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'This is farming like we’ve never done before.' Illinois hemp farmers face risks with first planting of newly legal crop.
By Ally Marotti
Chicago Tribune
June 14, 2019 4:20PM
Thousands of young hemp plants dance in the breeze as fans blow through a loft on Trent Lawrence’s organic produce farm. And once a day, they dance to Bob Marley.
“The plants have got to have a little tunes,” Lawrence said, bending down to an industrial Bluetooth speaker and turning up the volume.
Lawrence is babying the hemp plants, he’ll be the first to admit. But he has to.
The farmer in Tazewell County, southeast of Peoria, is one of about 475 Illinoisans who have received licenses to farm hemp since the state started accepting applications last month. Hemp, a cousin of the marijuana plant, is perhaps best known for its use in foods and fibers. But certain varieties of hemp produce cannabidiol, or CBD, the wildly popular cannabis compound that is being infused into everything from animal treats to teas and cosmetics.
CBD, which does not get users high, has been touted as a cure for stress, inflammation, insomnia, and any number of other ailments.
With demand for CBD growing faster than the plants themselves, Lawrence and other Illinois farmers are making big bets on hemp. If everything goes according to plan, Lawrence estimates he could make $100,000 per acre of CBD hemp. And it’s not just the potential profits. For corn and soybean farmers, hemp is also a means of diversifying away from the state’s two primary crops, the latter of which has been socked with tariffs.
But the risks loom large. Farmers haven’t grown hemp in Illinois in generations, and those doing it now are learning as they go.
“This is farming like we’ve never done before,” said Les Dart, who plans to plant 75 acres of grain hemp on his 3,700-acre farm in Oblong, Ill., a central Illinois community less than 20 miles from the Indiana state line. “We’ve been growing corn and soybeans like all of our neighbors around here for the past 70 years. … (We’ve had) nothing that is this kind of radically new. It’s definitely going to be risky for us.”
On top of it all is the rain, falling more days than not during planting season and breaking records throughout the state. Although many Illinois farmers had planned to try out hemp on the side, some have found conditions to be too wet to plant their usual crops, meaning they are relying on hemp much more than they wanted to in its first year.
Illinois started accepting applications for hemp growers and processors in May, less than a year after then-Gov. Bruce Rauner signed a bill legalizing industrial hemp cultivation in the state. In December, President Donald Trump followed suit nationally, signing a bill championed by Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. In addition to the about 475 licenses issued to farm hemp, as of Monday, the state had awarded 100 processing licenses.
When applying for a license to farm the crop, Illinois farmers are asked to specify whether they’re interested in growing hemp that can will be used for fiber in textiles, a variety that generates grains for for food, or a CBD-specific strain of hemp. Their selection isn’t binding; in fact, farmers have the option of checking all three boxes. But it’s clear which form of hemp farming is the most popular. The farmers licensed to grow the crop are nearly five times more interested in growing it for CBD than they are in growing it for food or fiber purposes.
Farming hemp for CBD purposes is usually the most lucrative option. Once CBD-specific strains of hemp are harvested, the plants’ flowers are dried and sold to processors, who extract the CBD and infuse it into products. The dried flower, which resembles a marijuana bud, can also be smoked like its illicit cousin. In other states, those dried flowers have brought in between $25 and $200 per pound, according to a 2018 report from Hemp Industry Daily.
To get started this year, local farmers bought hemp seed from growers in states such as Colorado, Oregon and North Carolina, and they don’t know yet how the plants will fare in Illinois’ soil and climate.
The deer could eat them, the pests could eat them. Plus, growing CBD-specific varieties of hemp is downright tricky. CBD hemp reacts to stress by producing THC, the psychoactive cannabis compound that gets users high. If the plants “run hot,” as farmers say, and contain more than CBD’s legal limit of 0.3% THC, they must be destroyed.
Despite hemp’s finicky needs, farmers like Lawrence are depending on this year’s crop.
On a recent afternoon when the elusive sun was shining, Lawrence’s wife, son and an employee bent toward the soil on his organic farm, working to get rhubarb starts in the ground. His 4-year-old daughter Gabi helped too, mud from the wet ground caked on her arms and legs, wrangling chickens that are cute until they start pecking at the produce.
Of course, this year there are fewer veggies for the chickens to peck. The lettuce didn’t get planted. Neither did the majority of the cabbage, broccoli or any of the 10,000 plants that became root-bound in their pots and died while Lawrence waited for the ground to dry. He’s looking to hemp to recoup some of that loss.
“Just to pull out of the red this year, we’re very dependent on it,” Lawrence said. At one point this spring, half of his 26-acre farm was underwater. “We lost all our spring and summer crops.”
