The Missouri Department of Agriculture has decided to not seek USDA approval of its plan for regulating hemp production for 2020, but that won’t stop farmers from producing the crop. Spokeswoman Sami Jo Freeman says the state is still able to license growers under a provision of federal law.

The comment period is still open on USDA’s Interim Final Rule. Missouri Hemp Association executive director Bill Cook said there is much to review from USDA on a short time.

The deadline to submit comments on USDA’s Interim Final Rule is December 30th. Applications for Missouri farmers to grow hemp can be submitted to the Missouri Department of Agriculture beginning January 2nd. A sample application and guidance on developing parcel maps are already available on the department’s website<https://agriculture.mo.gov/plants/industrial-hemp/>.