Dear Colleagues,

USDA Agricultural Marketing Service released the announcement below.

If you are an ANR academic, please contact Robin Sanchez if you are interested and would like guidance on ANR's procedures at (530) 750-1235 or email her at rgsanchez@ucanr.edu.

If you are located on a campus, please contact your Office of Research or designated person if you have questions.

Thank you.

Kathleen Nolan, Director, Office of Contracts & Grants, ANR

WASHINGTON, Jan. 15, 2021—The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced the final rule regulating the production of hemp in the United States. The final rule incorporates modifications to regulations established under the interim final rule (IFR) published in October 2019. The modifications are based on public comments following the publication of the IFR and lessons learned during the 2020 growing season. The final rule is available for viewing in the Federal Register and will be effective on March 22, 2021.

“With the publication of this final rule, USDA brings to a close a full and transparent rule-making process that started with a hemp listening session in March 2019,” said USDA Marketing and Regulatory Programs Under Secretary Greg Ibach. “USDA staff have taken the information you have provided through three comment periods and from your experiences over a growing season to develop regulations that meet Congressional intent while providing a fair, consistent, science-based process for states, tribes and individual producers. USDA staff will continue to conduct education and outreach to help industry achieve compliance with the requirements.”

Key provisions of the final rule include licensing requirements; recordkeeping requirements for maintaining information about the land where hemp is produced; procedures for testing the THC concentration levels for hemp; procedures for disposing of non-compliant plants; compliance provisions; and procedures for handling violations.

Background: 

On Oct. 31, 2019, USDA published the IFR that provided specific details on the process and criteria for review of plans USDA receives from states and Indian tribes regarding the production of hemp and established a plan to monitor and regulate the production of hemp in those states or Indian tribes that do not have an approved state or Tribal plan.

The IFR was effective immediately after publication in the Federal Register and provided a 60-day public comment period. On Dec. 17, 2019, USDA extended the comment period until Jan. 29, 2020, to allow stakeholders additional time to provide feedback. USDA re-opened the comment period for 30 days, from Sept. 8 to Oct. 8, 2020 seeking additional comments from all stakeholders, especially those who were subject to the regulatory requirements of the IFR during the 2020 production cycle. In all, USDA received about 5,900 comments.

On Feb. 27, 2020, USDA announced the delay of enforcement of the requirement for labs to be registered by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the requirement that producers use a DEA-registered reverse distributor or law enforcement to dispose of non-compliant plants under certain circumstances until Oct. 31, 2021, or the final rule is published, whichever comes first. This delay has been further extended in the final rule to December 2022.

The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (2018 Farm Bill) directed USDA to issue regulations and guidance to implement a program for the commercial production of hemp in the United States. The authority for hemp production provided in the 2014 Farm Bill was extended until January 1, 2022, by the Continuing Appropriations Act, 2021, and Other Extensions Act (Pub. L. 116-260) (2021 Continuing Appropriations Act) allowing states and institutions of higher education to continue to grow or cultivate industrial hemp at certified and registered locations within the state for research and education purposes under the authorities of the 2014 Farm Bill.

More information about the provisions of the final rule is available on the Hemp Production web page on the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) website

NOW ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS

UC SAREP Small Grants in Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems

Applications are due February 15, 2021

One-year grants of up to $7,000 are available to fund pilot projects and research projects that support California's farmers and ranchers and/or rural and urban communities to plan, implement, or evaluate sustainable agriculture or food systems strategies.

Priority will be given to projects that benefit socially disadvantaged communities and/or socially disadvantaged farmers and ranchers.

Eligible applicants include California-based farm or food system businesses and those affiliated with California non-profit, tax-exempt organizations, state and local government agencies, and California public and private institutions of higher education.

Learn more

Thank you.

Kathleen P. Nolan, Director, Office of Contracts & Grants

Dear Colleagues,  

The California Dry Bean Advisory Board is requesting applied research proposals for 2021. This commodity-based research request is sponsored by the California Dry Bean Marketing Order, under the guidance of the California Department of Food and Agriculture. The Board has supported applied research by University programs for many years.

Attached, please find the grant application as well as a list of applied research priorities developed by the Dry Bean Advisory Board for 2021.These priorities reflect current issues and would complement the breeding research program. Pest and weed control continue to be issues within the industry. With the concerns over nitrogen use and future monitoring there is some interest in nitrogen studies. There is interest in deep rooted pinquito beans for dry farming along the coastal regions.  The California Dry Bean Advisory Board is also interested in Food Science specifically in food technology and product innovation research using California beans. This is a growing priority for the Board and will receive special attention.

For current information on dry bean production in California as well as past reports funded by the board, see the Dry Bean webpage on the Agronomy Research and Information Center site at http://beans.ucanr.org/. You can search and view funded research reports at http://beans.ucanr.edu/Publications_Database/.

Proposals are due by Friday, February 5, 2021. Please submit grant applications and final reports electronically to: Michelle Leinfelder-Miles, mmleinfeldermiles@ucanr.edu.

Progress reports for projects funded by the dry bean industry in 2020 will also be due Friday, February 5, 2021. The final report will be uploaded in the UC ANR Dry Bean publication database referenced above.  Attached is an example progress report. 

If you have any questions about this funding opportunity, please contact Michelle Leinfelder-Miles or Nick Clark, neclark@ucanr.edu.

Thank you.

Kathleen Nolan, Director, ANR Office of Contracts & Grants (OCG)

Dear Colleagues,

The California Cling Peach Board (CCPB) is soliciting research proposals for consideration of funding through the FY 2021-2022 research budget.

The CCPB Research Committee (RC) – a committee of the Board that is operated by industry leaders and purposed with orchestrating research program activities – willreview proposals and award funds on a competitive basis.

CCPB RC members have identified the following orchard management-related research priorities or industry challenges that may be addressed through research:

• Harvest, thinning, and other production-related efficiencies – due to labor shortages and the resulting increased costs associated available labor, RC members are interested in funding research purposed with improving harvest and thinning efficiencies, as well as investigating the viability of pedestrian orchards for cling peach production.

• Other orchard management-related research priorities identified by CCPB RC members include: pre- and post-harvest pest and disease management; cling peach cultivar development and regional testing (breeding program). Note: this is not a comprehensive list of research priorities.

A CCPB RC meeting will take place on Tuesday, February 16, 2021. During the RC meeting, investigative teams are expected to provide a brief presentation on as well as answer any questions related to their proposed project.  In addition, investigative teams funded through the FY 2020-21 research budget are expected to provide a presentation on their annual research findings.

For questions about this opportunity, please contact Rick Zolezzi, Chair of the Cling Peach Board Research Committee at 209-931-0291 and rzzzol58@msn.com, or Janine Hasey, U.C. Liaison Officer, Cling Peach Board Research Advisory Committee at 530-822-7515 and jkhasey@ucanr.edu.

To apply, please submit a completed Proposal Form to Tyler Rood (tyler@agamsi.com) by no later than Friday, January 22, 2021. The investigative team(s) should obtain approval from their Department Chair and/or the Extension Director prior to the submission of any proposal.

Thank you.

Kathleen Nolan, Director, ANR Office of Contracts & Grants (OCG)