Sustainable Bioenergy, Farms, and Forests - July 13, 2018

Could Hemp Farming Act Open Floodgates for Domestic Hemp Industry?

Though it was one of the first row crops grown in the United States, hemp has been classified as a controlled substance in the United States since 1970, despite its low psychoactive content.  But that is set to change under a provision included in the recently passed Senate farm bill, the Hemp Farming Act.  Among other things, the provision would remove industrial hemp from the Controlled Substances Act. States and farmers nationwide are eager for the change, with 38 states now allowing the limited cultivation of hemp (often in pilot programs) for either commercial or research purposes, as of the end of 2017. But questions still remain about the viability and profitability of a crop that has not been widely cultivated in the United States for more than 75 years.  

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Event Recap: 

If you missed it, this week's 2018 Congressional Clean Energy Expo and Policy Forum brought together 35 businesses, trade associations, and government agencies to showcase renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies -- including four representative companies from the bioeconomy. In every state across the country, these technologies are having a significant impact in business development and job creation in the manufacturing, transmission, power, transportation, and building sectors. The bipartisan House Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency Caucus was the Expo's honorary co-host.

To watch the special session on Biosolutions: Bio-Based Energy and Materials, please click here. 

 

 

Headlines: 

1. Documents, Schedule Suggest Pruitt Changed Biofuel Reallocation Plan After Meeting With Sens. Cruz, Toomey
2. US EPA Schedules Hearing on Proposed RFS Rule for July 18
3. Senate Ag Chairman Signals Farm Bill Conference May be Slow
4. Feds Want To Remove Millions Of Dead And Dying Trees From California’s Forests
5. In Farm Country, Grappling With the Taboo of Talking about Climate Change
 

 

To Contact the Editor: Jessie Stolark at [email protected]

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