There appears to be a fabricated controversy over the numbers of hemp acres USDA reported for 2019. It reports acres licensed, planted, and harvested.
Considering that 2019 was the first year for legal hemp in the U.S., not all who planted knew how to select genetics, grow, harvest, dry, process, and sell it. Some did such a bad job at it that they lost their farm, we even saw a suicide.
But if for some odd reason you just want to put lipstick on a pig, then go with harvested acres or even better, as “acres producing materials actually sold,” that number will be lowest. There appears to be an attempt to gaslight as to how and why this happened, as if the ones demanding tens of thousands of dollars in dues shouldn’t be accountable for their performance.
Therefore, Licensed is as good a metric as any, it reflects the farmer’s confidence in hemp more than his/her ability to grow and market a new-to-them crop.
Ironically, none of the following are my original source for 2019 Acres Licensed for this chart, which IIRC from 5 years ago was USDA online and likely the same source as these:
“NIHC Chief Economist, Beau Whitney, reports that in 2020, licensed acreage totaled 465,787, down from 511,442 acres in 2019.” Export Market Development: US Industrial Hemps [sic] United Front, Kevin Latner, NIHC Vice President for Trade and Marketing.
“Table 1 summarizes land licensed for hemp cultivation for the past two years and the estimated licensed acreage for 2019 for some of the top hemp-growing states. In these states alone, total area licensed for hemp production has increased from 37,122 acres to an estimated 310,721 acres, a nearly 10-fold increase in the amount of licensed land. Additional reports indicate that as of September 2019, licensed land for the current year aggregated across all U.S. states is estimated to be 511,442 acres (Vote Hemp, 2019). Granted, not all of this land will be used to cultivate and harvest hemp, as data from recent years indicate considerable slippage between the amount of acreage licensed compared to acreage harvested.” Is the Emerging U.S. Hemp Industry Yet Another Boom–Bust Market for U.S. Farmers?; James A. Sterns; Agricultural & Applied Economics Association CHOICES; 3rd Quarter 2019; 34(3).
“States licensed a combined 511,442 acres of production across 34 states in 2019, more than quadruple the number of acres licensed from 2018, according to industry advocacy group Vote Hemp. Of that licensed total, farmers ultimately planted roughly 230,000 acres and likely harvested closer to 115,000 acres.” 2020 US HEMP HARVEST OUTLOOK: TOP HEMP-PRODUCING STATES, Hemp Industries Association.
“Exhibit 1.1.2 details U.S. industrial hemp licensed acreage in select states for 2017, 2018 and 2019. States with major industrial hemp acreage have included Colorado, Kentucky, Oregon and Montana. Vote Hemp (2019) estimated the 2019 total U.S licensed acreage at 511,442 acres. Many states have shown significant increases in licensed acres.” Comparative Analysis of the Industrial Hemp Industry, Missouri Industrial Hemp Steering Committee.
