Hemp Processing: Clothing to Construction

By Jordan Gold and Valery Gold

Hemp could change how we dress and how we build. But first somebody has to turn a field of stalks into something a spinning mill, a building inspector and a lender will accept. Here is what the evidence supports, where it falls short, and what would have to change.

Research cutoff: November 9, 2026 (CST).

Stalk first: one plant, two materials

A hemp stalk is two products glued together. Outside is the bast fiber, long and strong and full of cellulose. Inside is the woody hurd, also called shiv or core. By volume the hurd is roughly 60–70% of the stalk and the bast 30–40% [2]. Their chemistry differs as well. Bast fiber runs 73–77% cellulose, while hurd is 34–48% cellulose, with much more hemicellulose and lignin [2].

A Latvian study measured crystalline cellulose in hemp fiber at 64.2–70.5% [3]. That figure describes the fiber, though, not the whole plant. Fiber is what becomes a shirt. Hurd is what goes into a wall.

Fiber doesn't fall out of the field ready to use. The Agricultural Marketing Resource Center gives a rule of thumb: an acre that makes 5,300 pounds of straw yields about 1,300 pounds of fiber [4]. That's roughly a quarter (LOR calculation). The rest is hurd, dust and loss, and every pound needs a buyer or a disposal plan.

To loosen the glue, most American fiber is still retted: moisture and microbes break down the pectin, and in dew retting the cut stalks simply lie in the field. In 2025, 54.7 million of the 67.3 million pounds of U.S. fiber hemp were retted, about 81% (LOR calculation) [1]. Dew retting produces coarse, light-brown fiber, while water retting produces higher-quality fiber [2]. The upshot is that weather still runs the first step of the supply chain.

The economics of that first step are hard. The whole 2025 U.S. fiber crop covered 21,693 acres, averaged 3,104 pounds of total production per acre and was worth $13.5 million [1]. Growers received an average of $0.21 a pound. About 2.3 million pounds were harvested but not sold, and only 45% of utilized production was grown under contract [1]. In Kansas, where fiber hemp averaged 7,570 pounds of production per acre, growers got $0.11 a pound, with 37% under contract [1]. Hemp's bottleneck sits between the field and the factory.

Clothing: the cotton lane, and the price of admission

Hemp's textile problem was spelled out three decades ago. In a 1995 paper, German researcher Kai Nebel wrote that traditional hemp processing was technology "at least 50 years old." He also wrote that hemp fiber on the market didn't meet the textile industry's needs for fineness, uniformity and fiber-length distribution [5]. The fix people had chased since the 1800s was cottonization: breaking hemp down until it behaves enough like cotton to run on cotton machinery. Nebel's lab was testing a new way to do it, steam explosion [5].

Can hemp run on cotton and wool spinning systems? Raw hemp can't. Cottonized hemp is designed to. IND HEMP of Fort Benton, Montana, describes cottonized fiber as a specification "close enough to that of cotton staple fiber that it can be run on cotton systems" [6]. IND HEMP notes that most U.S. textile equipment was built around polyester or cotton [6]. The machines already exist. The fiber has to be made to fit them.

Hemp's physical traits cut both ways. In Nebel's lab trial, steam-exploded hemp had a tenacity of about 60 cN/tex, against about 35 for the comparison cotton. Its elongation at break was only 3.5%, against 8.5% for cotton [5]. Hemp is strong but stiff, and stiff fiber is harder to spin fine and soft. That's one 1995 trial on Romanian hemp, not a modern mill benchmark. It does help explain why so much hemp clothing is a blend. Levi's 2019 Wellthread x Outerknown jeans used a 70/30 cotton-to-cottonized-hemp blend [7].

Domestic proof is arriving slowly. IND HEMP says Montana-grown fiber went into a 100% U.S.-grown and sewn work shirt from Smith & Rogue in late 2025. It also says its yarn was knit into sweaters shown during New York Fashion Week in September 2026 [6]. Both projects relied on refining, cottonizing, spinning and weaving at several mills across the Southeast [6]. Those are the company's own accounts, not audited volumes.

