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Despite winning an appeal over his rejected 2024 and 2025 hemp permits, and winning the right to grow the plant locally, local farmer Pedro Ibarra declined to pursue a grow permit after all.
That means he has not farmed hemp in San Benito County since 2023.
Ibarra, who has sued the county over the permit denial, explained that by the time he won his appeal before the California Department of Food and Agriculture in May, the planting season had passed.
“It’s pointless to have a permit issued in May or June because you can’t do anything with that,” he said, adding that cultivators generally apply for the permit in December to start their operations as early as January.
However, a permit is valid for 12 months after issuance, according to San Benito County’s acting Agricultural Commissioner Ken Griffin, meaning it would have been valid for this year’s growing season.
Ibarra, who did not explain why he appealed the permit denial if he had no intention of cultivating hemp this year nor starting a new crop of the plant this winter, said he now doesn’t even know if he’ll continue to cultivate industrial hemp in the county after the challenges he faced in getting permits the last two years.
He said he doesn’t know if he can “bounce back.”
The county argued in the state appeal hearing that Ibarra committed multiple violations by submitting required documentation late or not at all when he was growing hemp locally between 2021 and 2023, including planting reports, destruction plans and other reports.
But state Department of Food and Agriculture hearing officer Mary Horst found that the county did not provide notice to Ibarra that the “paperwork errors were considered violations until years after the fact.”
Earlier this year, Ibarra filed a lawsuit against San Benito County for denial of due process related to the permit denial and racial discrimination, something the county denies.
In November, U.S. Northern District Court Judge Noel Wise set several hearings dates and document submittal deadlines leading up to a March 1, 2027 jury trial in the case.
Ibarra said he has been cultivating hemp in the county since 2020 and that the amount of acreage he plants depends on the demand from his customers. He said he has cultivated between 10-20 acres of hemp and continues to farm other row crops in the county.
Hemp is a type of cannabis plant, but lacks the level of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main ingredient that gets users high. Hemp plants contain at most .3% of THC, whereas only plants that contain more are considered cannabis.
Industrial hemp is used as material for a variety of products including textiles, paper and biodegradable plastics.
San Benito County Deputy Counsel Rebekah Mojica told BenitoLink that Ibarra did not resubmit payments following his successful appeal to finalize his registration with the Agricultural Commissioner’s Office.
“As a result, the registration was never activated and to the county’s knowledge, there is no active cultivation authorized under the subject registration,” she said.
Ibarra confirmed that he did not pursue the permit after the appeal decision, noting that state and local registration fees are about $1,900.
Ibarra previously told BenitoLink he cultivated about 400 acres in San Benito County but clarified he was referring to his overall farming operations. He said he did not cultivate hemp in 2024 or 2025.
According to the California Department of Food and Agriculture, there are no registered industrial hemp cultivators in San Benito County.
The amount of hemp cultivation in San Benito County has drastically dropped since it was first allowed in 2019, according to annual crop reports. That year, 530 acres were cultivated and its gross value reached $30 million. In 2024, only 27 acres were cultivated for a gross value of $537,000.
Asked about the factors for the downward trend, Griffin said that growers have attributed it to delays in developing hemp infrastructure, decreased demand and a “plunge” in prices.
“This downward trend is occurring statewide,” he said.
During the county’s process of revising hemp regulations in 2019, residents expressed concern over odor and security, saying they were experiencing a higher number of trespassers. The concerns led the San Benito County Board of Supervisors to approve a 45-day moratorium on cultivation operations.
Hemp became a legal crop in December 2018 following adoption of the 2018 Farm Bill. The supervisors unanimously adopted a local ordinance regulating hemp cultivation in September 2019.
The county approved its latest revisions to its hemp regulations in 2020, which includes areas where hemp operations are not permitted, known as exclusion zones that includes one-mile buffers from San Juan Bautista and Hollister city limits, as well as residential communities in the unincorporated area known as the county service area, and identified wine and hospitality priority areas.
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