The average age of farmers in the United States continues to increase. But hemp legalization is bringing new excitement for a younger generation about working in agriculture.

In 2018 the crop became federally legal under the Farm Bill. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D) says that he “knew that this would be a huge bonanza for Oregon agriculture.”

The senator said more reforms must come in order to support the industry. He is actively working on legislation to achieve that.

“We’ve seen a lot of young farmers get very interested in hemp,” Wyden said during an interview.

“At a time when the age of farmers in America keeps going up, to have all these young farmers interested and coming back to the farm because they see so much potential here” shows that “we’re on the right side of history,” he said.

Since prohibition concluded the domestic hemp market continues to expand. And regulatory policies continue to hold back cannabis businesses, Wyden said.

Currently, Wyden is working with the Senate majority leader on a bill to federally legalize marijuana.

Problems Facing the Hemp Industry and Agriculture

One issue the industry faces is the lack of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rules allowing companies to market hemp-derived CBD as a food or as dietary supplements. The senator introduced a bill recently that would resolve this issue. It would exempt hemp and its compounds from federal restrictions.

Right now, CBD sits in a regulatory gray zone. “The consumer wants to know that everything they purchase is top quality, meets basic standards,” has appropriate labels, “but the FDA has basically gone out and tied its own hands in order to regulate,” the senator said.

Rand Paul (R) and Jeff Merkley (D) co-sponsor the bill “Hemp Access and Consumer Safety Act”.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is an advocate for the hemp industry. And he is working within his party to garner support for the bill. But the separate marijuana legalization bill Wyden is working on is unlikely to collect McConnell’s support.

Wyden urges voters to pressure their representatives to get on board with the modest hemp reform bill. Because “political change rarely starts in a bunch of government buildings and then trickles down.”

Earlier this year a bipartisan group of House members introduced similar legislation to allow companies to market CBD as a dietary supplement. So far, there are no updates about the status of this legislation in the House or the Senate. 

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