Compliance Agreement FAQs
The Hemp Program does not register pesticides to be used on hemp. However, the MDA's Pesticide and Fertilizer Management Division has a list of registered pesticides that can be used on hemp. Please visit the Registered Pesticides for Use on Hemp webpage for additional information.
The Hemp Program does not register pesticides to be used on hemp. However, the MDA's Pesticide and Fertilizer Management Division has a list of registered pesticides that can be used on hemp. Please visit the Registered Pesticides for Use on Hemp webpage for additional information.
An MDA inspector must take plant samples for THC testing within 30 days of harvest. The license holder is responsible for notifying the MDA of the hemp lots they've planted by filing a Planting Report form. Please contact the Hemp Program staff to request the Planting Report form. Once we receive your report, we will schedule your inspection and sampling. Inspectors take 30 cuttings per lot, the top 5 inches of the female flowers. At least 75% of the plants must be flowering in order for us to take samples, and there must be at least 5 inches of female flower vertically along the stem. Each variety is considered a separate lot and must be sampled separately. The grower will be invoiced for any extra inspections/tests beyond the first one.
If you aren't sure when your harvest will occur, you can either send a picture of your plants along with your form or write a description of the growth stage that your plants are at. That will help us to determine the proper time for the inspection. Please be advised that all hemp crops must be tested by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, pass the THC Test, and have an issued Fit for Commerce certificate prior to transferring ownership of the crop. Selling or transferring ownership of hemp crop without a Fit for Commerce certificate is a violation.
An MDA inspector must take plant samples for THC testing within 30 days of harvest. The license holder is responsible for notifying the MDA of the hemp lots they've planted by filing a Planting Report form. Please contact the Hemp Program staff to request the Planting Report form. Once we receive your report, we will schedule your inspection and sampling. Inspectors take 30 cuttings per lot, the top 5 inches of the female flowers. At least 75% of the plants must be flowering in order for us to take samples, and there must be at least 5 inches of female flower vertically along the stem. Each variety is considered a separate lot and must be sampled separately. The grower will be invoiced for any extra inspections/tests beyond the first one.
If you aren't sure when your harvest will occur, you can either send a picture of your plants along with your form or write a description of the growth stage that your plants are at. That will help us to determine the proper time for the inspection. Please be advised that all hemp crops must be tested by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, pass the THC Test, and have an issued Fit for Commerce certificate prior to transferring ownership of the crop. Selling or transferring ownership of hemp crop without a Fit for Commerce certificate is a violation.
An MDA inspector must take plant samples for THC testing within 30 days of harvest. The license holder is responsible for notifying the MDA of the hemp lots they've planted by filing a Planting Report form. Please contact the Hemp Program staff to request the Planting Report form. Once we receive your report, we will schedule your inspection and sampling. Inspectors take 30 cuttings per lot, the top 5 inches of the female flowers. At least 75% of the plants must be flowering in order for us to take samples, and there must be at least 5 inches of female flower vertically along the stem. Each variety is considered a separate lot and must be sampled separately. The grower will be invoiced for any extra inspections/tests beyond the first one.
If you aren't sure when your harvest will occur, you can either send a picture of your plants along with your form or write a description of the growth stage that your plants are at. That will help us to determine the proper time for the inspection. Please be advised that all hemp crops must be tested by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, pass the THC Test, and have an issued Fit for Commerce certificate prior to transferring ownership of the crop. Selling or transferring ownership of hemp crop without a Fit for Commerce certificate is a violation.
As defined in the 2018 Farm Bill and Minnesota Statues Chapter18K, Section 2, hemp is the plant Cannabis sativa L., and any part of the plant, whether growing or not, including the seeds, and all its derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, and salts of isomers, containing a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis. For regulatory purposes, the THC concentration is analyzed post-decarboxylation, as required by the federal law. This is commonly referred to as "Total Potential THC" and is equal to delta-9 THC + (THCA x 0.877). Hemp is an agricultural crop which can be grown for fiber, grain, or medicinal usages.
As defined in the 2018 Farm Bill and Minnesota Statues Chapter18K, Section 2, hemp is the plant Cannabis sativa L., and any part of the plant, whether growing or not, including the seeds, and all its derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, and salts of isomers, containing a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis. For regulatory purposes, the THC concentration is analyzed post-decarboxylation, as required by the federal law. This is commonly referred to as "Total Potential THC" and is equal to delta-9 THC + (THCA x 0.877). Hemp is an agricultural crop which can be grown for fiber, grain, or medicinal usages.
The 2014 Farm Bill contained a provision to allow state departments of agriculture to administer pilot programs to study the growth, cultivation, and marketing of hemp. In 2015, the Minnesota Industrial Hemp Development Act (IHDA), Minnesota Statues Chapter18K, became law. This allowed the MDA to create a hemp pilot program. The Minnesota pilot program operated in 2016 through 2020.
The 2018 Farm Bill officially legalized hemp cultivation for commercial purposes and removed it from the Controlled Substances Act. On January 19, 2021, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released the Final Rule (7 CFR part 990), which forms the regulatory framework for all hemp cultivation nationwide. Each state and tribal authority had to submit a plan for approval by USDA if they wanted to continue to regulate hemp at the state/tribal level. The Minnesota State Plan was approved on May 6, 2021. Visit the USDA website to view the entirety of the Minnesota plan.
