USDA Regulations: Testing Requirements and 2020 Growing Strategies For Industrial Hemp

Welcome back to Growing With North Carolina Farms! In Episode 6 we interview John Kerns, from New Bloom Labs, with a focus on USDA regulations and testing requirements for 2020.

Some of the highlights include:

• What is the DEA’s role in overseeing labs?
• What are the testing standards relating to total THC?
• How does this affect growing strategies and harvest times?
• What is the future of cannabinoid research?
• How can you be a pioneer in the changing landscape of cannabis? 

Grab a cup of coffee and get comfortable. You’re about to listen in to a 15 minute conversation filled with regulatory wisdom from:

Mick– One of our owners, and our Director of Business Strategy

John Kerns- CEO of New Bloom Labs in Chattanooga, TN

If you aren’t able to listen, we’ve provided the full transcript below. 

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Mick: I’m joined today by John Kerns from New Blooms Labs. John, thanks for being with me.

John: Sure thing. Thank you for having me.

Mick: So John, we want to talk briefly about the changing landscape for farmers and labs on these USDA regulations. Things are changing quickly and it is hard to keep up. What are you seeing from your end? What do you wish every farmer knew?

John: Yeah, the USDA final rule hit October 31st of last year. It really struck like a thunderbolt into the hemp industry and there was a great deal of concern that the various rules were not very well crafted in such a way to promote hemp production. 

There were a couple of main challenges that folks were really concerned about. One of those challenges is that testing labs, like New Bloom Labs, were now going to be subject to some registration and certification through the DEA. I think it is important for people to understand the DEA’s role here and, also, before I talk about that, we should note that that portion of the rule has been suspended about another year. We may have to return to a time when we have to register with the DEA, but for 2020 that does not look to be a factor. Now, having said that, New Bloom Labs is still a DEA registered testing facility. It is important for people to understand what that means. 

The DEA is essentially concerned with two things: security and sample destruction. What they want to know is that your facility is well secured with a good alarm system, good locks, and good access control to make sure that no one could easily have access to what potentially could be a controlled substance. As you well know, if hemp were to test hot, at that point it would legally be defined as a schedule one controlled substance. That being cannabis. They just want to make sure that someone does not have easy access to a testing facility when they can get their hands on a controlled substance. 

The second component of that is if a controlled substance does find its way to our facility that we are properly destroying it. What we do is put it into a device that subjects a controlled substance to a chemical reaction that renders it useless immediately. So, you have to register those SOP’s and discuss those SOP’s with the DEA and they give you a registration number. 

There is a lot of concern that testing results would have to be shared with the federal authorities. We have seen no indication that it was going to be the case or that it will be the case. That’s the first big concern as related to testing facilities and the USDA interim final rule. 

The second has to do with testing standards as it relates to total THC. I think most hemp producers are fairly well educated about what total THC means. What it basically means is that you take two different cannabinoids, take their measurements and put them into an algorithm. What that does is it predicts how the material will react once it decarboxylates. Basically, once it is heated it converts to delta-9 THC. What everyone knows by now is that delta-9 THC is the compound that has the heightened psycho-effects. 

So, using this new formula, we are using total THC throughout the United States. Before 2020 and the interim final rule, you had states like Tennessee and a few others that only use delta-9 as their legal standard – the delta-9 cannabinoid. Tennessee producers could leave their plants in the ground much longer in 2019 than we are going to be able to in late 2020 and 2021. Most states are already at a total THC standard. What that means is we have a challenge around plant genetics.

Much of hemp production right now is focused around CBD production and CBD cultivation. There are not many genetics — if they exist at all — currently in domestic hemp production that can be allowed to cultivate and grow to full maturity for CBD ratings that are going to reach what people really want to see, which is 12%, 15%, and 18% and remain compliant with the new USDA standard. 

What does this mean? It means growers are going to have to harvest much earlier. For many, it means that they may be able to rotate several crops in any given year. So, you may be able to grow twice because you will be harvesting so much sooner. It also means that when you do harvest those total CBD levels are going to be lower than what we were previously used to. 

It also presents a new risk factor for farmers. It means that they are going to have to make sure that they are very vigilant in testing regularly because by the total TCH standard, the plant is subject to going hot much sooner. You take a state like Tennessee which is used to putting a plant in the ground in May and harvesting it in September. That cultivation period is going to be about cut in half. So, it is going to be more difficult to predict when one genetic or another develops those THC analytes to the degree that tells you you have to harvest. 

To answer your question, the long and short of it is this: never has the importance of potency testing been as real or as acute as it is in this country now going forward. Down the line, several years later, as cannabis and hemp laws continue to evolve, that could change. There is a growing cry for what is called a 1% THC standard in hemp production. I think that the industry is sort of crying out for that, but we are not there yet. That is going to take a sanction from the federal government and it doesn’t feel like that is happening this year or next. 

