Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., as authors of the legislation that legalized hemp production nationwide, on Wednesday asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture to make several changes as it develops its final rule for the U.S. Domestic Hemp Production Program.
Wyden and Merkley, in a letter to USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue, welcomed the interim rule recently released by the agency as a necessary step to establish a domestic federal hemp production program, but cited concerns about the unintended and potentially harmful effects the rule would have on hemp production in Oregon and across the country.