AHPA highlights four priorities for 2023 Farm Bill that would benefit herbal farmers and manufacturers

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The American Herbal Products Association (AHPA; Silver Spring, MD) has sent a letter to members of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture and U.S. House Committee on Agriculture advocating for four priority issues to be considered in the 2023 Farm Bill Reauthorization measure. The 2018 Farm Bill, called the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, is set to expire on September 30, 2023. One of the bill’s most notable impacts is the legalization of hemp agriculture, setting limits of delta-9 THC for the commodity at 0.3% THC by dry weight.

As the deadline for the 2023 Farm Bill approaches, AHPA is urging Congress to consider the following issues:

• An amendment to the Organic Food Production Act
• Increasing the limit of delta-9 THC that defines hemp
• Inclusion of the Hemp Act of 2023
• Increased funding of a Specialty Crop Block Grant Program

AHPA explains in its letter that the Organic Food Production Act should be amended to clarify USDA’s National Organic Program’s (NOP) authority to enforce organic claims on dietary supplements, which NOP currently claims are outside its scope. “Dietary supplements are explicitly categorized as a type of food under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act,” wrote AHPA.
“For this reason, AHPA asserts that USDA has clear authority to regulate dietary supplement organic claims under the OFPA. NOP’s decision to not take action against dietary supplement marketers who make violative organic claims is not equitable to those in the industry who make substantial investments to comply with the NOP certification process.”

When it comes to hemp, AHPA states that amending the definition of hemp to raise the allowable limit of delta-9 THC from 0.3% to 1% would help hemp growers, processors, and CBD products manufacturers who are “struggling to make the most of this important commodity.: This is because environmental factors outside farmers’ control as well as intermediate steps in hemp extraction sometimes temporarily raise THC content, forcing them to destroy the crop. AHPA’s director of program development and staff liaison to the AHPA Cannabis Committee, Jane Wilson, explains to Nutritional Outlook that these factors could include “higher than expected temperatures or lack of water that may stress the hemp plant during the growing stage” as well as challenges of determining what plant varieties or strains are best suited for cultivation in their geographic location. Wilson also explains that the Association is advocating for increasing the limits for farmers but not finished products.

Additionally, AHPA is advocating for the inclusion of the Industrial Hemp Act of 2023 (S. 980 and H.R. 3755), which would create separate regulations for farmers that grow industrial hemp for non-extraction purposes such as fiber or grain. For these farmers, write AHPA, “there is no rationale to burden them with background checks or costly sampling and testing protocols. As such, this measure would break down barriers and keep the market open for farmers who have invested in the cultivation of hemp for industrial purposes.”

On the last point, AHPA explains in its letter that many herbal farmers throughout the U.S. have been beneficiaries of USDA’s Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, which supports initiatives to enhance marketing, education, and research of specialty crops. “The program also funds other activities aimed at increasing the overall competitiveness of specialty crops, including training and plant health initiatives,” AHPA wrote. “The production of these crops, which require variable growing conditions and are often sold in niche markets, can be labor-intensive. As such, USDA’s Specialty Crop Block Grant Program has played a vital role in the sustainability and growth of this large agricultural category. In alignment with the priority objective of the Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance, AHPA respectfully requests an increase of funding for the Specialty Crop Block Grant program in the 2023 Farm Bill.”