Sutter County temporarily bans hemp farming, saying it's lost thousands of dollars
SUTTER COUNTY – Sutter County has put a temporary ban on the cultivation of hemp. This comes after the county says it lost more than $400,000 to the program and received resident complaints about the odor.
"It came out of left field, got the email [Wednesday] morning," said hemp farmer Luke Wilson.
The Sutter County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to ban hemp farming for the next 45 days.
"This program has cost the county over $400,000 over the last several years and that's in addition to the service calls to the sheriff to code enforcement issues," said Sutter County administrator Steven Smith. "There are often complaints about the odor."
The county says 200 calls for service have been received by the sheriff's office since 2019 due to theft issues at hemp farms. They've had to destroy more than 500 acres worth of hemp plants that do not meet regulatory standards and residents are complaining about the smell.
"I can tell you that it's turning our neighborhood into an unlivable place," said a resident at a public hearing portion of a board of supervisors meeting in October. "We'll be smelling this stuff in our clothing and our carpets and our cars. In our garages, living rooms, it's not compatible with neighborhoods and residential areas."
The county agriculture department says hemp farms must be 1000 feet away from sensitive receptors like schools and churches and must be 500 feet away from residences not owned by the farmers.
"Even with those buffers in place, there's still complaints that are coming to the board," said Nicolas Oliver, the Sutter County assistant agriculture commissioner.
"People aren't complaining about our operation. They're complaining about operations with people not being honest and not playing by the rules," Wilson said.
The farmer says the ban is slowing down their goal of expansion. They've had to pull contracts that were already in the works.
"We're employing a lot of people here. We're bringing a lot of money from around the country back to Sutter County and spreading it around by buying tractors, equipment, boxes," Wilson said.
"We want to provide time for feedback to see how it will impact any farmers that are still planning to grow hemp and then we'll go from there," Smith said.
The county says there will be another opportunity for public feedback in January. After that, the board could decide to permanently ban the cultivation of hemp or revise the regulations.
Hemp can be used for many things such as building materials, clothing and lotion.
