More than one-third of Missouri’s hemp licenses are inactive

Of the 259 hemp licenses listed on the Missouri Department of Agriculture Plant Industries Division Industrial Hemp Program Registered Producers and Agricultural Hemp Propagule and Seed Permit Holders, 130 are inactive.

While the Delta-8 market boomed in early 2021, pricing fell for the sixth consecutive month in December – with reported pricing falling to $839 per kilogram for Delta-8 distillate, with a low end falling from $650 in November to $450 in December.

Similarly, the CBD market continued its  long-term descent, according to the December 2021 Hemp Spot Price Index Report by Hemp Benchmarks, the price of CBD biomass is down roughly 30% from the prior year.

Smokable CBD flower pricing saw an increase in average pricing as the annual average closed at $265 per pound, up from $185 per pound for 2020’s average annual price. Of note is the distinction that while indoor-grown and greenhouse-grown flower climbed in price – 116% and 44% respectively, outdoor-grown flower pricing fell 41%.

As more states move to regulate Delta-8, Delta-10, and other isomers – the market continues to slide.

In 2021, the Missouri Hemp Trade Association pushed back against proposed restrictions against sales of converted cannabinoids in medical marijuana dispensaries.

The Missouri Department of Agriculture’s Industrial Hemp Program will release 2021 statistics in a program summary, but has not released pricing information on hemp crops to this point.

In 2020, 22% of planted hemp acreage was unharvested and 9% failed testing.