Latest news with #AgricultureImprovementActof2018
Yahoo
19-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Tennessee hemp dispensaries brace for fallout of bill banning THCA products
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — A bill banning the sale of hemp products with levels of THCA greater than 0.3% is headed to Tennessee Governor Bill Lee's desk. 'I was actually amazed when I started seeing what was being sold in some of the cannabis stores,' said State Senator Richard Briggs (R-Knoxville), a sponsor of the bill. East TN business owners discuss plans after Tennessee Senate passes bill banning most THCA products THCA is a naturally-occurring cannabinoid that does not have any psychoactive qualities in it's raw state. When it is heated smoked or vaped, it turns into THC. A bill was passed in 2023 placed a limit on how much Delta-9 can be in legal products, not THCA. One business owner contended that THCA is perfectly legal in Tennessee since the federal Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, otherwise known as the 2018 Farm Bill. 'It is 100% legal to have THCA in Tennessee even when this bill passes on January 1,' said Blom Shop owner Travis McKinney. 'There's a lot of confusion on that, 100% you can have THCA and there's no criminal consequences.' 'I want to make it absolutely clear that we have some very good, very compliant family-run cannabis stores,' Briggs added. 'They are selling hemp and hemp products.' Businesses and customers alike will see changes in the available options. A majority of products at some stores in Knoxville contain THCA or THCP, both would be banned under this new bill. McKinney said more than just the businesses will suffer. Three bears killed after report of aggressive behavior near Gatlinburg 'This is going to impact the people of Tennessee, that's the most important thing,' McKinney explained. 'You're going from these people, these veterans, these mothers, these fathers, these doctors and these teachers that are able to get legal cannabis, federally-legal hemp products in a store that's tested in DA-certified labs. Now it's just going to go back to either online sales or the black market unfortunately, and that's not what we want.' With these new parameters surrounding THCA, Briggs said regulation of the products will be similar to alcohol. 'It's going to be done by the Alcoholic Beverage Commission (ABC),' Briggs said. 'We've designed this very closely to how we regulate alcohol.' ▶ See more top stories on Briggs told 6 News that the bill was a tough one because of how complex it was trying to get everyone to understand the reasoning for wanting this to pass. McKinney said there needs to be more education surrounding THCA. The bill is heading to Governor Lee's desk. It is set to go into effect in January. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
23-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Financial impact of Trump tariffs, federal funding cuts stir anxiety for Illinois farmers
The effects of President Donald Trump's planned tariffs on allies and rivals are yet to be seen, but farmers in Illinois are bracing for their impact – even as they wait years for Congress to pass long-term federal spending legislation. Fourth-generation Illinois farmer Rick Nelson feels that uncertainty keenly. He learned how to drive a tractor at 6 years old. By age 8, he was preparing the ground for planting. 'I became a 'tractor jack' at an early age,' said Nelson, 72, who still operates his 2,500-acre family farm in Paxton, Illinois. Now in his final farming years before passing the farm to his son,the Nelson family is anxious about the road ahead this year. The Nelsons' farm is one of nearly 71,000 registered farm operations in Illinois, the third-ranked state in the nation for agricultural exports, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. But the number of family-run farms is declining because the profit margins are slim and the industry is unpredictable, according to the Illinois Farm Bureau. Farmers are biting their nails as they await a new Farm Bill – a piece of federal legislation that Congress passes every five years to set comprehensive agricultural programs and policies. The bill expired in September 2023 and was extended through last year. Congress extended the 2018 version for a second time in December. That legislation, the American Relief Act, 2025, extended the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 for one year through Sept. 30, 2025. First enacted under President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal in 1933 to support struggling farmers and address Depression-era hunger, the Farm Bill allocates funding for crop insurance, disaster assistance and conservation programs for farmers. It also funds nutrition programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps, and school lunch programs. The Farm Bill didn't exist when Nelson's great-grandfather started their family farm in 1910, but it's become an essential part of farmers' financial planning process. 