US House Extends 2018 Farm Bill For One Year
The House approved a spending bill that includes an extension for the 2018 Farm Bill. A short-term funding bill is now heading to the Senate, which is expected to quickly pass and then be sent on to President Biden to sign into law before the deadline, writes The Gazette. This extends all programs at levels provided in the 2018 Farm Bill through Sept. 30, 2024.
The news comes several weeks after a ranking member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Senator John Boozman (R) suggested that a congressional farm bill might need a deadline extension.
It’s been five years since Donald Trump signed the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (Farm Act 2018), which effectively legalized hemp and hemp-derived products on the federal level. Under the bill, hemp is considered to have only 0.3% delta 9 THC. What about products derived from hemp, are they regulated as food? Are they considered supplements? These are only some of the questions that are important to those in the hemp and cannabis industries highlighting the need for updated legislation. The Farm Bill covers many more commodities than hemp, which is why lawmakers agreed that an extension is the right action.
“As negotiations on funding the government progress, we were able to come together to avoid a lapse in funding for critical agricultural programs and provide certainty to producers,” Senators Stabenow, Boozman, Thompson and Scott stated. “This extension is in no way …