California and Kentucky lead the booming outdoor hemp flower market, accounting for half the nation's crop. Discover the dominant states and their impressive harvests.
The total value of all industrial hemp grown in the United States last year was $739 million at the farm gate, up nearly two-thirds from 2024, according to the US Department of Agriculture's National Hemp Report, released last week.
Industrial hemp production was dominated by floral hemp production—hemp grown for its cannabinoids, psychoactive or not—which accounted for $659 million, or nearly 90 percent of all industrial hemp harvested last year. The rest went to hemp harvested for seed, grain, or fiber.
And outdoor floral hemp production, which accounted for about 85 percent of all floral hemp production (the rest being grown indoors), was dominated by two states: California and Kentucky, which between them have accounted for about half of all floral hemp grown in the country for the last three years.
In 2023, the total outdoor floral hemp harvest was 7.643 million pounds, with Kentucky bringing in 2.723 million pounds and California harvesting 1.688 million pounds. Only one other state, Oregon, exceeded a one-million-pound harvest, coming in at 1.687 million pounds.
In 2024, the total outdoor floral hemp harvest was 20.166 million pounds, with California accounting for 6.325 million pounds and Kentucky coming in at 4.284 million pounds. No other state's harvest exceeded a million pounds.
Last year, the total outdoor floral hemp harvest was 29.754 million pounds, with Kentucky accounting for 11.368 million pounds, California coming in at 3.552 million pounds, and Colorado with 1.64 million pounds.
The acreage harvested of outdoor floral hemp more than doubled between 2023 and 2025, rising from 21,709 acres in 2023 to 43,707 last year. Similarly, the value of harvested floral hemp increased from $289 million in 2023 to $386 million in 2024 to $574 million in last year, nearly doubling in value over the three years.
The indoor floral hemp crop is more diversified, but it is only a fraction of the size of the outdoor crop. Last year indoor floral hemp was valued at $81.6 million dollars, and 24 different states had indoor grows. They totaled 3.985 million plants, with California's 2.031 million plants accounting for more than half of national indoor production. Other major producers—though nowhere near California levels—included Oklahoma (332,000 plants, Colorado (225,000), New York (167,000), Oregon (165,000), and Tennessee (150,000).
All of these numbers show a vibrant, growing floral hemp economy, but they also predate Congress's move last fall to rein in hemp-derived cannabinoids. It is planting time right now (depending on where you live), and it is as yet unclear what impact the threat of the looming November crackdown has had and is having on farmers' planting decisions. It is probably safe to say, though, that once the numbers are crunched, overall floral hemp planting will have declined this year because of the uncertainty.