'When we do any kind of planning, we have to be looking out one, two, three, even five years ahead in terms of purchases or cash flow needs,' Nelson said. Another immediate concern is the impact already of the Trump administration's halting of USAID purchase of crops for foreign aid, which could hit Illinois farmers hard. China could impose retaliatory tariffs like it did in 2018, which led to a significant decrease in soybean exports at the time. This go-around could increase the cost of producing farm machinery and equipment. 'Farmers are working in the 2024 economy with a piece of legislation that was passed in 2018,' Ryan Whitehouse, the Illinois Farm Bureau's director of national legislation,said in December. 'And with everything that's happened to inflation … It just needs modernized bills.' 'Congress, you know, they kicked the can down the road two times,' Whitehouse said. Lawmakers in Springfield have also expressed frustration at Congress' lack of an update to the Farm Bill. 'I think it's really unfortunate that the federal government is not doing their part right now,' state Rep. Sonya Harper, D-Chicago, said. 'That lends itself to hurting our farmer families, which we know the majority of them are in rural communities.' Harper, who chairs the House Agriculture and Conservation Committee, said the delays are 'disrespectful to farm families.' The delay has caused budgeting pressure for Nelson, who is considering upgrading an aging tractor to a newer, $334,000 model. 'If I were trying to project ahead, am I going to try and replace that in 2025? Am I going to try and replace that 2026? I don't know where the safety net will be from the Farm Bill,' Nelson said. 'It's a politically driven decision in D.C., and there's lots of parts to it.' Across more than 26 million acres covering 75% of the state's land, farmers produced $10.8 billion in corn and $8.2 billion in soybeans in 2023, according to the USDA. Each year, the state's 274 million bushels of corn produce more ethanol than any other state, according to the Illinois Department of Agriculture. Jim Niewold, a corn and soybean farmer in Loda, said he's frustrated with the Farm Bill's delay. 'Several years, or if not decades, most of it ends up getting delayed and put into these omnibus bills, and I wish they'd do it right,' Niewold, 69, said. 'They call it the Farm Bill, but it's really much bigger than that 'cause it's really like for food security for the country.' Without solidified legislation, funding is in limbo. Farmers rely on crop insurance funding from the farm bill, which protects farmers from losses in crop yields and revenue due to disasters like drought and severe weather events. 'They want their dollars from the market, not from a government handout, but they want that crop insurance there in case there is a crisis or if there's a disaster or national disaster,' the Farm Bureau's Whitehouse said. Although Nelson, also a corn and soybean farmer, said he isn't a fan of disaster payments, he would like the government to invest more consistent dollars into existing programs. 'Some folks get caught on the wrong side of the decisions that were made out of D.C., or in our case, Springfield, and consistency is to me a really important thing to have,' Nelson said. Delays to a new Farm Bill also impact consumers, particularly those who rely on benefit programs like SNAP or have students who eat a school lunch. These food system impacts could also increase the cost of many grocery items. But a one-year extension doesn't help much, according to farmers. 'I think we're always concerned because even with a five-year Farm Bill, people look at and say, well, that's a long-term farm bill, but it's really not when you're trying to set up things on the farm,' said Ron Bork, a corn and soybean farmer in Piper City, Illinois. The 73-year-old grew up on his family farm and has had a hand in operations since he was 8 years old. He's preparing to sell his farm and enter retirement, but he is still navigating the uncertainty that comes with farming. 'It's just like trying to steer a big ship in an ocean. You can't turn that ship around in a very short time. It takes a long period of time to get that turned around,' Bork said. 'It's the same way with farming.' Nelson and Niewold also plan to retire in the next couple of years, passing the reigns to their sons. This could be the last Farm Bill any of them see as active farmers. 'Nothing these folks in D.C. do can change the rules. They can change the size and the speed of the waves up and down I think, but they can't completely change them, so (my son), like all of us, will have to go through some tougher times and then hopefully enjoy good times,' Niewold said. Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
Yahoo
23-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Financial impacts of federal action stir anxiety for Illinois farmers
