Application & Licensing
Does the NEHIA provide assistance with filling out applications and licensing?
The NEHIA provides FREE licensing consultations and applicational guides to all members of the association. While the Nebraska Department of Agriculture will be inundated with requests, calls, and emails, we are more than happy to provide resources and assist all farming and business members with any questions or concerns. If interested please visit this link to become a valued member of the NEHIA.
WHO CAN GROW INDUSTRIAL HEMP, WHERE CAN IT BE GROWN AND IS THERE A SIZE OR ZONE REQUIREMENT?
Anyone can apply to grow industrial hemp except one who has been convicted of a felony for controlled substance in the past 10 years. Anyone who has been issued a hemp license can grow on the approved growing areas indicated on their application. Licensed industrial hemp can be grown anywhere, indoor or outdoor. The Nebraska Hemp Farming Act allows for any size growing area, from large acre lots to small garden sizes. There are no zoning requirements for a hemp license.
What steps do I take to GET An INDUSTRIAL HEMP GROWERS LICENSE?
Pursuant to the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act, all applicants for hemp cultivation licenses must provide NDA with the following information:
(a) The applicant's full name, birthdate, mailing address, telephone number, and valid email address. If the applicant is an entity and not an individual, the name of the applicant, mailing address, telephone number, and valid email address, the full name of each officer, director, partner, member, or owner owning in excess of ten percent of equity or stock in such entity, and the birthdate, title, mailing address, telephone number, and valid email address of each such person. State law requires that individuals applying for any license must be a United States Citizen or be a qualified alien. NDA will use the e-verify system for all non-citizen individuals requesting licenses. NDA will also require the EIN number of the business entity;
(b) The proposed acreage to be cultivated or the square footage of a greenhouse or other indoor space to be cultivated;
(c) The street address, legal description, location ID, and GPS coordinates for each field, greenhouse, building, or other site where hemp will be cultivated. The site information may be verified by the NDA; and
(d) Maps depicting each site where hemp will be cultivated, with appropriate indications for entrances, field boundaries, and specific locations corresponding to the GPS coordinates provided under subdivision;
Applications and registration for an industrial hemp grower license and processor registration must be submitted during the open application period. The next application period will open on Monday February 3rd, 2020. Your application must be complete, you must submit a background check, map, & GPS coordinates of the growing area and payment. License fees are as such:
Cultivator, processor-handler, and broker license application fee: $100-$150
Cultivator site registration fee: $400-$600 per site
Processor-handler site registration fee: $800-$1,200 per site
Site modification fee: $50-$75
** Any fee remaining unpaid for more than one month shall be considered delinquent and the person owing the fee shall pay an additional administrative fee of twenty-five percent of the delinquent amount for each month it remains unpaid, not to exceed one hundred percent of the original amount due. The department may waive the additional administrative fee based upon the existence and extent of any mitigating circumstances that have resulted in the late payment of such fee. The purpose of the additional administrative fee is to cover the administrative costs associated with collecting fees, and all money collected as an additional administrative fee shall be remitted to the State Treasurer for credit to the Nebraska Hemp Program Fund.
What steps do I take to GET An INDUSTRIAL HEMP processors LICENSE?
Before a person other than an approved testing facility may be licensed to process, handle, or broker hemp in this state, such person shall submit an application on a form prescribed by the department that includes, but is not limited to, the following:
(a) If the applicant is an individual, the applicant's full name, birthdate, mailing address, telephone number, and valid email address;
(b) If the applicant is an entity and not an individual, the name of the applicant, mailing address, telephone number, and valid email address, the full name of each officer and director, partner, member, or owner owning in excess often percent of equity or stock in such entity, and the bh-thdato, title, mailing address, telephone number, and valid email address of each such person;
(c) The street address, legal description, location ID, and GPS coordinates for the site where hemp will be processed or handled, if applicable; and
(d) Maps depicting the site where hemp will be processed or handled, if applicable, with appropriate indications for entrances and specific locations corresponding to the GPS coordinates provided under subdivision (c) of this subsection.
**Before a person other than an approved testing facility may be licensed to process or handle hemp, such person shall submit with the application a nonrefundable site registration fee as set by the department pursuant to section 2-508. The site registration fee shall be paid for each separate site where hemp is processed or handled. Subsequent modifications to the sites listed in the application shall be submitted on forms prescribed by the department along with the site modification fee and shall only take effect upon written approval of the department. The applicant must certify that all sites where hemp is to be processed or handled arc under the control of the applicant and that the department shall have unlimited access to all such sites.
