Since 2018 when a federal bill reversed a 50-year-old federal ban on growing hemp, and Congress subsequently appropriated funding to study it, the USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) has worked to help growers fight diseases of hemp and mitigate the damages they cause.
ARS researchers have partnered with researchers at Cornell University, Alabama A&M, Oregon State University, University of California-Davis, the University of Wisconsin, and many other institutions to optimize hemp production and help hemp growers find new and existing markets for this new crop.