CHICAGO — The effects of President Donald Trump's planned tariffs on allies and rivals are yet to be seen, but farmers in Illinois are bracing for their impact – even as they wait years for Congress to pass long-term federal spending legislation. Fourth-generation Illinois farmer Rick Nelson feels that uncertainty keenly. He learned how to drive a tractor at 6 years old. By age 8, he was preparing the ground for planting. 'I became a 'tractor jack' at an early age,' said Nelson, 72, who still operates his 2,500-acre family farm in Paxton, Illinois. Now in his final farming years before passing the farm to his son,the Nelson family is anxious about the road ahead this year. The Nelsons' farm is one of nearly 71,000 registered farm operations in Illinois, the third-ranked state in the nation for agricultural exports, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. But the number of family-run farms is declining because the profit margins are slim and the industry is unpredictable, according to the Illinois Farm Bureau. Farmers are biting their nails as they await a new Farm Bill – a piece of federal legislation that Congress passes every five years to set comprehensive agricultural programs and policies. The bill expired in September 2023 and was extended through last year. Congress extended the 2018 version for a second time in December. That legislation, the American Relief Act, 2025, extended the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 for one year through Sept. 30, 2025. First enacted under President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal in 1933 to support struggling farmers and address Depression-era hunger, the Farm Bill allocates funding for crop insurance, disaster assistance and conservation programs for farmers. It also funds nutrition programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps, and school lunch programs. The Farm Bill didn't exist when Nelson's great-grandfather started their family farm in 1910, but it's become an essential part of farmers' financial planning process. 'When we do any kind of planning, we have to be looking out one, two, three, even five years ahead in terms of purchases or cash flow needs,' Nelson said. Another immediate concern is the impact already of the Trump administration's halting of USAID purchase of crops for foreign aid, which could hit Illinois farmers hard. China could impose retaliatory tariffs like it did in 2018, which led to a significant decrease in soybean exports at the time. This go-around could increase the cost of producing farm machinery and equipment. 'Farmers are working in the 2024 economy with a piece of legislation that was passed in 2018,' Ryan Whitehouse, the Illinois Farm Bureau's director of national legislation,said in December. 'And with everything that's happened to inflation … It just needs modernized bills.' 'Congress, you know, they kicked the can down the road two times,' Whitehouse said. Lawmakers in Springfield have also expressed frustration at Congress' lack of an update to the Farm Bill. 'I think it's really unfortunate that the federal government is not doing their part right now,' state Rep. Sonya Harper, D-Chicago, said. 'That lends itself to hurting our farmer families, which we know the majority of them are in rural communities.' Harper, who chairs the House Agriculture and Conservation Committee, said the delays are 'disrespectful to farm families.' The delay has caused budgeting pressure for Nelson, who is considering upgrading an aging tractor to a newer, $334,000 model. 'If I were trying to project ahead, am I going to try and replace that in 2025? Am I going to try and replace that 2026? I don't know where the safety net will be from the Farm Bill,' Nelson said. 'It's a politically driven decision in D.C., and there's lots of parts to it.' A new year looming: 'There are repercussions' Across more than 26 million acres covering 75% of the state's land, farmers produced $10.8 billion in corn and $8.2 billion in soybeans in 2023, according to the USDA. Each year, the state's 274 million bushels of corn produce more ethanol than any other state, according to the Illinois Department of Agriculture. Jim Niewold, a corn and soybean farmer in Loda, said he's frustrated with the Farm Bill's delay. 'Several years, or if not decades, most of it ends up getting delayed and put into these omnibus bills, and I wish they'd do it right,' Niewold, 69, said. 'They call it the Farm Bill, but it's really much bigger than that 'cause it's really like for food security for the country.' Without solidified legislation, funding is in limbo. Farmers rely on crop insurance funding from the farm bill, which protects farmers from losses in crop yields and revenue due to disasters like drought and severe weather events. 'They want their dollars from the market, not from a government handout, but they want that crop insurance there in case there is a crisis or if there's a disaster or national disaster,' the Farm Bureau's Whitehouse said. Although Nelson, also a corn and soybean farmer, said he isn't a fan of disaster payments, he would like the government to invest more consistent dollars into existing programs. 'Some folks get caught on the wrong side of the decisions that were made out of D.C., or in our case, Springfield, and consistency is to me a really important thing to have,' Nelson said. Delays to a new Farm Bill also impact consumers, particularly those who rely on benefit programs like SNAP or have students who eat a school lunch. These food system impacts could also increase the cost of many grocery items. But a one-year extension doesn't help much, according to farmers. 