LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Federal customs officials have stopped a batch of Kentucky-bound hemp seeds from Italy that the state has planned to use as part of its first crop in decades, the state agriculture department said Monday.

The delay during prime planting season amounted to “government overreach at its worst,” said Agriculture Commissioner James Comer. His chief of staff, Holly Harris VonLuehrte, warned the agency would go to court unless customs officials release the 250-pound seed shipment.