Lawrence started the hemp plants in either his greenhouse or loft, and will plant them outside when they’re stronger, giving his fields time to dry out. In his scorching greenhouse, Lawrence pointed at seedlings just barely poking out of the dirt. They occupy shelf space freed up by the vegetables that perished.
“This was vegetables we had to feed to the chickens,” he said. “Now it’s cannabis.”
Not everyone is farming hemp for CBD.
Rebecca Dwyer, a 23-year-old student in agricultural business, is planting hemp that will be raised for fiber on five acres of her family’s roughly 1,500-acre row crop farm in Woodford County, northeast of Peoria. She knows the hemp operation likely won’t make money this year, or even in the next five.
“I’m looking in the long term, where I think the market is going to go, where I think the value is in our farm,” she said. “It’s looking at it from that perspective that makes me see the value in hemp potentially in the future.”
Soybean exports from Illinois — the nation’s No. 1 producer of the legume — dropped by half last year after China essentially stopped buying in response to Trump’s trade tariffs. A federal aid package helped keep farmers afloat, but now there’s uncertainty surrounding possible tariffs on Mexico, the top importer of U.S. corn. Dwyer and other farmers are looking to hemp to keep history from repeating itself.
The type of hemp Dwyer is farming can be used to make rope, clothing, shoes, bioplastics and more. Maybe one day she’ll sell to Levi’s or Patagonia, brands with hemp fiber clothing lines. But the market is still developing. Although Illinois mills turned hemp into rope during World War II, no one in the state currently processes hemp for fiber. But plans are in the works.
Many of those planning to process hemp are still sorting out which variety of the crop to take, what equipment to buy and where to set up shop. For all farmers are pegging on the hot CBD market, few have buyers lined up for their products.
“We’ve never sold it here,” said Chad Wallace, who is planting a little more than 3 acres of CBD hemp on his produce farm about 30 minutes west of Springfield. “Everything’s uncertain and everybody is going to be kind of in the same boat.”
Wallace is hedging his bets this first year as he learns to grow the crop. The roughly 7,000 CBD plants he wants to get in the ground will be in addition to all his other vegetables. Farming hemp for CBD is much different than farming hemp for fiber or grain. From planting to harvesting, hemp that is raised for CBD must be tended to manually, while hemp raised for grain and fiber can be farmed with the same equipment that is used with other crops.
The plants have added hours of work for the 50-year-old farmer, and on most nights, he’s lucky to be in bed before 2:30 a.m. But it could be worth it — there’s more money in hemp being raised for CBD than in vegetables.
“The vegetable life is a very hard life. Not that hemp is easier, but if I could replace a portion of what I’m doing, that would be great to free me up to spend more time with family things,” he said.
It’s hard to predict what CBD will be selling for come harvest time this fall, said Erica Stark, executive director of the National Hemp Association. Demand is increasing, but so are the number of farmers producing it around the country.
Prices for hemp flower vary based on CBD content, Stark said. Most farmers can expect to get $45,000 to $60,000 per acre.
“I don’t think there is anything that can compare with the potential profit for a CBD crop,” Stark said. “But it’s just important that farmers are aware there is a significant amount of risk.”
Growing CBD is comparable to growing heirloom tomatoes, said Rachel Berry, CEO of the Illinois Hemp Growers Association. Other farmers have compared it to growing Christmas trees or some other crop, but to Berry, who farms heirloom vegetables, it’s tomatoes.
There’s weed control to contend with, plus insects and deer. The soil needs to be properly drained, and right now, the biggest concern is the weather. One aspect that doesn’t worry Berry is who she’ll find to buy the 4 acres of CBD hemp she is planting on her homestead in Princeton, Ill.
“It’s not like the need for CBD is going to go away,” she said.
In fact, it’s only expected to increase. Chicago-based Brightfield Group estimates the CBD industry could reach $22 billion by 2022, up from $627 million last year. CBD farmers will likely have no trouble finding buyers when the time comes, said managing director Bethany Gomez.
One company that’s already looking for CBD to process is Revolution Enterprises, a multistate marijuana company with a cultivation facility just several miles down the flat country road from Lawrence’s farm near Delavan.
The cannabis company wants in on the all sides of the hemp market. Earlier this month, it acquired a CBD pet product company. It’s also licensed to grow about 10 acres of hemp in Delavan, and plans to spend roughly $10 million on hemp processing equipment.