'I think we're always concerned because even with a five-year Farm Bill, people look at and say, well, that's a long-term farm bill, but it's really not when you're trying to set up things on the farm,' said Ron Bork, a corn and soybean farmer in Piper City, Illinois. The 73-year-old grew up on his family farm and has had a hand in operations since he was 8 years old. He's preparing to sell his farm and enter retirement, but he is still navigating the uncertainty that comes with farming. 'It's just like trying to steer a big ship in an ocean. You can't turn that ship around in a very short time. It takes a long period of time to get that turned around,' Bork said. 'It's the same way with farming.' Nelson and Niewold also plan to retire in the next couple of years, passing the reigns to their sons. This could be the last Farm Bill any of them see as active farmers. 'Nothing these folks in D.C. do can change the rules. They can change the size and the speed of the waves up and down I think, but they can't completely change them, so (my son), like all of us, will have to go through some tougher times and then hopefully enjoy good times,' Niewold said. Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Delta 8 could be as illegal as heroin and LSD under proposed Alabama law
DOTHAN, Ala (WDHN) — A new bill has been filed that would ban hemp-derived THV products like delta-8, delta-9, and delta-10. If passed, SB132 would put the psychoactive cannabinoids delta-8, delta-9, and delta-10 under the Schedule I classification. This is the same class as LSD and heroin. Under current Alabama law, possession of a Schedule I controlled substance is a Class D felony that carries a possible sentence of one year and a day to 10 years. The bill, sponsored by Republican Tim Melson, is currently pending action in the Senate Committee on Healthcare. If passed, the bill would go into effect on October 1, 2025. The Associated Press reports that Delta-8 THC exploded onto the scene under the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, more commonly known as the Farm Bill. Under the Farm Bill, hemp products and cannabinoids were classified as distinct from marijuana. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Chicago alders seek to learn more about delta-8 THC amid calls for greater regulation
CHICAGO — Alders on Thursday heard from hemp sellers and dispensary owners to better understand delta-8 THC as they look to place greater restrictions on products sold throughout the city that contain the cannabis compound. The meeting comes after the state senate passed legislation that smoke shop owners and hemp retailers argued would put them out of business, and it gave members the opportunity to ask questions about hemp and learn how it could be regulated in a fair manner. 'For us, as a city, it's not an opportunity for blood money. This is not an opportunity to rush regulation, rush taxation to get revenue. That was never the intent,'Ald. William Hall (6th Ward) said at the joint meeting of the City Council's subcommittee on revenue and Committee on Health and Human Relations. Pritzker disappointed by delay in passing Delta-8 legislation Hemp and marijuana are both cannabis plants, but cannabis with less than 0.3% THC is considered hemp, otherwise, it is considered marijuana, which is still federally illegal. Delta-8 is a psychoactive substance that is found in the cannabis sativa plant and is slightly different from the psychoactive and more potent delta-9 compound that is also found in the plant. While the two are different, delta-8 THC still has psychoactive and intoxicating effects, according to the FDA. Since delta-8 is not produced in significant amounts by cannabis plants, oftentimes, concentrated amounts of delta-8 THC are typically manufactured from hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD). Hemp-derived THC products come in a variety of forms, including, edibles, oils and vaporizer cartridges. The FDA has not evaluated or approved delta-8 THC products for safe use in any context and warns that the products may be marketed as having 'therapeutic or medical uses.' Delta-8 products gained popularity following the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, which legalized hemp-derived cannabinoids with a THC content of 0.3% or less. Because of that, products that contain hemp-derived THC can be sold legally and without restriction at businesses that do not require special licenses like those that sell more potent marijuana-derived THC products. Alders argues that while the products are legal, they are unregulated and can fall into the wrong hands too easily. 'For now, hemp, we're just getting started in terms of what are the regulations that will be viable for hemp after the plant leaves the farm,' said Chicago Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Olusimbo Ige. Ahead of the meeting, Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36th Ward) held a press conference calling to ban products that carry delta-8. The Illinois Senate passed legislation that smoke shop owners and hemp retailers argued were too restrictive and bad for business. It was not brought up for a vote in the House. The legislation was supported by Gov. JB Pritzker but not by Mayor Brandon Johnson. Hall said Thursday's discussion could help in drafting a proposal which could potentially receive a vote in the spring. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