Mick: Yeah, we talk about that in our business. When you are talking about leadership, you’ve got to manage the current reality and lead toward a future reality. So, in order to manage the current reality, you are just going to have to accept the .3 total and continue to lead and write letters to your congressman, and get behind lobbying groups who are working to change those rules. 

In the meantime, one of the things we are coaching people to do — and I’d love to hear your feedback on this — is: instead of just publishing one COA for our genetics, we publish six weeks of COA, starting at week two through week eight. That is what we try to do. We don’t have it complete on every single one, but that is our goal. So you start testing at week two and you’ll see things like Wife and BaOx, they tend to go hot. They get to .3 at week three and four sometimes. Where others like Stout may get to week four or five, but then you’ve got CBG that is going to get week eight and ten, no problem. 

So, what we are saying is don’t plant forty acres of BaOx. You need to plant a little bit of BaOx, a little bit of Wife, a little bit of Stout — and create some diversification in your genetics so that you’ve got these harvest windows coming and staggered labor. What that is going to require is a ton of testing. You are going to have to test every single week, every single genetic and then play your cards just right to get them harvested at the right time. Is that good advice from your point of view?

John: That is absolutely good advice. Couple of things I would like to respond to. Yes, a rigorous testing program is going to be important, but make sure you are choosing lab partners that have an effective turnaround time for you.

Mick: Right! You can’t wait two weeks for a lab result. Absolutely!

John: Week old potency results are no longer viable. Right? We have really strived to create a program here that will turn around potency data to our growers on the next business day because it is absolutely critical. It was critical last year and it is especially critical this year and moving forward. 

Another thing, I think continued exploration of other cannabinoids — you mentioned CBG — but continued exploration and cultivation of these minors over the next few years is going to be really interesting to see how that develops. We are developing right now what we are calling an enhanced cannabinoid profile. We are going to use one of our expensive instruments and analyze every known cannabinoid that science has available to us and give you an assay of the potencies of all of them. 

Now, it is going to be a more expensive test, but for those producers and manufacturers who want to be on the cutting edge of doing some innovative things genetically and product manufacturing wise, it is going to be a really interesting source of information. 

Mick: Let me jump in here for a minute. Currently, most potency tests are testing about 12-13 cannabinoids, but there are really more than 100, correct?

John: Yeah, there are dozens of different cannabinoids and the problem is that because we have not been able to effectively research cannabis for so many years in this country for generations, we don’t have reliable standards where we can say — whatever it may be, CDR, I’ll make one up — has a molecular profile that looks exactly like this. So, we can’t measure against a known standard. 

So, as more of these standards get developed and researched, we will be able to add those to the assay. Analytical science can only reliably analyze a small percentage of the total cannabinoids that exist. That is changing. It takes some time. Legislative and government action, writing letters to your congressman, getting involved in different advocacy groups. 

New Blooms Labs is a founding member of the Tennessee Growers Coalition. We are very active in the Tennessee HIA. I would encourage all of our hemp producers and all the supply chains to seek out those groups in your state and make sure your voice is heard. Help them raise money because effective hemp policy will come as a direct result of this industry standing up and demanding to be heard. That’s how you do it.

Mick: Yeah, and that’s the leadership and that foresight of continuing to push the envelope and saying this is just not good enough. We have got to continue to go forward. In the meantime, we have a small breeding section at our company. 

Breeders have got to get on board and we’ve got to keep working hard. The human component of, you give us a challenge and we’ll rise to it. I think there is going to be some exciting breeding coming along. 

Like you were saying, the CBC is another minor cannabinoid that is not really talked about yet because there is just not a lot of breeding, especially in the US. You get some of that in the mid-east and Asian countries. I think you see CBC more. The idea is that farmers continually educate themselves. Don’t take that one COA as a COA from heaven. You need to really look at the entire picture of what this plant can do over time.

John: I was speaking to a group not long ago and I said, “This has been a great meeting to attend and I am absolutely certain in 20 years when our sons and daughters are organizing this meeting that they will refer to us as pioneers.” 

We are having to pioneer this agricultural commodity. Like I said, leadership and government action, that’s all part of that, but making sure that you place a premium on being innovative. Educating yourself about new options that will be available to growers, processors, and manufacturers will be absolutely critical.

Mick: Well John, we’ve used your lab for awhile now and we’ve been very happy with it. Tell people how they can get in touch with you and where they can find you on the web. I would love for them to be able to get in touch with you.

John: Yeah, newbloomlabs.com is the fastest way to reach out to us and gain some quick information, request a shipping kit, and download an order form. You can always reach us at 844-TEST-CBD. Just be in touch. We have Instagram and Facebook accounts. 

A fundamental part of our community outreach is to be out there where our customers are, so you’ll see us at different co-op meetings throughout the southeast and Texas in the coming months. Once we return to what the new normal is, we will be around. We promise to be in touch and we ask that everyone do the same.

Mick: John, thank you for your time. 

John: Thanks, Mick.