America Produced $824 Million Of Hemp In 2021, USDA Confirms

The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) released the results of the 2021 Hemp Acreage and Production Survey in its National Hemp Report.

Key Hemp Stats

The survey collected data for hemp grown in the open and hemp under protection:

• Planted area for industrial hemp grown in the open for all utilizations in the United States totaled 54,152 acres.
• Area harvested for all utilizations totaled 33,480 acres.
• The value of U.S. hemp production in the open totaled $712 million.
• The value of production for hemp that was grown under protection in the United States totaled $112 million.
• Area under protection totaled 15.6 million square feet.

“The release of this landmark report provides a needed benchmark about hemp production to assist producers, regulatory agencies, state governments, processors, and other key industry entities,” said NASS Administrator Hubert Hamer. “Not only will these data guide USDA agencies in their support of domestic hemp production, the results can also help inform producers’ decisions about growing, harvesting, and selling hemp as well as the type of hemp they decide to produce. The survey results may also impact policy decisions about the hemp industry.”

The Survey

The 2021 Hemp Acreage and Production Survey collected information on the total planted and harvested area, yield, production, and value of hemp in the United States. By value, the top utilization for hemp grown in the open was floral at $623 million. The top utilization for hemp grown under protection was floral at $64.4 million.

The survey found that 82% of hemp producers are male and 52% of respondents reported that farming is their primary occupation. The report also contains additional information about hemp producer characteristics, including years operating a farm, age, and race.

Broken down by utilization, U.S. totals for hemp grown in the open in 2021 were:

• Floral hemp production was estimated at 19.7 million pounds; utilized production totaled 15.7 million pounds. Area harvested for floral hemp was estimated at 15,980 acres. The average yield for floral hemp was estimated at 1,235 pounds per acre. The value of floral hemp totaled $623 million.
• Hemp grown for grain totaled 4.37 million pounds; utilized production totaled 3.96 million pounds. Area harvested for hemp grown for grain was estimated at 8,255 acres. The average yield for hemp grown for grain was estimated at 530 pounds per acre. The value of hemp for grain totaled $5.99 million.
• Hemp grown for fiber was estimated at 33.2 million pounds; utilized production totaled 27.6 million pounds. Area harvested for hemp grown for fiber was estimated at 12,690 acres. The average yield for hemp grown for fiber was estimated at 2,620 pounds per acre. The value of hemp grown for fiber totaled $41.4 million.
• Production of hemp grown for seed was estimated at 1.86 million pounds; utilized production totaled 1.68 million pounds. Area harvested for hemp grown for seed was estimated at 3,515 acres. The average yield for hemp grown for seed was estimated at 530 pounds per acre. The value of hemp grown for seed totaled $41.5 million.

Broken down by utilization, U.S. totals for hemp grown under protection in 2021 were:

• Production of hemp for transplants and clones totaled 20.2 million plants; utilized production totaled 18.0 million plants. The value of hemp grown under protection for transplants and clones totaled $23.8 million.
• Production of floral hemp was estimated at 310,421 pounds; utilized production totaled 256,124 pounds. The value of floral hemp totaled $64.4 million.
• Hemp grown for seed totaled 4,059 pounds; utilized production totaled 3,121 pounds. The value of hemp grown for seed totaled $23.7 million.

Access the full report on the NASS website at www.nass.usda.gov. Hemp data are also available in NASS’s online Quick Stats database. NASS will hold a Twitter Stat Chat today at 4 p.m. ET with Crops Branch Chief Lance Honig to discuss the results of the survey. Follow @usda_nass on Twitter and use #StatChat to ask questions and follow the conversation.

Information about the regulations for growing hemp in the United States is available on the Agricultural Marketing Service’s Hemp Production webpage.

Photo by Alexey Demidov on Unsplash