# Developed by Cornell, US-Grown Zero THC Hemp Planting Seed for Hemp Grain Farmers > Ursa Grande tested nondetectable for THC at Kinston and 0.15% at Goldsboro. For grain farmers, zero THC is a trial result, not a field guarantee. *Published 2026-10-12 · tags: hemp-grain, seed* **Q:** Did Cornell's US-grown grain seed test as zero THC hemp planting seed? **A:** Ursa Grande, Cornell's US-grown grain seed, tested nondetectable for total THC at Kinston in 2023 and 2024. The same cultivar was 0.15% at Goldsboro in 2024. Zero THC describes those ND rows, not a guarantee on the next field. ## FAQ **Q:** Where was Ursa Grande total THC reported as nondetectable? **A:** NC State reported nondetectable total THC for Ursa Grande at Kinston in both 2023 and 2024. Goldsboro in 2024 was 0.15%, so the ND rows are site results. **Q:** Why can 0.15 percent THC still be sold as hemp grain? **A:** USDA's hemp line is 0.3% total THC. A 0.15% result is under that line. It is low THC, and it is not a nondetectable result. Report the number you measured. **Q:** What grain traits did Cornell select when it bred Ursa Grande? **A:** AOSCA says Cornell selected for grain yield, height, uniform flowering, large seed, and a high proportion of varin cannabinoids, which helps the crop stay compliant. **Q:** Will a food-grain buyer accept a zero THC slogan without a lot test? **A:** No. Handlers buy a lot with moisture, dockage, and a THC result they can file. A university ND row from another state is not your certificate of analysis. **Q:** When should a grain farmer plant Ursa Alta instead? **A:** They should not, if the contract is grain. Ursa Alta is Cornell's fiber cultivar and is not viable for grain production north of 32°N. --- Grain farmers searching for zero THC hemp planting seed want a food crop that will clear a THC test. Cornell's grain cultivar is Ursa Grande, developed by Larry Smart and Jacob Toth. It is not a variety named zero THC. [NC State Extension](https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/fiber-hemp-variety-trial-results-2023-2024) reported total THC as nondetectable at Kinston in 2023 and again at Kinston in 2024. The Goldsboro plot in 2024 was 0.15%. Nondetectable means the lab could not measure THC above its detection limit on that sample. It does not mean every future acre will print 0.00%. The 0.15% site is the correction. Both numbers sit at or under the 0.3% total THC limit in the [USDA AMS hemp rules](https://www.ams.usda.gov/rules-regulations/hemp). Hemp grain is industrial hemp, a food and oil seed, not marijuana. [AOSCA](https://aosca.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/HP2202_Grande_GVA-H-21-1135AMND.pdf) documents the breeding: marker-assisted selection against the genes that drive THC, plus selection for grain yield, large seed, and a high share of varin cannabinoids that helps compliance. Cornell has trialed the seed on US farms from New York to Arizona. Confirm the commercial lot before you equate a research packet with certified planting seed. ## What Zero THC Hemp Planting Seed Does Not Promise a Grain Buyer A food brand files the test on the load, not a headline. Kinston's ND rows are real. They are also one research station. Goldsboro, in a year of drought followed by tropical storms, measured 0.15% on the same cultivar. If your contract says "zero," rewrite it to the number the lab will sign. The [AOSCA hemp index](https://aosca.org/hemp-index/) lists a variety actually named Zero THC. That entry is SOTE757.Z.1 from OATS Global Group. It is not Ursa Grande. Buying the adjective from a different breeder is a different crop. The [low THC grain guide](/en/news/cornell-low-thc-grain-planting-seed) covers latitude and harvest timing for Grande. This page is the THC claim. Large seed that stays on the plant is the trait grain farmers can use. AOSCA says Grande retains seed well during maturation and flowers later than other grain cultivars. Late flowering is good for yield and awkward for a short season. Know which one you are managing. ## How to Read Zero THC Hemp Planting Seed Results by Site Put the two years side by side before you quote a single cell from the table. Zero THC hemp planting seed is a fair description of the Kinston rows only. It is a bad description of the cultivar once Goldsboro is included. ### Kinston Rows for Zero THC Hemp Planting Seed Kinston harvested Grande on October 9, 2023, at about 75% mature seed, and reported THC as ND. Straw was 7,914 lb/ac and bast 1,362 lb/ac, with percent bast at 17.20% because the crop was left for seed rather than cut at male flower. In 2024 Kinston was ND again, with stems still the longest in that location at 196.32 cm. Two ND years at one site are a pattern. They are not a national certificate. ### The Goldsboro Exception to Zero THC Hemp Planting Seed Goldsboro 2024 was 0.15% total THC, harvested within a few days of Kinston's October 2 date. Straw there was 4,885 lb/ac. Nothing in that row makes the seed illegal hemp. It does retire the word zero for anyone who wants one number for every county. Stress, soil, and sampling date move the result. Your state sample is the one that counts. ### Varin Selection Is Not a Zero Stamp Cornell selected a high proportion of varin cannabinoids because that chemistry helps the plant stay compliant. Help is not a waiver. You still license the field, still use [certified seed](/buy-certified-hemp-seed-planting), and still keep the pre-harvest test. The [FAQ](/frequently-asked-questions-industrial-hemp) is the short version neighbors ask for. ## What Grain Farmers Should Specify for Zero THC Hemp Planting Seed Write Ursa Grande, the lot number, and the THC result you will accept. Leave the bare word zero off the page unless you define it as nondetectable on a named lab method. A purchase order that says zero THC hemp planting seed, with no number and no lab, is not a spec a handler can enforce. ### Book the Handler Before Zero THC Hemp Planting Seed [Sell the crop](/sell-your-hemp-fiber-hemp-grain-crop) first. Food handlers specify moisture, weed seed, and debris. Dockage on a dirty lot erases the reason you switched crops. [Commodity pricing](/hemp-fiber-grain-commodity-pricing) and the [soy comparison](/en/news/soy-farmers-hemp-grain-todays-markets) show how network grain has been discussed against soybean. None of that math survives a rejected sample. ### Confirm the US Lot Cornell's variety filing states an intent to license International Hemp for certified-seed multiplication and sale. Until you see that name, or another licensee, on a label, you do not have the commercial lot. Research seed from a 2025 Geneva strip trial is evidence the cultivar exists in the United States. It is not your delivery ticket. [Spring planting](/planting-hemp-fiber-spring) timing still has to match a grain cultivar, not a fiber calendar copied from Ursa Alta. ### Do Not Substitute the Fiber Seed Ursa Alta has its own nondetectable plots, and it is the wrong plant for grain north of 32°N. The [fiber zero-THC page](/en/news/cornell-zero-thc-fiber-planting-seed) is for stalk farmers. Trust is a handler who has paid for grain. Education is ND at Kinston and 0.15% at Goldsboro. Profit is a dry, clean load under 0.3% that the buyer already agreed to take. --- Source: https://hfga.io/en/news/cornell-zero-thc-grain-planting-seed/ HTML version: https://hfga.io/en/news/cornell-zero-thc-grain-planting-seed/