What’s Happening in Hemp

As many of you know, the hemp industry is entering another major transition.

Last November, President Trump signed an appropriations bill that included language intended to eliminate the sale, production, and manufacture of intoxicating cannabinoid hemp products in the United States. At the same time, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services indicated it would work with the FDA to develop a list of cannabinoids that will be considered marijuana. That list has not yet been released, but the overall direction is clear enough that businesses across the country are already being forced to make difficult decisions.

Bills have been introduced in Congress that would delay implementation for two years. Whether those efforts succeed remains uncertain. A delay could give hemp farmers, processors, and retailers more time to pivot, and it could give regulators more time to produce language that is clearer and more workable. Right now, though, there is still a great deal of uncertainty about where all of this lands.

Complicating matters further is the looming federal rescheduling of marijuana, which may add another layer of confusion to an already unstable regulatory environment.

What does seem clear is that federal policy is continuing to draw a sharper line between industrial hemp and cannabinoid hemp. The direction of travel points toward tighter total THC standards, stricter product limits, and more formal compliance requirements, especially for businesses operating in the cannabinoid space.

For many people in hemp, this is not the first time they have had to adapt to major changes. But it may be one of the most consequential.

The likely outcome is that cannabinoid hemp will continue to face a much narrower and more difficult path, especially for small businesses, processors, and retailers. At the same time, fiber and grain may finally have more room to develop under a clearer framework via the new Farm Bill, even if those sectors still face the same practical barriers they have faced for years, including limited processing capacity, slow infrastructure development, and cautious investment.

There are still opportunities ahead, but they are not the same opportunities that shaped so much of the last several years.

Hemp for human food remains one of the strongest and most practical areas for small producers, especially those with access to local markets and some ability to do value-added processing. Products like hemp seed, hemp hearts, and microgreens continue to make sense, particularly when they are tied to strong local supply chains.

Animal feed also remains a developing area with real potential. Hemp birdseed is already a workable niche market. Laying hen feed is moving forward, and research continues for other livestock applications.

Fiber production will continue to scale slowly as infrastructure investment increases and the market begins to mature. That progress is real, but it is still slower than many people hoped it would be. Hemp building materials also remain promising, though still limited by certification issues, long-term performance questions, and the pace of broader market adoption.

IHGA Outlook

The Illinois hemp industry has already weathered multiple rounds of regulatory uncertainty, market contraction, and forced adaptation. This latest shift is likely to intensify that pattern.

We will likely continue to see fewer active hemp grower and processor licenses, more businesses liquidating inventory, more retailers pivoting to other products, and more operators leaving the cannabinoid space altogether. We may still see some room for craft or artisanal CBD and other non-intoxicating products, but that space is also likely to become more difficult as compliance gets tighter, sourcing becomes harder, and input costs continue to fluctuate.

At the same time, food, feed, fiber, and grain will continue to evolve, but on a slower timeline than many early projections suggested. Those sectors still matter, and they still deserve support, but they are not yet mature enough to fully replace everything that is being lost elsewhere in the industry.

That is the reality we are looking at, and it is the reality the IHGA has to respond to.

What’s Next for the IHGA

After a great deal of thought, I want to share that this will be our final season as an active grassroots organization in its current form.

That is not something I say lightly. It is also not a reflection of any one single issue or moment. It reflects the broader reality of where the hemp industry is, where policy appears to be heading, and what kind of organizational structure makes sense in this environment.

Since 2018, the Illinois Hemp Growers Association has worked to support a sustainable and equitable hemp industry in Illinois. Over the past seven years, we have built relationships across the supply chain, supported farmers and small businesses, participated in policy conversations, created space for collaboration, and helped establish a credible voice for Illinois hemp during a period of rapid growth and constant change.

I am proud of that work, and I am proud of the people who made it possible.

IHGA has always been a grassroots, member-driven organization. It was built by people willing to show up, speak up, share what they know, and keep going even when the industry kept shifting beneath them. We have seen people enter hemp with genuine optimism, creativity, and determination. We have also seen how hard this industry has been on the people who believed in it most.

Over the past several years, hemp has required constant adjustment. Regulations changed. Markets changed. Business models changed. Public understanding changed. Every time people felt like they had found stable ground, something else moved. That has taken a real toll on farmers, processors, retailers, advocates, and organizers across the state and across the country.

It has also changed the role IHGA needs to play.

This does not mean IHGA is disappearing. It means we are transitioning.

As we wind down this chapter, the website, illinoishga.com, will remain live for another year as an archive of resources, information, and organizational history. Our Discord community will remain active. We will continue publishing blog posts and sharing updates from community members as this transition continues, and any official news or organizational updates will come directly from IHGA through our website and official channels.

We are not shutting everything down and walking away. But we are bringing the active grassroots chapter of this organization to a close and shifting into a smaller and less active role that better reflects where the industry is now.

The work done through IHGA does not lose its value because the industry has changed. The relationships built through this organization do not disappear because the structure around them is evolving. Many of the people who have been part of this work will continue shaping policy, building businesses, supporting agriculture, strengthening local food systems, and contributing to broader cannabis advocacy in Illinois and beyond.

That is part of the legacy of this organization too.

IHGA played a role in a formative period for Illinois hemp. We helped create infrastructure where there was very little. We helped connect people who otherwise would not have found each other. We helped make sure that Illinois hemp had a voice during a time when the industry needed one.

That history remains intact, even as the organization moves into a different phase.

To our members, sponsors, supporters, and broader community, thank you for being part of that work and part of that history. Again, I am proud of what we built together, and I remain committed to staying connected to the people and issues that brought us here in the first place.

Though the IHGA will no longer operate in the same active way it has over the last several years, the platform, the archive, and the community connections will remain in place during this next stage.

Hemp is changing. The broader cannabis landscape is changing with it. IHGA is changing too, and we will continue to meet this moment as honestly and thoughtfully as we can.

Thank you for being part of the Illinois Hemp Community.

Rachel Berry

CEO, Illinois Hemp Growers Association