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Hemp in 2025: Cliff Hangers, Course Corrections and Community
Description
2025 was a year of uncertainty, contradiction and recalibration for the hemp industry.
In this year-end episode of the Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast, host Eric Hurlock looks back on a season defined by policy whiplash, shifting definitions and hard conversations about what hemp is — and what it is not.
From rumors of executive action and the collapse of intoxicating hemp loopholes to the rescheduling of marijuana and its ripple effects across agriculture, the year ended with more questions than answers.
The episode revisits key voices from across the hemp landscape — policy advocates, farmers, processors, builders and researchers — and reflects on what the USDA data, federal decisions and on-the-ground realities revealed about the fiber, grain and building sectors.
It's also a personal moment of reflection: Nearly 50 episodes, roughly 160 guests and a year spent listening closely to the people doing the slow work of building real hemp infrastructure. As the show heads into 2026, this episode pauses long enough to take stock — and to set the stage for what comes next. Get the Benton Shirt: https://smithandrogue.com/blog/the-benton-shirt-grown-and-sewn-in-usa
Voices You Will Hear in This EpisodeMorris Beegle
Joy Beckerman
Chris Fontes
Cameron McIntosh
Morgan Tweet
Jeremy Klettke
Lynda Mugglestone
Guy Carpenter
Andre West
NC State Wilson College of Textiles
Larry Smart
Trey Riddle
Sandra Marquardt
Coleman Beale
Satish Hodage
Ding Hongliang
Maciej Kowalski
Dave Cook
Mark D'Sa
Joseph Carringer
Micaela Machado
Danny Desjarlais
Matt Marino
Steve Allin