To get a hemp growing license in Missouri, you apply to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, not the state. Missouri shut down its own hemp licensing program on January 1, 2023, and transferred all producer registration and oversight to the USDA’s Domestic Hemp Production Program.1Federal Register. Establishment of a Domestic Hemp Production Program You submit your application through the USDA’s online platform, follow federal cultivation rules under 7 CFR Part 990, and keep your crop at or below 0.3 percent total THC on a dry weight basis.
Who Issues Hemp Licenses in Missouri Now
Missouri originally ran its own hemp plan under RSMo 195.746, with the Missouri Department of Agriculture registering producers, issuing permits, and overseeing testing. That program ended at the start of 2023.2Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 195.746 – Registration and Permits, Requirements – Application, Contents – Issuance, When If you are starting now, do not send paperwork to the Missouri Department of Agriculture for a producer license. You deal with the USDA directly.
Who Qualifies for a License
You need an FBI Identity History Summary Check completed within 60 days of your application. The check screens for felony drug convictions under state or federal law. A felony drug conviction within the past 10 years makes you ineligible.
The bar does not stop at the person signing the application. Every individual with a financial stake in the operation has to clear the same check. If you are applying as a business, each key participant with ownership or management control must pass the background check independently.
Missouri state law also requires applicants to sign an acknowledgment that industrial hemp remains an experimental crop and a waiver holding the state harmless if federal law changes.2Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 195.746 – Registration and Permits, Requirements – Application, Contents – Issuance, When
How to Apply Through the USDA Platform
Missouri producers apply through the USDA Hemp eManagement Platform, known as HeMP. The online system collects your application, background check results, and land information in one place. Before you start, gather:
- Geospatial coordinates or legal land descriptions for every field where you plan to grow hemp, so sampling agents can locate your crop
- Your FBI Identity History Summary Check, dated within 60 days of submission
- The intended use of your crop (fiber, grain, CBD, or other)
If you do not own the land, you should have written permission from the landowner. Under Missouri’s older state rules, that meant a signed statement with the landowner’s name, address, and a legal description of the property. The USDA program still expects you to demonstrate lawful access to each production site, though the exact documentation can vary.
A USDA hemp production license is valid for up to three years, subject to continued compliance.2Missouri Revisor of Statutes. Missouri Code 195.746 – Registration and Permits, Requirements – Application, Contents – Issuance, When Renewal requires a fresh background check.
Reporting and Recordkeeping After You Plant
Once your hemp is in the ground, you report your crop to the USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA). The report includes your license number, the geospatial location of each production area, total planted acreage or square footage, planting dates, and the intended use. The FSA assigns each plot a farm-tract-field-subfield ID, which becomes the official lot designation for that crop.3United States Department of Agriculture. State of Missouri Industrial Hemp Plan
File as soon as possible after planting. The general FSA reporting deadline for states with final planting dates on or after July 1 is July 31, but the agency recommends filing well before then.4Farmers.gov. USDA Hemp Programs for Risk Management FAQ
Federal rules require you to keep all hemp production records for at least three years.5eCFR. 7 CFR Part 990 – Domestic Hemp Production Program Keep your license, planting reports, harvest records, THC test results, and any remediation documentation. USDA inspectors can request these records at any time, and gaps in your paperwork can create problems even when your crop was compliant.
Pre-Harvest THC Testing
Before harvest, a USDA-authorized sampling agent must collect samples from your crop no more than 30 days before the anticipated harvest date.1Federal Register. Establishment of a Domestic Hemp Production Program Testing measures total delta-9 THC using post-decarboxylation methods, which account for the conversion of THCA into THC. The lab result reflects the full potential THC content of the plant.6Agricultural Marketing Service. Laboratory Testing Guidelines U.S. Domestic Hemp Production Program
A result at or below 0.3 percent total THC on a dry weight basis qualifies your crop as legal hemp. The lab reports results to both the USDA and the producer. If you carry federal crop insurance, you must also notify your insurer within 72 hours of receiving your THC test results.4Farmers.gov. USDA Hemp Programs for Risk Management FAQ
What Happens If Your Crop Fails
A crop that exceeds 0.3 percent total THC cannot be sold as hemp, but what happens next depends on how far over it tests. Federal rules draw a line at 1.0 percent.
- Between 0.3 percent and 1.0 percent THC, the crop is non-compliant and must be remediated or destroyed, but you have not committed a negligent violation and will not face enforcement action for the result alone.
- Above 1.0 percent THC is a negligent violation. The USDA issues a Notice of Violation and requires a corrective action plan that stays in effect for at least two years.
Three negligent violations within five years result in license revocation and a five-year ban from hemp production. Negligent violations do not trigger criminal enforcement at any level of government.7eCFR. 7 CFR 990.29 – Violations
Remediation Options
The USDA allows two ways to try to salvage a hot crop. The first is separating and destroying the flowers (buds, trichomes, and trim) while keeping the stalks, leaves, and seeds. Retained material must be labeled “hemp for remediation purposes,” and seeds removed this way cannot be used for planting. The second is shredding the entire plant into a uniform biomass blend, then resampling and retesting. Biomass that still exceeds 0.3 percent after blending must be destroyed entirely.8U.S. Department of Agriculture. Remediation and Disposal Guidelines for Hemp Growing Facilities Neither is cheap or fast, which is why genetics and growing conditions matter so much on the front end.
Federal Crop Insurance for Hemp
Two federal programs are available, and the one that fits usually depends on how long you have been growing.
The Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP), administered by the FSA, covers crops not eligible for traditional insurance. It specifically accounts for new producers and those with less than one year of experience with a new crop, which covers most first-time hemp growers.9Farm Service Agency. Final Rule Published for Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program Buy-up coverage is available above the basic catastrophic tier.
Multi-Peril Crop Insurance (MPCI) offers broader protection with stricter eligibility. You need all of the following:4Farmers.gov. USDA Hemp Programs for Risk Management FAQ
- At least one year of hemp production history
- A processor contract submitted no later than the acreage reporting date
- Minimum acreage of 5 acres for CBD hemp or 20 acres for grain or fiber
- A valid license under the 2018 Farm Bill or an approved state, tribal, or federal program
MPCI does not cover late planting, prevented planting, replanting, or yield adjustments. Hemp that tests above the legal THC limit is not an insurable loss and does not count toward your production history. Catastrophic coverage runs $655 per crop per county; buy-up coverage costs $30 per crop per county plus the premium.4Farmers.gov. USDA Hemp Programs for Risk Management FAQ
The 2026 Change to the Hemp Definition
If you are applying for a license now, you will be producing into a changed federal definition. Under P.L. 119-37, signed into law on November 12, 2025, the legal definition of hemp changes on November 12, 2026, from a delta-9 THC concentration of 0.3 percent or less to a total THC concentration of 0.3 percent or less on a dry weight basis.10Congress.gov. Change to Federal Definition of Hemp and Implications for Federal Policy
The field-level testing standard already matches what the USDA requires under the current program, so the practical impact on cultivation is limited, especially for fiber and grain producers whose cultivars tend to run low across the board. The law explicitly includes industrial hemp grown for non-cannabinoid purposes. The sharper changes land on finished products: the new definition excludes final cannabinoid products containing more than 0.4 milligrams of total THC per container and any products containing synthetic cannabinoids, with separate thresholds for seeds, intermediate products, and finished goods.10Congress.gov. Change to Federal Definition of Hemp and Implications for Federal Policy If you are growing for CBD extraction or other cannabinoid markets, November 2026 is the date to understand how your end products will be classified.