Operating in the cannabis industry reduces some of the risks of getting into hemp, said Kevin Pilarski, chief commercial officer and head of Revolution’s hemp operations. Hemp plants are grown and compounds extracted using similar processes. If the hemp markets went bust, the processing equipment — purchased with capital raised through the company’s cannabis operations — could be used with marijuana.
Outside of Revolution’s marijuana cultivation facility, two dozen or so hemp plants stand strong against the breeze blowing in off the unplanted fields that surround it. If the plants survive, they’ll be used as mothers, with clones clipped off their branches and propagated. This first year is a test run for Revolution’s hemp business, Pilarski said, as it is for all farmers trying their hand at the crop.
“If everything goes right, in three or four weeks they’ll be yay high,” Pilarski said, holding his hand at waist height over a plant. “We’ll see which of them is the hardiest.”
Source: https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-illinois-cbd-hemp-farmers-20190524-story.html
Governor receives Florida's hemp bill, state CBD regulation on the horizon
'They’re going to feel more comfortable'
Posted: 6:00 PM, Jun 14, 2019 Updated: 23 minutes ago
By: Forrest Saunders
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Lawmakers delivered Florida’s hemp bill to the governor's office Friday morning, state officials said. Ron DeSantis now has two weeks to decide whether to sign it.
The legislation passed last session with bipartisan support and has advocates like Florida’s Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried calling on the governor to pick up his pen.
Speaking at a Tallahassee event, Fried said she was hopeful the bill would make it through the final hurdle.
“If the governor’s office received any of the phone calls that we’ve received over the last five months, he’ll understand and support this legalization,” Fried said.
Fried said the hemp bill is key to creating a new multi-billion dollar industry in the state. If signed— agriculture officials would generate rules and regulations to govern growth and cultivation of the plant. It's related to marijuana, but lacks amounts of THC that get you high.
There are thousands of uses for hemp. It can be turned into products similar to wood for construction, and has also been used as a substitute for many plastics.
“Not only is it great for our economy, it’s great as an alternative crop for our farmers,” said Fried. “Most importantly, it’s great for the environment, creating that opportunity to create biodegradable products.”
Florida’s hemp bill would also bring regulations to CBD products — which are made from the plant and used to treat things like chronic pain or other conditions.
Shops have largely been selling the product unchecked since the farm bill lifted federal regulations in 2018, leaving consumers with products they don’t necessarily know the contents of.
While Florida is allowing sales, the state is warning CBD isn’t yet being tested and lacks safety standards.
“Hemp draws so much out of the soil, as far as heavy metals or bad nutrients,” said Josh Crum, owner of the Tallahassee-based Your CBD Store.
Crum has been trying to break the stigma that CBD is little more than a cheap high since opening his shop last month. He believes it’s a very effective treatment and reminds customers all his CBD products lack THC. Crum said while some shops might be leery of regulation, he thinks state oversight will bring in more consumers.
“Anytime something is regulated, they’re going to feel more comfortable,” Crum said. “We’re trying to set a different example for what a CBD store should be — being here for the right reasons.”
Florida’s agriculture officials will be holding three meetings across the state to gather input from Floridians on what hemp regulations should look like. They’ll take place in Pembroke Pines, Tampa and Tallahassee over the next two weeks. After, Fried suggested she’d like to have the first set of state hemp rules published by the second week of July.
Source: https://www.abcactionnews.com/news/state/governor-receives-floridas-hemp-bill-state-cbd-regulation-on-the-horizon
Felons who aren't out of prison yet have landed jobs on a hemp farm in Logan County.
Can anyone substantiate any of the following?
The financials are a dark abyss with antiquated software being listed as an asset along with a BROKE decorticator worth scrap money and absolutely no segregation or revenues and costs--and a huge huge loss.
HEMP willing to report once OTC renews membership.
OTC PAY-TO-PLAY service has opted to hold renewal of HEMP's membership during open SEC case. It's a formality.
SEC case, three year sans-evidence snooze fest shows nothing to date of any fraud.
OTC is not an auditing service.
Where are these rumors coming from?
Yes, HEMP makes their financials available to the public on their own dedicated website, just like every credible public company. See investor relations page.
HEMP makes public disclosures available within SEC and FINRA guidelines.
No need to panic.
Hemp processing operation coming to Canton
Written by Cory Vaillancourt 12 June 2019
Haywood County’s latest economic development victory — a state-of-the-art, $12 million hemp processing facility — means that Canton will become among the first local municipalities to cash in on the new “green” economy.
“We looked at where we’re involved in the cultivation process, which is all the surrounding states including the eastern part of North Carolina, and we saw what happened with the hurricanes last year, coming up through Louisiana and Georgia. There’s been some crop issues in Kentucky over the last couple of years, so we felt that if we can put ourselves in a central location, with regard to all of those, then we would be in position to produce a better product,” said Chip Miller, CEO of Abundant Labs.