Dallas-based Panda Biotech, which runs a hemp gin in Wichita Falls, Texas, has yarn plans that point overseas. A partnership with India's Culturewell is meant to turn U.S.-grown cottonized fiber into yarn there, including "degumming and spinning capabilities that were previously unavailable in India" [8]. Culturewell says Indian customers wanted hemp yarn, not just fiber [8]. So American fiber is crossing an ocean to become thread. Taken with IND HEMP's multi-mill route, that suggests (our inference) that spinning hemp at volume is still the thin link in the U.S. chain.

The environmental case is real, but it isn't magic:

• Water. A 2005 Stockholm Environment Institute study estimated 9,758 liters of water to grow a kilogram of cotton for the UK import mix. For an experimental hemp process (green decortication plus scouring), it estimated about 2,123 liters per kilogram of usable fiber [9]. UK hemp needed 500–700 mm of rain a season, all of it from rainfall [9]. The same report says that hemp method "is too costly" and "might not be representative" [9]. Levi's said its rain-fed hemp cut the water used in fiber cultivation by roughly 30%, without stating the baseline [7]. That's a company figure.
• Pesticides. Cotton accounted for 5.7% of global pesticide sales by value and 16.1% of insecticide sales in 2014, according to International Cotton Advisory Committee figures compiled by PAN UK [10]. PAN UK warns that the widely repeated older figures, 11% and 22.5%, date from the 1980s peak [10]. We found no comparable dataset for hemp's pesticide use, so we won't invent one.
• Footprint and energy. SEI found hemp had the lowest ecological footprint of the fibers it studied: 1.46–2.01 global hectares per tonne of spun fiber, against 2.17–3.57 for cotton [9]. But one UK hemp process needed 7,032 MJ per tonne more energy than U.S. cotton, even though U.S. conventional cotton still emitted more CO₂ per tonne—SEI attributes part of the CO₂ difference to national fuel mixes [9]. In this study, most of hemp's advantage comes from the field and most of its handicap from processing.
• Cost. A 2020 Journal of Cleaner Production model estimated that hemp's agricultural costs could run 77.63% below cotton's under its medium assumptions, largely because hemp yields about three times more fiber per hectare [11]. That model covers farm activities. It doesn't cover the decortication, cottonization and spinning that still make hemp the expensive fiber.

At least one company markets a hydrogen-peroxide catalyst process that it says produces "cotton-like, soft fibers" [12]. We found no independent data behind that claim, so it remains a vendor claim.

Scale keeps everyone honest. Hemp made up about 0.2% of global fiber production in 2024, roughly 0.3 million tonnes, according to Textile Exchange. Cotton made up about 19% and polyester about 59% [13]. If hemp transforms clothing, it will start by displacing a sliver of cotton in blends, not by beating polyester.

Construction: the hurd's moment, with paperwork

Clothing wants the bast. Building wants the hurd, the part the textile people used to treat as waste.

Hempcrete has a code path, but it only counts where it's adopted. The 2024 International Residential Code includes Appendix BL, which defines hemp-lime as "a nonstructural, biocomposite insulation infill" [14]. Its provisions "are not mandatory unless specifically referenced in the adopting ordinance" [14]. Density must fall between 12.5 and 25 lb/ft³. Rated R-values fall from R-2.10 per inch at the light end to R-1.20 at the heavy end. In the 2024 text, hemp-lime walls have no fire-resistance rating unless one is established by testing under ASTM E119 or UL 263 [14]. Put simply, hemp-lime is infill: the frame carries the load, and the material isn't meant for foundations.

The fire gap is closed in the model code, though not yet in print. Proposal RB291-25 adds three one-hour fire-resistance-rated, load-bearing hemp-lime wall assemblies, with center-stud, exterior-stud and double-stud framing, each using 12 inches of spray-applied hemp-lime. Its proponents say the assemblies passed ASTM E119 tests in July 2024, December 2024 and January 2025 [32]. Trade coverage puts those tests at Intertek in York, Pennsylvania [16]. The path wasn't a straight line. The IRC committee rejected the first version 7–3 in spring 2025 and asked the proponents to come back with fire-test information [32]. In October 2025 it approved a revised version as modified, 11–0 [15]. ICC's final action results for the 2024–2026 cycle, posted in July 2026, list RB291-25 as approved as modified at that second hearing [30][31]. The appeal deadline was August 13, 2026 [31]. The change goes into the 2027 IRC, which ICC's store lists for late January 2027. NAHB had expected February [33][17]. Two caveats. The proponents include hemp-building businesses, among them Hempitecture and Americhanvre, that stand to gain from the change [32]. That's normal in code development, and readers should still know it. And we read the code text and the proponents' summary of the tests, not the Intertek reports themselves.

