Whitney Economics Reduces 2030 Hemp Fiber and Grain Acreage Forecast by 4.5 Million Acres | How to buy CBD Vape online

PORTLAND, Ore. – Sept. 4, 2024 – PRESS RELEASE Whitney Economics (WE), an international leader in cannabis and industrial hemp business consulting, data, and economic research, has announced that it has revised its forecast for hemp grain and fiber for 2030 from 5.5 million to 1 million acres. This is a 82% decrease from its previous estimate of 5.5 millions acres. Based on the output and pricing data published in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, this is equivalent to a projected loss of nearly $3.1 billion for U.S. farmers of hemp.

Beau Whitney, WE’s Chief Economist and founder, said that “our original forecast assumed policy related to hemp as animal feed would be further along than it is currently with the FDA.” “In addition to this, legislators and cannabis regulators have been so focused on recriminalizing the hemp plant while imposing restrictions even on non-intoxicating products that there is little appetite for investment in hemp or infrastructure development to support the hemp industry.”

Whitney Economics interviewed an investor who said: “I don’t know what is legal and what isn’t when the laws change every week, seemingly from state to state.” Cannabinoid policy also impacts the growth of the grain and fibre sectors.

The Oregon-based economics firm states that recent recommendations by the Oregon-based economics firm to limit the parts per millions of THC and CBD in feeds, coupled with regulatory uncertainty caused changes in hemp-derived cannabinoid law, have resulted to greater uncertainty in the market. Whitney also accounted for the lack of progress in infrastructure development when making its forecast. Both have caused a general pullback in investors. Without investment and infrastructure, farmers do not participate in a manner that would justify a high forecast.

Whitney said that investors are waiting to see what the U.S. Farm Bill contains. The Food and Drug Administration has set very low limits for THC and CBD in animal feed. THC and CBD are now considered more toxic than lead, arsenic and cadmium. It is unclear how this will impact farmers and processors who produce hemp grains.

Whitney said that the attempt to clarify animal feed by setting strict limits may have led to more uncertainty rather than less. “While some operators believe that the newly adopted animal feed limits will help farmers, other are not convinced. When we looked at the micro and macro environments, it was evident that the demand for future acres of hemp fiber and grains would be muted.

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