What controls are in place at Clemson University (CU) to ensure compliance with state and federal hemp farming regulations? Clemson University’s Regulatory & Public Service Program works closely with the South Carolina Department of Agriculture (SCDA) Hemp Farming Program (as authorized by SC Code Ann. 46-55-10 et seq.) to ensure all program requirements for working with Industrial Hemp are met and that all CU employees and the public are protected. SCDA requires everyone handling or transporting unprocessed hemp, including transplants, seed, and harvested biomass, to be issued a Hemp Handler Permit before possessing any hemp materials. Through a collaborative effort, the SCDA issues every CU regulatory worker, researcher, and Extension agent involved with, or who may be involved with, hemp a photo ID card with a unique permit number to identify them as CU personnel. In 2022 more than fifty CU employees received hemp handler permits from the SCDA. The recipient list of CU hemp permit recipients is renewed, and ID cards are re-issued annually
Kelly Ann Flynn, Emerging Crops Program Coordinator, works with permitted hemp farmer Derick Hopkins in Gifford, SC.
Kelly Ann Flynn,©2022, Clemson Extension
