USDA Seeks Hemp Farmer Survey Feedback – Blunt Comments Welcome?
Published Date: 8/13/2026
Notice
Summary
The Department of Agriculture is asking for public feedback on their plan to collect info about hemp farming. They want to make sure the questions are useful, clear, and not too much work for farmers and others involved. Comments are due by September 14, 2026, so folks have a month to share their thoughts before the plan moves forward.
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 2 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Hemp survey trims farmer questions
The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service is removing the Operator Characteristics section from the Hemp Production and Disposition Inquiry to streamline the questionnaire and reduce respondent burden. The survey covers farms and for-profit businesses, has 8,525 respondents, is collected annually, and the total burden for the collection is 2,918 hours; NASS says there are no other changes to the survey methodology.
Strict confidentiality for hemp responses
Individually identifiable information collected for the Hemp Production and Disposition Inquiry will be governed by Section 1770 of the Food Security Act of 1985 (7 U.S.C. 2276), which requires USDA to afford strict confidentiality to non-aggregated respondent data. The data are being collected under the Domestic Hemp Production Program and 7 U.S.C. 2204(a).
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