to do some extra sampling prior to notifying the sampler or TDA for collection of your required official sample for THC.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Later this season, I imagine a sound approach that new Texas hemp growers should consider:\u00a0 \u201cIf you are wondering or worried<\/u> if you should set your harvest date thus triggering your official sample collection for THC, go ahead and do it.<\/em>\u201d\u00a0 Schedule your testing.\u00a0 So, you will notify TDA and have your hemp crop sampled by a licensed sampler within 15 days before harvest.\u00a0 As your THC level rises toward and past 0.2%, your upside potential benefit becomes small, and your downside could be total loss (if hot).<\/p>\n Fig. 1.\u00a0 This New Mexico field in 2019 was planted with a variety for CBD hemp which had high contamination in the seed with other varieties.\u00a0 There appear to be five distinctly different plant types in the outlined area.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Texas A&M AgriLife Hemp Variety Trials\u2014Protocols are Complete<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n As noted before, Texas A&M AgriLife is offering first-year hemp variety trials in 2020 for cannabinoids, fiber, and grain varieties.\u00a0 The locations are Plainview and San Angelo (both irrigated) and Commerce and College Station.\u00a0 We will add South Texas testing in 2021.<\/p>\n This work is developed under the long-time Texas A&M AgriLife Crop Testing Program.\u00a0 This self-supporting program has offered public variety trials for grain sorghum, corn, sunflower, soybean, etc. for decades.<\/p>\n We reviewed the methodology of the few hemp variety trials to date conducted in other states.\u00a0 We seek a balance between a bare-bones approach vs. an intensive assessment of hemp variety growth and performance.\u00a0 We must also adequately assess any potential to develop THC.\u00a0 You may access the hemp variety testing program information at http:\/\/varietytesting.tamu.edu\/hemp<\/a>\u00a0 This includes:\u00a0 1) the program description, location details, fees, and seed instructions, 2) the entry form, and 3) a seed company\/Texas A&M AgriLife grower agreement<\/p>\n Texas A&M AgriLife\u2019s goal is to provide producers, hemp seed companies, and the larger hemp industry with reliable, independent scientific assessment of hemp varietal performance in Texas.\u00a0 Coupling these results with my 21+ years of Texas Extension agronomy work as well as the full expertise and resources of Texas A&M Agriculture will advance hemp in Texas.\u00a0 We look forward to the opportunity to collaborate with you in developing hemp information for Texas.<\/p>\n If you have questions about the program and protocol, please e-mail or call, 806.777.0247 (cell).\u00a0 Due to the urgency to get trials planted in May, the due date for receiving entry form, seed, and payment is May 12<\/u>.\u00a0 If you are interested in participating, please notify me as soon as you can as we are working on the individual sites for field preparation.<\/p>\n Ongoing Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Hemp Resources<\/strong><\/p>\n We continue adding resources at http:\/\/agrilifeextension.tamu.edu\/hemp<\/a> including under \u2018Hot Topics & Latest Updates\u2019 on the main page.\u00a0 Further production updates will be posted the week of May 4.<\/p>\n Discussion of TDA Final Hemp Rules<\/em><\/p>\n Texas A&M AgriLife Extension agricultural law specialist Tiffany Dowell-Lashmet, and Extension ag. economist Dr. Justin Benavidez discuss by video the final TDA rules.\u00a0 https:\/\/agrilifeextension.tamu.edu\/browse\/hemp\/videos\/video-summary-of-the-texas-department-of-agriculture-regulations-for-industrial-hemp\/<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/agrilife.org\/texasrowcrops\/files\/2020\/05\/screen-shot-300x169.jpg\")
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