Online applications now open for Minnesota’s 2025 Industrial Hemp Program

By KAALTV

(ABC 6 News) – Online applications are now open for anyone wanting to grow or process hemp in Minnesota in 2025.

According to a press release, a license from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) is required for individuals and businesses.

Applications must be submitted by April 30, 2025, and a license is valid for the 2025 calendar year.

The application can be found on the MDA website. Along with the online form, first-time applicants and authorized representatives need to submit fingerprints and pass a criminal background check, the MDA added.

These licenses are reportedly for growing and processing industrial hemp only. The hemp grower or processor application is not for the growth or sale of adult-use or medical cannabis.

The application is also not intended for the sale of hemp-derived cannabinoid products. Adult-use cannabis information can be found on the Office of Cannabis Management website.

Growers and processors need to be aware of the following for 2025:

  • All authorized representatives designated by the applicant must pass a criminal history background check prior to the issuance of a license.
  • Every lot of hemp grown requires pre-harvest THC regulatory testing. Each official regulatory sample collected by the MDA will cost $100.
  • The MDA licenses processors that handle raw hemp and initially process it by extraction, decortication, devitalization, crushing, or packaging, and the department will continue random inspections of processor locations.
  • License fees will remain the same. The minimum cost of a grower license is $400. A processing license is a minimum of $500. A 5% license surcharge is being added to support the modernization of the MDA’s technology systems which will provide better online services and more efficient processing of applications.

While the deadline to apply or renew is April 30, 2025, those actively growing hemp plants indoors past December 31, 2024, must renew their license before expiration at the end of the year, according to the MDA.

Questions about the MDA’s Industrial Hemp Program can be sent to hemp.mda@state.mn.us or 651-201-6600.