Implementing the plan in 2020 will cost approximately $231,000, including $170,000 in salaries, $25,332 in operating expenses, $8,340 in travel, and repayments of about $28,000 to other department funds to cover 2019 costs.
In 2020, the department will ask the Legislature for additional spending authority to ensure the program fund covers the cost of administering it, the plan said.
The USDA will have 60 days to review the Nebraska hemp plan before approving it or suggesting changes to comply with federal standards.
The department granted 10 licenses to growers in Nebraska this year for research purposes, one of which was forced to shred their crop Nov. 26 because of the too-high THC level it produced.
The 2018 Farm Bill authorized the production of hemp and removed hemp and hemp seeds from the Drug Enforcement Administration’s schedule of controlled substances.
The licensing of research programs in Nebraska was made possible by a bill (LB657) introduced by Omaha Sen. Justin Wayne and passed and signed during the 2019 session.