Model-code inclusion doesn't make it the law where you live. As of late August 2026, the U.S. Hemp Building Association, an advocacy group, counted Appendix BL in force in two places: Austin, Texas, and the City of Surprise, Arizona [20]. A week earlier it had counted three, then corrected itself after finding that Maricopa County, Arizona, was still enforcing its 2018 codes [18][20]. That August count missed at least one: Coconino County, Arizona, adopted the 2024 IRC with Appendix BL in an ordinance approved June 2, 2026 [37]. We count at least three jurisdictions with Appendix BL adopted. Maricopa's Board of Supervisors has since adopted the 2024 codes, effective November 20, 2026 [34], and the county's final-draft local amendments, dated October 21, 2026, the day of the vote, adopt Appendix BL in its entirety [35]. We couldn't find minutes confirming the Board passed that text unchanged. Standards are thin too. ASTM's industrial-hemp subcommittee has a published guide for hemp straw meant for decortication, but its hempcrete, hurd-characterization and binder documents are still proposals [19]. The same association says it could find no published American grading standard for construction hurd, and no insurer or lender guideline for hemp-lime [20].

Costs. At England's Haverhill trial around 2001, the Building Research Establishment put hemp-lime houses at about $70 per square foot against $64 for conventional construction. That's roughly 10% more, mostly labor, as reported and converted by the association [18]. In Minnesota, a 1,484-square-foot duplex on the Lower Sioux reservation had its walls spray-cast in 17 days by a crew of five, for about $200,000 including equipment and supplies. Those are the association's own award figures [20]. Labor costs fall as crews learn. Paperwork costs fall only when institutions change.

Hemp wool and boards are where hemp looks most like an ordinary product. Hempitecture's HempWool batts are 90% hemp fiber and 10% polymer fiber, rated R-3.69 per inch [21]. Per inch, that's well above hempcrete's R-1.20 to R-2.10 [14], though hempcrete walls are built thick and do a different job. The company's April 2025 product guide lists a 3.5-inch R-13 batt at $1.29 per square foot [22]. We didn't verify a like-for-like fiberglass price. The data sheet's fine print matters: its test data came from the manufacturing partner for imported HempWool, and the Idaho-made product "has not been independently tested" [21]. In 2024 the company bought 932,521 pounds of hemp fiber, 42% of it from Idaho, and told Idaho legislators there is only one fiber processor in the state [23]. In Kentucky, HempWood opened a second Murray factory in August 2025 to add panels, furniture and millwork [24], and won a state SBIR/STTR matching grant in 2026 [25].

Carbon storage is real and conditional. A University of Colorado Boulder model found that lime carbonation recovers 18.5–38.4% of binder emissions. Counting the hemp's stored carbon, life-cycle results range from −16.0 kg CO₂e per square meter of wall (at equal thermal performance) to +8.16 for dense, cement-heavy mixes [26]. The binder and density decide the sign.

What would actually have to change

The plant isn't the obstacle. The obstacle is everything between the bale and the buyer. Here's our list, in order of how much we think each would move things:

