LB262, passed by the Legislature and signed into law by Governor Jim Pillen, repealed most of the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act and amended existing statutes to relinquish regulatory authority over the cultivation of hemp in Nebraska to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) on January 1, 2025. Persons interested in cultivating hemp in Nebraska may apply for a license from the USDA or a tribal program authorized under the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018. Nebraska applicants may submit their hemp production application to the USDA starting in fall of 2024 to receive a USDA hemp producer license on January 1, 2025. Information regarding the U.S. Domestic Hemp Production Program can be found here. Questions about the U.S. Domestic Hemp Production Program can be sent to farmbill.hemp@usda.gov.
All processor-handler and broker licenses issued by the Nebraska Department of Agriculture (NDA) Hemp Program will expire December 31, 2024 and will not be renewed. NDA recommends consulting an attorney regarding the legality of those activities in 2025.
LB657 and LB1152, passed by the Legislature and signed into law by Governor Pete Ricketts, adopted the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act and amended existing statutes to establish a state hemp program within the Nebraska Department of Agriculture (NDA). The legislation gave NDA the authority to regulate the growing, processing, handling and brokering of hemp in Nebraska. To legally grow hemp in Nebraska, interested parties must receive a license from NDA, regardless of the size or purpose for cultivation. Growing, processing, handling, and/or brokering hemp without a license from NDA or a Tribe with a USDA-approved hemp plan is illegal in Nebraska.
The original intent of the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act (Hemp Farming Act) was to allow Nebraska farmers to legally grow hemp under the federal Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018. Unfortunately, the Hemp Farming Act is being used by some retail stores to make misleading claims regarding their cannabis products (CBD, THC, delta-8 THC and other synthetic THC cannabinoids). Finished hemp products are not regulated under the Hemp Farming Act. This does not mean, however, that such products are safe to consume. For items that are food (edible substances for human consumption), under the Nebraska Pure Food Act, CBD and other cannabis products would be considered an adulterated food. FDA’s position is that it is illegal to market CBD and other cannabis products by adding them to a food or labeling them as dietary supplements. For more information see https://www.fda.gov/news-events/public-health-focus/fda-regulation-cannabis-and-cannabis-derived-products-including-cannabidiol-cbd#relatedinfo and https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/5-things-know-about-delta-8-tetrahydrocannabinol-delta-8-thc.
Click on the headings to view the documents.
Below you will find links to all of the forms and applications associated with the Nebraska Hemp Program. Please read the application guidance document associated with your license type (cultivator or processor-handler) prior to submission. All license applications must be submitted by mail or in-person.
Forms
Applications
These lists are updated monthly. For the most current information, please call the Hemp Program.
Updated April 2023
To contact the Hemp Program, email agr.hemp@nebraska.gov or call 402-471-2351.