No more industrial hemp farming in Sutter County? Pot busts may lead to ban
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Sutter County supervisors propose a countywide ban on industrial hemp by Jan 15.
- Law enforcement tied two licensed growers to large suspected marijuana operations.
- Officials cite crop thefts, testing failures, odors and new federal hemp rules.
What has amounted to a yearslong experiment allowing industrial hemp farming in Sutter County may soon come to an end as county officials consider an outright ban of the crop.
The newly proposed embargo comes after a year of heightened scrutiny over how to regulate and sustain the county’s relatively small industry, followed in recent months by suspected marijuana-related crimes connected to each of the county’s last two licensed growers.
“We had legitimate farmers who were interested in hemp,” said Steve Smith, Sutter County administrator. “… Even the legitimate farmers who were involved, they were taken advantage of by folks who were wrapped up in marijuana instead of hemp.”
Sutter County supervisors on Tuesday are poised to hold the first of two public hearings on the effective ban, which would set in motion an end to the county’s hemp program by mid-January.
The county planning commission last month approved the amended ordinance that would bar industrial hemp farming and processing throughout the county, ending the ag-centric community’s trial with the crop whose controversy rivaled its actual production.
“We erred on the side of defending agriculture … it’s just looking like it was not to be because there was criminal activity involved,” Smith said.
How many pot busts?
Following a wave of backlash last year, supervisors in December put in place a temporary hemp ban, which they extended for about a year. In April, in coordination with hemp growers and other supporters — and in the face of opposition from the likes of the county agricultural commissioner, sheriff and district attorney — supervisors modified the ban to allow some hemp farming and processing under a more strict and costly set of conditions.
The months since resulted in law enforcement action against the two active license holders permitted to grow hemp in the county this year, according to county officials, and at least one lawsuit against the county accusing officials of modifying boundary lines to box out a prospective grower from farming hemp.
Luke M. Wilson, a public-facing advocate for hemp farming who worked with county officials to loosen their temporary ban earlier this year, was arrested in July and faces several charges alleging that he was involved with a marijuana processing facility found with more than 40,000 pounds of pot plants and products. He has pleaded not guilty, and his case remains in Sutter Superior Court.
The other property licensed to farm hemp this year, on Garden Highway under a permit issued to U.S. Phoenix Management Inc., was found with about 14,000 suspected cannabis plants, according to county officials.
More recently, a reported fire led authorities to find a large suspected marijuana grow at another county property, which had not been licensed for hemp cultivation but cost the Sutter County Sheriff’s Office and other agencies significant resources seizing and destroying the grow, said Sierra Pedley, a Sheriff’s Office spokesperson.
Hemp and marijuana both come from the cannabis plant, but hemp is cultivated to contain lower levels of THC than marijuana. THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, is the psychoactive compound in cannabis.
How did we get here?
Citizens complained of the overwhelming smell of marijuana that penetrated their homes. County officials worried about cannabis-adjacent crimes and six-figure losses absorbed in the initial years of its hemp program. The farmers who remained argued for more time to gain footing in the nascent hemp industry.
Controversy, trial and error marked the years since the county began licensing growers of the cannabis-adjacent crop in 2019, with reports ranging from suspected criminal activity to complaints of a cannabis stench drifting from fields into neighborhoods.
The county agricultural commissioner reported more than 500 acres and 30 greenhouses of crops either being destroyed, going missing or testing above that low THC threshold that differentiates hemp from marijuana throughout the life of the county’s hemp program, according to a county report. In some cases, the agricultural commissioner and state pesticide regulators also found use of improper pesticides.
In addition to the suspected crimes with apparent ties to the county’s hemp industry, county officials said they expect recent federal legislation that redefines industrial hemp to significantly change the industry, including its local regulations. The revised federal law, effective November 2026, aims to block the unregulated sale of intoxicating hemp products while still allowing hemp grown for other purposes.
Supervisors are expected to hold their second public hearing on the amended ordinance Dec. 16. If approved, the effective ban would go into effect. Jan. 15.
This story was originally published December 8, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
