Breaking News! NIHC Meets with USDA Acting Secretary

NIHC We wanted to let you know that we just got off of a Zoom call this afternoon with Acting USDA Secretary Kevin Shea.  Acting Secretary Shea was kind enough to give some NIHC board members, some members of our staff and our Government Affairs Committee Co-Chair 30 minutes to talk about the hemp industry.

We briefed him on our interpretation of the recent ruling by USDA on the establishment of a domestic hemp production program, gave an update on the status of the hemp checkoff program, and shared our thoughts on consumer safety and the important role hemp production can play for rural economies and climate-smart agriculture.

Without a Senate-confirmed USDA Secretary, Shea was appointed Acting Secretary by President Biden on the first day of the new administration and is leading all USDA efforts in the interim. He confirmed for us that he would be sharing our briefing materials directly with former USDA Secretary and current Secretary-designee Tom Vilsack once he’s sworn in.

It’s a huge victory for our industry that NIHC was able to brief USDA at the highest level.

Regards,

Larry Farnsworth
President
Gavel Public Affairs
(703) 489-9633
www.gavelpa.com