1. Use the capacity that exists. Panda says its Wichita Falls gin can process 22,000 pounds of hemp straw an hour, a company-stated capacity repeated by International Fiber Journal [8]. At that rated speed, the entire 2025 U.S. fiber crop would take about 3,060 hours, a little over a third of a year of round-the-clock running (LOR calculation; a thought experiment, not a logistics plan). Yet in July 2026 a Wichita County commissioner told the Times Record News that the plant ran four days a week with "20-something employees." He said part of what it processes was "having a little bit of an issues reaching the right market" [27]. The paper reported that Panda's city incentive was tied to hiring 50 workers and that the company has received extensions on that promise [27]. One official's account isn't an audit. Still, it points to demand, not machinery, as the tighter constraint.
2. Build the middle of the textile chain at home. Decortication is no longer rare. Cottonizing, degumming and spinning at volume are. Until domestic mills spin hemp at scale, more U.S. fiber is likely to travel abroad to become yarn [6][8].
3. Pay farmers on contract, not on hope. With 45% of fiber under contract and $0.21 a pound [1], a grower is betting on a market that hasn't committed. Written specifications, delivery terms and pricing should come before acres.
4. Write the standards and lending rules. That means hurd grades, fiber grades, tested assemblies, and an appraiser or underwriter who has a box to check [19][20]. Codes need adoption ordinances, not just appendices [14][20].
5. Keep fiber farmers out of the cannabinoid crossfire. The 2025 federal redefinition in P.L. 119-37 moves hemp to a total-THC standard and explicitly includes industrial hemp grown for stalk, fiber, grain and seed. Under P.L. 119-103, only the exclusion of products containing cannabinoids that can't be produced naturally by the plant takes effect November 12, 2026. The total-THC standard (THCA included) and the rest of the new definition take effect December 11, 2026 [28][38], the same day the continuing resolution's funding expires, so that date could still move. Separately, USDA has deferred enforcement of its DEA-registered-lab testing requirement until December 31, 2026; THC testing itself still applies [39]. CRS notes that the House-passed farm bill, H.R. 7567, would require hemp plans to further differentiate industrial hemp from cannabinoid hemp, including by adjusting testing requirements [28]. In our view, a fiber crop that will never be smoked shouldn't fail commercially over a lab standard built for gummies.

Limits and counterevidence. Market forecasters still predict a hemp boom. Grand View Research now values the global industrial hemp market at $7.5 billion in 2025, projected to reach $27.7 billion by 2033 [29]. That's a paid forecast, not measured sales. It also measures something different from USDA's $13.5 million farm value for one U.S. crop [1]. Putting them side by side shows how far a forecast can sit from the farm gate. It isn't a ratio. The water study is from 2005, and its authors flagged their hemp method as too costly to be representative [9]. Nebel's fiber data comes from one lab trial [5]. Most company figures here are self-reported, including throughput, garments and wall speeds. Hemp may stay a premium niche in both industries for years. That would still be worth building, because a niche done honestly can grow.

Marcus Aurelius wrote notes to himself, and one of them fits this subject. In George Long's 1862 translation of the Meditations (Book III, section 11), he tells himself: "Make for thyself a definition or description of the thing which is presented to thee, so as to see distinctly what kind of a thing it is in its substance, in its nudity, in its complete entirety, and tell thyself its proper name, and the names of the things of which it has been compounded, and into which it will be resolved" [36]. He meant it as a Stoic discipline for judging every impression, not as business advice. It still describes the work. A stalk is bast and hurd. A shirt is fiber, a mill and a contract. A wall is hurd, lime, a tested assembly and an ordinance. The real story is slower and more demanding than the hype, and better. A shirt from Montana fiber and a wall that stores carbon are both possible today. Making them ordinary will take mills, contracts, standards and patience.

If we got something wrong, or you have data that cuts against us, send it through our corrections and response form. We'll fix mistakes in public.

