Sen. Schumer to push for clearer hemp guidelines as CNY farmers struggle to get funding
Cortlandville, NY — Senator Chuck Schumer says he will push federal regulators to have clearer guidelines for the legality of hemp.
This comes after many hemp farmers in Central New York have had trouble getting banks to give them loans, credit card processing, and payroll accounts.
Allan Gandelman owns Main Street Farms in Cortlandville. His farm grows about 40 acres of hemp which they turn into CBD oil. Gandelman believes there are many benefits to hemp.
"It's really good for your health. I've been taking CBD oil for years actually, which is how I got into this for insomnia and general arthritis," says Gandelman.
However, he's struggled to get loans from banks. He believes many banks are confused and don't know how to distinguish between hemp and marijuana.
"Banks stopped wanting us to work with us, and we lost our credit card processing. We had a payroll company that had issues that didn't want to do payroll for us," says Gandelman.
It's a problem Senator Schumer vows to help fix.
"I will be pushing the regulators to issue regulations and guidance so that financial companies will be willing, eager, and happy to make loans to this burgeoning industry," Senator Schumer said on Monday during a visit to the farm in Cortlandville.
Main Street Farm's biggest challenge was accessing lines of credit from traditional banks. Gandelman's website was shut down multiple times.
"We went two months recently with no credit card processing online, and that is a huge loss to our revenue," says Gandelman.
The farm was able to find a bank and a way to process credit cards. However, he hopes federal regulators will issue clear guidance to financial institutions about the hemp industry so the farmers don't continue to suffer.
