Confusion and consternation now reign with the IFR in its current form, and we fear this year’s impending harvest will yield a bumper crop of bankruptcies and lawsuits rather than fiber, flower and food. Therefore we urge the Department to delay enforcement of the IFR provisions relating to the problems it has now publicly recognized, as it did for two such provisions in February, until the Rule is finalized.

"According to Herrick Fox, co-owner of Meristem Farms in Vermont..."In the case of the coronavirus, there appears to be no disaster declaration by the secretary of agriculture, or other agriculture-specific disaster funding authorized by the CARES Act, so Congress is working to clarify to SBA its apparent intent that farms should be included in the [Emergency Injury Disaster Loan] offered through SBA in this case,” Fox said."

Meristem Farms, like many small-to-medium sized farms across the country are committed to farming artisanal, organically-farmed hemp with a very high plant-to-love ratio. For this way of cultivation to survive, USDA's hemp rule must be friendly for small and medium sized-farms.