Sources

1. USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, National Hemp Report, released April 16, 2026: fiber summary (p. 1), state fiber tables, U.S. retted table. https://esmis.nal.usda.gov/sites/default/release-files/795862/hempan26.pdf
2. University of Missouri Extension, Market Opportunities for Industrial Hemp (MX72, Dec. 2019), stalk section, Exhibits 1.1 and 1.2. https://extension.missouri.edu/media/wysiwyg/Extensiondata/Pub/pdf/miscpubs/mx0072.pdf
3. Zommere G. et al., "Comparative Analysis of Fiber Structure and Cellulose Contents in Flax and Hemp Fibres," Materials Science. Textile and Clothing Technology 8 (2013), abstract. DOI 10.7250/mstct.2013.016. https://mstct-journals.rtu.lv/article/view/mstct.2013.016/0
4. Agricultural Marketing Resource Center, "Industrial Hemp," Production section. https://www.agmrc.org/commodities-products/fiber/industrial-hemp
5. Nebel K.M., "New Processing Strategies for Hemp," Journal of the International Hemp Association 2(1): 1, 6–9 (1995). http://www.internationalhempassociation.org/jiha/iha02101.html · Archived copy: http://web.archive.org/web/20250209090140/http://www.internationalhempassociation.org/jiha/iha02101.html
6. IND HEMP, "From Field to Yarn: How IND HEMP Is Making American Hemp Fiber 'Ready to Spin'" (company account, 2026). https://indhemp.com/ind-hemp-is-making-american-hemp-fiber-ready-to-spin/
7. Levi Strauss & Co., "New Levi's Wellthread x Outerknown Features Groundbreaking Cottonized Hemp," March 11, 2019. https://www.levistrauss.com/2019/03/11/new-levis-wellthread-x-outerknown-features-groundbreaking-cottonized-hemp/
8. Rachael Davis, "Panda, Culturewell Build Hemp Fiber-To-Yarn Supply Chain In India," International Fiber Journal, August 4, 2026. https://www.fiberjournal.com/panda-culturewell-build-hemp-fiber-to-yarn-supply-chain-in-india/ · Panda Biotech, "About" (company-stated capacity, "capable of processing 22,000 lbs of hemp straw per hour"; headquartered in Dallas): https://www.pandabiotech.com/about
9. Cherrett N. et al., Ecological Footprint and Water Analysis of Cotton, Hemp and Polyester, Stockholm Environment Institute (2005), pp. 14–20. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-Report-EcologicalFootprintAndWaterAnalysisOfCottonHempAndPolyester-2005.pdf
10. Pesticide Action Network UK, Is Cotton Conquering Its Chemical Addiction? (2017), section 2 and ICAC box. https://www.pan-uk.org/site/wp-content/uploads/Cottons-chemical-addiction-FINAL-LOW-RES-2017.pdf
11. Schumacher A.G.D., Pequito S., Pazour J., "Industrial hemp fiber: A sustainable and economical alternative to cotton," Journal of Cleaner Production 268: 122180 (2020), abstract. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.122180
12. Hydrogen Link, "Hemp Fibers" (vendor page). https://www.hydrogenlink.com/hempfibers
13. Textile Exchange, Materials Market Report 2025 (Sept. 2025), global fiber market and plant-based fiber sections. https://textileexchange.org/app/uploads/2025/09/Materials-Market-Report-2025.pdf
14. International Code Council, 2024 International Residential Code, Appendix BL: Hemp-Lime (Hempcrete) Construction, sections BL101, BL103, BL105, Table BL106.2. https://codes.iccsafe.org/content/IRC2024P1/appendix-bl-hemp-lime-hempcrete-construction
15. International Code Council, 2025 Report of the Committee Action Hearing (CAH #2), RB291-25, p. 136. https://www.iccsafe.org/wp-content/uploads/2025-REPORT-OF-THE-COMMITTEE-ACTION-HEARING-CAH-2.pdf
16. Jean Lotus and Martin Hammer, "Hempcrete Fire-Testing Updates Approved for 2027 US Building Codes," HempBuild Magazine, October 26, 2025. https://www.hempbuildmag.com/home/irc-2027-hempcrete
17. National Association of Home Builders, "2027 Building Codes Finalized," August 27, 2026. https://www.nahb.org/blog/2026/08/2027-building-codes-i-code-final-vote
18. Shawn Ledig, "Hempcrete Is in the American Code Book. In Three Places, It Is Actually Law.," U.S. Hemp Building Association, August 18, 2026 (updated Aug. 19). Its jurisdiction count was corrected by the author in source 20. https://www.ushempbuilding.org/post/hempcrete-is-in-the-american-code-book-in-three-places-it-is-actually-law
19. ASTM International, Subcommittee D37.07 on Industrial Hemp, active and proposed standards. https://www.astm.org/membership-participation/technical-committees/committee-d37/subcommittee-d37/jurisdiction-d3707
20. Shawn Ledig, "We Won the Code. We Have Not Won the Loan.," U.S. Hemp Building Association, August 25, 2026 (status as of August 24). https://www.ushempbuilding.org/post/we-won-the-code-we-have-not-won-the-loan
21. Hempitecture, HempWool Technical Data Sheet (Nov. 2024). https://www.hempitecture.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/HempWool_Technical-Data-Sheet.pdf
22. Hempitecture, Product Guide (Apr. 2025), Standard Batt pricing. https://www.hempitecture.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Hempitecture-Product-Guide.pdf
