2022 Hemp Compliance: Sampling, Testing and Licensing Still Challenged Producers
Background checks, 30-day pre-harvest sampling, and state plan requirements remained key friction points in 2022.
Even as markets evolved, 2022 hemp producers faced tight THC testing windows, state licensing, and pre-harvest sampling rules under the federal Domestic Hemp Production Program—adding cost and risk to harvest timing.
Under 7 CFR Part 990, which governed production through 2022, hemp lots must be sampled by an authorized agent within 30 days of anticipated harvest for total delta-9 THC compliance. The USDA final rule and AMS sampling guidelines set the framework that states and Tribes implemented via approved plans, while USDA clarified its role (production only) and pointed to FDA and local authorities for post-farm products. Producers continued to cite the timing risk—if harvest slips after sampling, THC can rise above limits—as well as costs tied to repeated sampling and background checks.
These compliance realities, layered atop volatile demand and processing gaps, were frequently referenced by growers and trade groups as reasons for the acreage pullback and the push for policy reforms highlighted throughout 2022.
Reference
https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-7/subtitle-B/chapter-IX/part-990