Abundant Labs extracts cannabinoids from the cola of the cannabis plant to produce extracts used in consumer products, like Cannabidiol, and will by Aug. 1 begin doing so in the old Neo Corporation building on Silkwood Drive, just off Interstate 40. Although not technically within municipal limits, adjacent parcels border the Town of Canton.
Known more commonly as CBD, Cannabidiol is a non-psychoactive component of the cannabis plant reported to hold myriad health benefits. The Farm Bill passed by Congress late last year removed obstacles to growing non-psychoactive cannabis, called hemp, across the nation. North Carolina is one of more than 30 states that also permits cultivation of the plant.
According to Forbes, the retail CBD market nationwide in 2018 was somewhere between $600 million and $2 billion, but could grow to more than $16 billion in the next six years.
During an announcement ceremony at BearWaters Brewing in Canton co-sponsored by the Haywood County Economic Development Council and the Haywood Chamber of Commerce held, Miller said that the company would initially employ between 20 and 25 workers processing between 3,000 and 4,000 pounds of biomass each day, six days a week, on two shifts.
“If we’re successful, we could go as high as 55 or 60,” said Miller. “It just depends on what the needs are.”
Miller said that currently, there are six different job descriptions outside of management, most of which are what he would call skilled jobs.
“Some of our hourly [pay] ranges could get up into the $20s,” he said.
Canton has a long history of taking agricultural products, using skilled labor to process them and adding value to them, and then selling them to customers around the country and the world.
Abundant Labs will be a business-to-business operation, meaning its products won’t be available at retail outlets under its own name. Other hemp-related businesses who create retail products will be its customers.
“What this is, you’re seeing the 21st century model of manufacturing. With the state and also at the federal level, an opportunity has arisen with hemp to get it to market,” said Canton Mayor Zeb Smathers. “Whatever product that may be, it takes that manufacturing base to do that, that trained workforce.”
According to Abundant Labs’ website, the company is “always looking for sources of biomass,” meaning local and regional growers might be able to cash in as well.
Haywood Chamber of Commerce Board Member John Patterson, an insurance agent specializing in agricultural products, says that could give local growers a boost.
“Right now, one of my clients has been taking all the biomass they’ve been growing, and shipping it to a processor elsewhere,” said Patterson. “Having a processor in the state of North Carolina will not only allow us to bring in product from other states, but it will allow hemp growers, at least in this half of the state, to have a processor that’s probably more cost effective.”
Miller said he expects the facility to begin processing hemp by Aug. 1 at the latest.
This is the first major announcement since Haywood and Buncombe signed a contract to work together in seeking economic development opportunities.
Source: https://www.smokymountainnews.com/news/item/27085-hemp-processing-operation-coming-to-canton
Online Originals: Hemp in North Carolina
By: Isabel Albritton
Posted: Jun 12, 2019 06:32 PM EDT
Updated: Jun 12, 2019 06:36 PM EDT
JACKSONVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) - Although North Carolina is historically known for the tobacco industry, industrial hemp is slowly making that change.
Wilmington Hemp Farmacy Manager, Gilly Niez, said this is because hemp can be grown at a faster pace on the exact same soil as tobacco and take up less land.
“North Carolina is still mostly tobacco, but we are seeing a growing percentage of farmers that are willing to go towards the hemp side rather than the tobacco side,” Niez said.
Hemp can be utilized in many ways including clothing, rope, and paper production.
“The Declaration of Independence, what that’s written on, that’s hemp,” Niez said.
This is an advantage because it would save trees and time. Niez says hemp only takes about 20 weeks to grow versus a tree that takes at least 20 years.
Ashley Schaffernoth is the manager at Hemp Farmacy in Jacksonville, she said hemp can also help people and pets by lowing inflammation or pain.
“And it can also go in and block those pain receptors, now it doesn’t take the pain completely away, but it makes it bearable enough to get through the day," Schaffernoth said.
Schaffernoth said hemp has not only helped her customers in Jacksonville with anxiety and PTSD, but it has also been a part of her life for the past few years.
“Recently I just had my second open-heart surgery in October and was not given very many pain pills to leave, so I ended up using our CBD Hope Carolina broad spectrum, to get through the nights and actually sleep through while my ribs healed back together," Schaffernoth said.
While hemp has gotten a bad reputation for being categorized alongside Marijuana because they are both parts of the cannabis family, Schaffernoth said the affects aren’t the same, because the THC and CBD levels are different.
