Schumer To Feds: It’s Time To Let Farms Cash In On Cash Crop

Senator Charles Schumer was at Main Street Farms in Cortland County on Monday  to address an issue facing the growing hemp industry in Upstate New York.

Schumer says even though the 2018 Farm Bill legalized the production and sale of industrial hemp, financial institutions have continued to question whether they can extend their services to industrial hemp-oriented businesses.

He's calling on major Federal financial regulators to issue guidelines to financial institutions, confirming the legality of providing services to the hemp industry

Schumer says without access to services like checking accounts and credit, many industrial hemp businesses have faced difficulty expanding.

"The industrial hemp industry is seeding and growing all over Upstate New York, with new businesses like Main Street Farms popping up left and right, which is why I fought so hard to strip the burdensome and outdated federal regulations from it by passing the Hemp Farming Act of 2018. However, if these businesses aren’t able to get financing from a bank or find a credit card processor that doesn’t charge them an arm and a leg, none of that matters all that much,” said Schumer.