What Are Your Hemp Production Costs and Practices? The Feds Want to Know
October 22, 2020 
USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is planning to conduct a survey of U.S. hemp growers to collect information on current production costs, production practices, and marketing practices. This voluntary questionnaire will be organized into four general sections.
AMS has partnered with the University of Kentucky to develop and administer the survey. The data obtained from the survey will be used for forecasting hemp activity and to develop a representative understanding of hemp production practices and costs at national, regional, and state levels. Once the survey has been administered and the results collected, the University of Kentucky will summarize the raw data from the survey into a comprehensive report for AMS.
The survey will be administered through the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA). Respondents can participate in the survey online or by completing the paper version. The survey also will be administered to tribes that have approved hemp production programs, in order to get input from tribal hemp production. USDA estimates the number of producers that will complete this survey to be approximately 18,000. This figure was derived from 2019 growing season data provided to USDA by Vote Hemp, a national hemp advocacy organization, along with data from certain State Departments of Agriculture.
The first section of the survey, General Hemp Experience, requests data on production location, licensed acreage, planted acreage, and harvested acreage by end-use. Collecting this information is necessary to develop an understanding of the industry across the country.
The second section asks questions about production costs and practices. Data collected will include information on input costs including seed, labor, fertilizer, licensing fees, and testing. This section dives deeper into the production costs for hemp and asks specific questions about the types of hemp.
The third section covers contracting and marketing practices. Data collected will include information on farmgate pricing by end use, contract usage, contract structure, and storage.
The final section, Decision Maker Characteristics, will collect demographic information on producers’ age, education level, experience, household size, and race.
AMS is seeking comments on whether this collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information has practical utility; the accuracy of the agency’s estimate of the burden of the collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information collected; and ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology.
Click here to learn more about the survey and to submit comments.
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