[PRESS RELEASE] – OMAHA, Neb., Aug. 7, 2025 – Hemp Feed Coalition has announced that the Association of American Feed Control Officials’ (AAFCO), Official Publication, published hemp seed meals (HSMs) for laying birds. It’s been almost two years since AAFCO’s Ingredient Definition committee voted in favor of hemp seed for this purpose. This is a major milestone for both hemp and poultry farmers.
HFC, and its members, stress that despite this success the regulatory pathway to market for hemp-based feed is still awash with bureaucratic barriers. AAFCO approval does not automatically translate into state acceptance. Companies serving the feed industry have had to go through a lengthy state by state registration process.
Morgan Tweet, CEO of IND HEMP said that many states denied or stalled hemp feed applications until the official publication appeared. “Some states went even further—refusing approval until the publication is publicly available in print for a full year (2027), simply because the first year’s edition must be purchased. These delays have nothing to do with science or safety; they’re pure bureaucracy standing in the way of market access.”
AAFCO and FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine have decided to not renew their Memorandum of Understanding, which has been in place for many years. Both organizations instead have created their own approval processes to try and streamline the regulatory process. FDA CVM, with its Ingredient Definition path, AAFCO, with the science advisory panel of Kansas State University. HFC is cautious in its assessment of this new change, and if these two paths will help move products faster to the market.
“While the Kansas State University framework is being marketed as a step forward, the timeline for launching the new working group has already slipped past its original targets,” HFC President Andrew Bish said. “That’s frustrating—but what matters most is that progress like this moves hemp closer to functioning as a real agricultural commodity. Each new approval opens the door for farmers to diversify and access new markets, such as HSM in poultry. “We’ll work with AAFCO, FDA-CVM and other stakeholders to ensure that future approvals are expedited because farmers cannot afford to wait”.
HFC has already begun preparing its next application, hemp seed meal.
The application process requires scientific rigor and a working relationship with regulators. It also takes dollars to pay for our writers and reviewers. Join HFC today if you want to help advance hemp as an ingredient in feed.
To learn more about the Hemp Feed Coalition’s efforts to extend hemp feed approvals and for further information, please visit https://hempfeedcoalition.org.