IARN — The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has a list of commodities that are eligible for help from the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP). The program is designed to help producers of these crops, who have experienced disproportionate losses because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many commodities have made the list: corn, soybeans, cotton, alfalfa, fruits & vegetables, small grains, and more. However, there is one commodity that has been left off this list, and that is hemp. There is a growing effort to get the crop put on to the list as well.
Yesterday, I talked with Andrei McQuillan, Chief Operating Officer at EcoGen Laboratories. EcoGen is the largest vertically integrated hemp producer in the United States. McQuillan told me about some of the concerns they have with being left off the list.
For more on this story, including comments from Andrei McQuillan, visit the Iowa Agribusiness Radio Network.