Licenses for industrial hemp growers will be mailed out once approved by the NDA. Growers are not licensed until they have received a growers license.
4. approval and denial of license applications.
The department may adopt and promulgate rules and regulations governing the approval and denial of cultivator, processor-handler, and broker license applications. Such applications shall be denied if they are incomplete or deficient, or if the applicant does not meet minimum qualifications, including, but not limited to:
(a) The applicant, if an individual, is at least eighteen years of age;
(b) The site registered by the applicant is located in this state;
(c) The applicant has no unpaid fees or fines owed to the state under the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act;
(d) The applicant has not had a cultivator, processor-handler, or broker license revoked in the five years preceding the date of application; or
(e) Any individual listed in the application for a cultivator, processor-handler, or broker license has not been convicted of a felony related to a controlled substance under either state or federal law within the preceding ten years.
If an application is incomplete or deficient, the department shall, in a timely manner, notify the applicant in writing describing the reason or reasons and request additional information. If such application is not corrected or supplemented within thirty days after the department's request, the department shall deny the application.
Any person who intentionally and materially falsifies any information contained in an application under the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act shall be ineligible to obtain a license to operate as a cultivator, processor-handler, or broker.
**A person aggrieved by the denial of a license may request a hearing pursuant to section 2-513.
Licenses for industrial hemp processors will be mailed out once approved by the NDA. Processors are not licensed until they have received a growers license.
5. consent to certain actions; Acknowledgement of risk of financial loss under act.
A cultivator, processor-handler, or broker consents to all of the following:
(a) A background check for any felony controlled substance charge in the ten years prior to the time of application completed by the department or a law enforcement agency at the direction of the department, at any time, for all of the individuals listed on the cultivator's, processor-handler’s, or broker's application at the applicant's expense, which shall be in addition to the application and registration fees;
(b) Entry onto, and inspection of, all registered sites by the department or by persons at the direction of the department, with or without cause, and with reasonable advance notice;
(c) Testing of samples of any hemp or hemp material;
(d) Destruction of any of the following:
(i) Hemp found to have a measured delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration greater than that allowed by the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act;
(ii) Hemp intended for commercial purposes that is present at a location not included in a cultivators or processor-handler’s application; and
(iii) Hemp that is cultivated, processed, handled or brokered in a manner that violates the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act or the rules and regulations adopted and promulgated thereunder; and
(e) Inspections by the department, at least annually, of cultivators and processor-handlers to verify that hemp is not cultivated, processed, or handled in violation of the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act.
A cultivator, processor-handler, or broker acknowledges that all risk of financial loss under the Nebraska Hemp Farming Act is borne by such person. No compensation shall be paid by the department or the Stale of Nebraska for destruction of any hemp under this section.
6. DO YOU KNOW ANYONE WHO CAN CONSULT WITH ME ON HOW TO GROW?
As a business or farm member of the NEHIA you will receive extensive resources and free consultation on licensing applications as well as standard growing operations.
7. WHERE DO I FIND SEEDS OR SEEDLINGS?
Individuals are responsible for sourcing their own propagative materials. NEHIA is a great resource for sourcing diligent and credible seed breeders throughout the US and Canada. It’s important to understand the cultivation cycle and off-take avenues before deciding the type of genetic & propagule to plant.
8. WHAT IS THE INSPECTION PROCESS LIKE?
Every crop grown and every variety may be inspected and sampled by an NDA plant inspector prior to harvest. The grower should contact NDA 30 days prior to harvest for inspection. The license holder is responsible for paying all fees associated with the sample. Each sample is (c) $150. Please keep in mind that the way you set up your production method, may influence the number of samples required to represent the amount of material being produced. Growing multiple varieties will also increase the sampling cost.
9. CAN I SEND OFF SAMPLES TO GET TESTED ON MY OWN?
Yes, and the NDA encourages self-monitoring of industrial hemp crops. The NEHIA can give you multiple options on where to send your material for testing, as well as legal advice about sending samples across state lines. Also, please note that 3rd party test results do not replace sampling conducted by the NDA.
10. WHAT CAN I DO WITH MY HARVESTED CROP?
It is important to explore the avenues in which you will be able to sell your crop after harvest. This will allow for peace of mind and risk mitigation. Industrial hemp may be sold to processors or licensed buyers throughout the US. Non-viable (not able to develop, grow, or survive) industrial hemp sales are not regulated by the NDA.
Please reach out to us here with any questions or assistance through your production year. You may also visit the NDA Hemp Program for more information and applicational guidelines. For more information on tracking your crops throughout the growing season please visit Hemp Batch Tracker.