Evergreen
USDA hemp program and 2018 Farm Bill
Bob Hoban, Hoban Law Group · Last updated May 2026
On-record soundbite (1–2 sentences)
“The USDA hemp program established compliance infrastructure — testing protocols, sampling requirements, disposal rules — that the industry underestimated at launch. Four years in, the operators who treated the USDA requirements as a floor rather than a ceiling have built defensible businesses. The ones who treated them as a compliance checkbox have accumulated liability.”
— Robert Hoban, Hoban Law Group
Extended quote (3–4 sentences)
“The USDA hemp program established compliance infrastructure — testing protocols, sampling requirements, disposal rules — that the industry underestimated at launch. Four years in, the operators who treated the USDA requirements as a floor rather than a ceiling have built defensible businesses. The ones who treated them as a compliance checkbox have accumulated liability. The next farm bill will almost certainly impose stricter testing requirements and close the intoxicating derivatives gap. Hemp operators who are not already building toward that regulatory environment are playing a dangerous game.”
— Robert Hoban, Hoban Law Group
Attribution
Robert Hoban, Founder and Managing Partner, Hoban Law Group. Quotes may be used in editorial coverage with this attribution line. For background briefings or custom quotes on adjacent topics, contact the press team.
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