23. Hempitecture (Matthew Mead), testimony to the Idaho Senate Agricultural Affairs Committee, February 6, 2025, Attachment 2. https://legislature.idaho.gov/wp-content/uploads/sessioninfo/2025/standingcommittees/250206_saga_0800AM-Minutes_Attachment_2.pdf
24. Jean Lotus, "US Senator Attends HempWood New Factory Open House," HempBuild Magazine, August 9, 2025. https://www.hempbuildmag.com/home/hemp-wood-factory-rand-paul
25. Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development, "Gov. Beshear: 8 Kentucky Companies Awarded Over $862,000…," February 26, 2026. https://newkentuckyhome.ky.gov/Newsroom/NewsPage/20260226_SBIRAwardees
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28. Zachary T. Neuhofer, Congressional Research Service, Changes to the Statutory Definition of Hemp and Implications for Agricultural Policy, IF13136, updated September 28, 2026. https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/IF13136
29. Grand View Research, "Industrial Hemp Market" report summary (paid forecast; summary page read). https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/industrial-hemp-market
30. International Code Council, Final Action Results – 2026 Group A & B Proposed Changes to the International Codes (posted July 2026), IRC-Building list, entry RB291-25 "AMC2-1." Public landing page (loads without login; links the results document) first; SharePoint Word document second. https://www.iccsafe.org/products-and-services/i-codes/code-development/current-code-development-cycle/ · https://2023701800.sharepoint.com/:w:/s/ICC-CS_AETECHNICALSERVICESGROUP/IQBcBnOo-_CfTr2fdyXdLB09AQ-nf2rSwbTvySPyddpYEGo?e=iNE2bx
31. International Code Council, "2024-2026 Group A and B Final Action Results Now Available," Building Safety Journal, July 22, 2026. https://www.iccsafe.org/building-safety-journal/bsj-hits/2024-2026-group-a-and-b-final-action-results-now-available/
32. RB291-25 (Hammer et al.), Proposed Change as Submitted and CAH #2 Individual Consideration Agenda (ICC documents, as posted by the Washington State Building Code Council, Feb. 2026): assembly text, test dates, proponents, CAH #1 result. https://sbcc.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2026-02/RB291-25_HLFireRatedWalls_FINAL-1-2.pdf · https://sbcc.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2026-02/RB291-25_CAH2_Comment-3-5.pdf
33. International Code Council store, 2027 International Residential Code listing ("available late January 2027"), read November 9, 2026. https://shop.iccsafe.org/2027-international-residential-coder.html
34. Maricopa County, "Maricopa County 2024 Building Code Implementation" (adopted October 21, 2026; effective November 20, 2026). https://ready.maricopa.gov/DocumentCenter/View/121890/Step-5-K-Maricopa-County-2024-Building-Code-Implementation
35. Maricopa County, Local Additions and Addenda to the 2024 International Residential Code (final draft dated October 21, 2026, TA260001), section R101.2.1. https://www.maricopa.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Item/10471?fileID=102475
36. Marcus Aurelius, The Thoughts of the Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, trans. George Long (first ed. 1862), Book III, §11 (public domain). Project Gutenberg eBook #15877: https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/15877 · Wikisource: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Thoughts_of_the_Emperor_Marcus_Aurelius_Antoninus/Book_III
37. Coconino County, Arizona, Ordinance 2026-03 (approved June 2, 2026), Part II (2024 IRC), section R102.5 Appendices, listing "Appendix BL: Hemp-Lime (Hempcrete) Construction." https://az-coconinocounty2.civicplus.com/DocumentCenter/View/73035/Coconino-County-Ordinance-2026-03
38. Dorothy C. Kafka and Joanna R. Lampe, Congressional Research Service, Delay in Changes to Hemp Definition: Cannabinoids Not Capable of Being Naturally Produced by the Cannabis Plant, LSB11496, October 28, 2026. https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/LSB11496 · P.L. 119-103, Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027, §106(3) (continuing appropriations end December 11, 2026): https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/PLAW-119publ103/html/PLAW-119publ103.htm
39. USDA Agricultural Marketing Service, "Information for Hemp Testing Laboratories" (DEA-registered laboratory enforcement deferred to December 31, 2026); see also USDA notice Dec. 23, 2025. https://www.ams.usda.gov/rules-regulations/hemp/information-laboratories · https://www.ams.usda.gov/content/usda-extends-enforcement-deadline-hemp-be-tested-dea-registered-laboratories-2

LOR calculation = our own arithmetic from the cited figures. Company and advocacy-group figures are those organizations' own statements and were not independently audited. No companies, officials or people named here were contacted for this article. Informational only, not engineering, legal or financial advice.