Wisconsin saw a significant decline in the number of hemp growers and processors operating this year. That’s according to data from the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP).

Hemp growers and processors are required to register annually with DATCP as part of the state’s Hemp Research Program, which will continue through the 2021 growing season.

As of Monday, DATCP had received 803 grower applications, 83 percent of which were returning applicants. That’s about 48 percent fewer applications than it received in all of 2020.

After a big year in 2020, interest in growing and processing hemp in Wisconsin has dropped off considerably.

In Wisconsin, hemp growers and processors must register annually.

In 2019, Wisconsin’s Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) received 1,491 grower and 738 processor applications. 4,513 acres were planted and 4,037 acres harvested during the 2019 season.

In 2020, 1,537 grower and 761 processor applications were received. 5,444 acres were planted and as for the 2020 season’s harvest, that figure isn’t available yet.

Wisconsin has been pushing for legal cannabis, but it looks like now, those hopes may be gone. The Senate leader has stated this week that they will not be making moves to legalize, as there is not enough support from Republicans to back it up.

Cash-strapped governments around the country have found a silver lining in the pandemic-caused loss of tax revenue. Legalized marijuana has provided millions to state and local governments - in some cases, millions more than anticipated.

The ability to raise tax dollars has been a selling point for marijuana legalization from the beginning. Long before the state legislature approved adult-use sales, Illinois politicians hoped marijuana could help the state pay off some of its massive debt. Other states, such as Colorado, have used sales tax dollars to fund schools and public improvement projects and programs.

Since it was federally legalized in December 2018 by the 2018 Farm Bill, hemp—which is non-psychoactive cannabis—has had a rocky start, but the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) finally published the final rule overseeing the nation’s hemp growing program. This final rule, effective Monday, March 22, will not affect Wisconsin growers just yet, but it will mark a tremendous change for our hemp growers in months to come.

The next stop for the legalization bandwagon might be the Badger State. 

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers unveiled details of his budget proposal on Monday, which included a proposal to regulate and tax marijuana that he says will produce a windfall of revenue for the state.

“My 2021-23 budget proposes regulating and taxing marijuana much like we do alcohol,” Evers said in a post on Twitter. “States across the country have moved forward with legalization, and there’s no reason Wisconsin should be left behind.”

Most of Illinois’ recreational marijuana dispensaries are bunched up near the Wisconsin state border. This could be chalked up to the proximity to Chicago, but dispensaries like the Mapleglen Care Center in Rockford, Ill., a 20-minute drive from Wisconsin, or even the Sunnyside dispensary in South Beloit, Ill., clearly exist to take advantage of Wisconsinites’ dollars.

Wisconsin hemp groups say the state’s decision to delay new regulations will keep CBD growers from suffering under more restrictive regulations.