U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell applauded the Senate’s passage Tuesday of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, or Farm Bill.
Leader McConnell told the News Edge after the Senate voted Tuesday, he is pleased with language in the Farm Bill concerning Industrial Hemp.
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Leader McConnell’s measure legalizes hemp as an agricultural commodity by removing it from the federal list of controlled substances.
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This measure builds upon the hemp pilot programs, which Senator McConnell secured in the 2014 Farm Bill.
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Leader McConnell says it’s still too early to see what the impact of industrial hemp will be.
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According to the 2017 processor production reports, Kentucky licensed processors paid growers in the Commonwealth $7.5 million for harvested hemp. In addition, the Industrial Hemp Research Pilot Program processor licensees reported $25.6 million in capital improvements and investments and $16.7 million in gross product sales. In 2017, more than 3,200 acres of hemp were being grown across Kentucky.
In addition to the hemp measure, the Farm Bill strengthens the safety measures that directly help commodity producers as they confront low prices, volatile markets, and the constant threat of natural disasters. It also seizes on a number of opportunities to invest in the future of American agriculture and rural communities by expanding rural broadband, enhancing water infrastructure, and continuing the fight against the opioid epidemic.
The House of Representatives will vote on the Farm Bill in the coming days, prior to it being sent to President Donald Trump for his signature.