Hemp Program in Florida Now 2 Years and Growing Strong
May 10, 2022 It’s hard to believe that it’s been two years since Florida’s hemp program officially started to bud. The program, overseen by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), began to accept applications to grow industrial hemp following formal approval from USDA in late April 2020.
Since then, Florida Ag Commissioner Nikki Fried says it’s been onward and upward. “Florida’s hemp program has seen increasing success since its inception in 2020,” she says. “FDACS is proud to support our budding hemp industry and it’s thousands of producers, processors, and retailers as they work every day to meet consumer needs amid increasing demand for the many safe and sustainable products that can be produced with hemp.”
Fried has been a proponent of the burgeoning cannabis industry. Within the program’s first year, hemp in Florida created an estimated $370 million economic impact, supported more than 9,000 jobs, and generated more than $17 million in federal, state, and local tax revenue. There are currently 761 active hemp cultivation licenses, 945 cultivation sites, and 19,523 of approved acres across 64 of Florida’s 67 counties, according to FDACS.
Most recently, Fried’s 2021-2022 Legislative Budget included a $4.6 million request for the state hemp program and hemp-related issues.
More info on the hemp program in Florida can be found at fdacs.gov/Cannabis-Hemp.
