"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."

"Perdue’s comments about the USDA hemp rules being a draft make a big difference to hemp producers such as Rick Fox, CEO of Meristem Farms in Vermont. Fox, who formerly worked at the USDA for 15 years, said that Perdue’s acknowledgement that the interim final rule is a draft plan means  states have another full growing season to use older hemp regulations."

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.