NHA Releases 2026 National Hemp Industry Benchmark Report
New findings from survey participants across at least 36 states identify priorities for stronger markets, industry partnerships, and the next stage of American hemp.
The National Hemp Association has released its 2026 National Hemp Industry Survey Benchmark Report, bringing together perspectives from NHA members and non-members across the U.S. hemp sector.
The report examines industry conditions, commercial needs, and opportunities for collaboration. It also establishes the foundation for an annual benchmark that will help NHA track changing priorities and guide its work in policy, education, research, and market development.
For farmers, processors, manufacturers, and the organizations supporting them, the findings offer a clearer picture of where coordinated effort can make a difference.
Among survey participants:
- 55% identified customers as an immediate commercial need.
- 49% identified investment as an immediate commercial need.
- 51% expressed interest in collaborating on supply chain development.
- 71% expressed interest in virtual buyer meetings.
Together, these findings point to a practical agenda: connect businesses with customers, strengthen the infrastructure supporting production, and help companies prepare for commercial opportunities.
That work reaches across the value chain. Farmers need dependable markets and processing options. Processors need consistent feedstock and customers with clear specifications. Manufacturers need reliable materials, competitive economics, and confidence in the supply chain behind a product.
Progress depends on those pieces developing together.
The benchmark helps bring these needs into a shared conversation. Its findings can inform research priorities, educational programs, business introductions, and discussions with policymakers and funding partners. They also give organizations outside the hemp sector a useful introduction to the opportunities and challenges facing participating businesses.
Domestic market development remains central. Building demand for hemp products requires practical connections among agriculture, processing, manufacturing, and distribution. Fiber and grain each bring distinct infrastructure needs and commercial opportunities, making informed planning especially important.
International opportunities add another dimension. Respondents’ interest in buyer engagement points to an opening for export education, technical exchange, and qualified introductions. Helping companies understand requirements and assess their readiness is an important step toward developing commercial relationships abroad.
NHA brings 14 years of hemp advocacy to this effort, alongside experience in domestic industry coordination and completed USDA Emerging Markets Program work in Ghana, Malawi, and Rwanda. That experience provides a foundation for translating industry input into focused education, partnerships, and market-development efforts.
Policy remains closely connected to this work. Clear, workable rules help businesses plan, invest, and pursue customers. Understanding the needs of farmers and businesses strengthens NHA’s ability to connect advocacy with the practical conditions required for industry development.
This first annual benchmark begins an ongoing process of listening, publishing, and learning. Future editions will help identify shifts in participants’ experiences and priorities, giving the industry a stronger basis for evaluating progress and directing its efforts.
NHA thanks the members and non-members who contributed their perspectives. Their participation helps inform a shared understanding of where the industry stands and what it needs next.
Explore the full findings
Download the 2026 Benchmark Report for findings on industry conditions, commercial priorities, domestic and international opportunities, and areas for collaboration.
Enter your email for free, immediate access to the report.
DOWNLOAD THE 2026 BENCHMARK REPORT
About the National Hemp Industry Survey
The National Hemp Association’s National Hemp Industry Survey is an ongoing industry-listening initiative designed to track conditions, priorities, market-development needs, and emerging opportunities across the U.S. hemp economy and its connection to global markets. The 2026 National Hemp Industry Benchmark Report is the first annual edition of this work, bringing together aggregate input from farmers, processors, manufacturers, researchers, service providers, and other stakeholders across the hemp value chain.
While the reporting window used for the 2026 Benchmark Report has closed, the National Hemp Industry Survey remains open. NHA continues to collect industry input to help inform future benchmarking, education, policy, research, trade, and market-development efforts.
Participate in the National Hemp Industry Survey →
About the National Hemp Association
The National Hemp Association is a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit trade association advancing industrial hemp through policy, education, research, and market development. NHA works with stakeholders across agriculture, manufacturing, research, government, and commerce to strengthen U.S. hemp supply chains while supporting responsible international market development, trade relationships, and collaboration across the global hemp industry. Its work focuses on connecting people, markets, information, and infrastructure to help industrial hemp move from emerging opportunity to durable commercial adoption.