“It’s not something that’s going to be psychoactive. It’s not something that’s going to get you goofy or loopy or high," Schaffernoth said. "It’s something that’s going to help you get through the day instead of something to alter your mental state.”
Niez said the FDA is currently working to take away hemp edibles, flowers, and vaping products because they contain CBD, so the company is equally working to take action.
“So we are working on the Grass Root Campaign and also looking for support from the community as a lobbying effort, so that way we can turn around their decision of trying to take away those products, because they do help a wide range of pets and people from the most severe things to the most minor things,” Niez said.
Source: https://www.wnct.com/online-originals/online-originals-hemp-in-north-carolina/2072433157
Some NC lawmakers want to help make hemp the state's next cash crop
By: Tina Terry
Updated: Jun 12, 2019 - 6:05 PM
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Some lawmakers in North Carolina want to help make hemp the state’s next cash crop.
“This is hemp flower,” said Joshua Jamison, manager of Electrik Avenew in Charlotte. The store buys hemp products that have been grown in other states and sells them in Charlotte.
Jamison supports Senate Bill 315, which would declare hemp a viable agriculture commodity in North Carolina and promote expansion of the state’s hemp industry by allowing farmers to cultivate, handle, process and sell hemp products for commercial purposes.
"I believe it's gonna open up doors for new opportunities for farmers and for the customers,” said Jamison.
He believes the bill could bring North Carolina one step closer to legalization of marijuana, but some law enforcement officers across the state said the bill does even more than that.
A memo from the State Bureau of Investigation said, “Marijuana will be legalized in NC because law enforcement cannot distinguish between hemp and marijuana and prosecutors could not prove the difference in court.”
Mint Hill Police Chief Tim Ledford agrees. He said hemp smells and looks just like marijuana.
"Our officers, when they come in contact with marijuana, it could be legal hemp,” said Ledford.
He said officers would be left unprotected for simply doing their jobs.
“They need to put something in the bill that would protect officers from being charged with an illegal arrest because they can't tell the difference,” Ledford said.
State Sen. Brent Jackson is the primary sponsor of the bill. He said lawmakers have been working with law enforcement to address their concerns and will continue to do so.
“It is our intention to set up clear guidelines for this industry that ensure safety, fairness, and stability going forward, and we believe that law enforcement should have a seat at the table to discuss this as we progress. To that end, we have put together a task force consisting of the North Carolina Department of Agriculture, law enforcement, the Hemp Commission and the Industrial Hemp Association. They will meet at least quarterly to work out best practices for the industry and report back regularly to the legislature,” Jackson said.
The bill passed the Finance Committee Wednesday and will move to the Rules Committee next.
The SBI also sent the following statement to Channel 9 saying there is no field test to help law enforcement officers distinguish between hemp and marijuana:
“To the SBI’s knowledge, there is no validated field test that distinguishes .3% THC from a higher quantity. State law requires the THC in hemp to be at .3% or lower. “The SBI understands and respects the economic impacts the hemp industry has had on North Carolina. However, it is imperative that law enforcement across our state have the mechanisms in place to effectively do their jobs and enforce current state laws.”
The bureau said it's working with the Drug Enforcement Agency to find a solution to the testing issue and is also working with state lawmakers to address concerns.
Source: https://www.wsoctv.com/news/local/some-nc-lawmakers-want-to-help-make-hemp-the-states-next-cash-crop/957633302
That's a mighty fine stretch of the imagination
But the CEO never stated - past, present, or future - that the Temafa/MacTavish lines will never be made operational.
What he HAS stated is the hemp line is staged for future year's production, or what would be known as CRITICAL MASS.
This is not a hard concept to understand. If HEMP - as a fiber processor - wanted to be considered a reliable source of process hemp fiber, they would need a reliable source of hemp fiber. The acres just aren't there yet, not within their market, at least.
Again, the market in NC has scaled from under 1000 acres harvest in 2017, to now almost 13,000 acres licensed, and several million sq ft in greenhouse grows. Of that, I would safely estimate that 95% of what's being grown is high-CBD hemp, with big buds and minimized stalk. Even still, that high-CBD hemp stalk can be processed down, but not as ideal as what would be produced with long-stalk hemp plants.
To put it simply, the big decortication line is IDLE, awaiting enough production volume to merit finishing the installation for high processing volume.
The necessary EQUIPMENT is an ASSET to the company, and will be fully utilized when it makes economical sense to begin processing fiber.
It's no different than a large manufacturer operating in a production facility where they only use 30% of the space available, as said company expects production to ramp up, and will later fill in the rest of the area with more assembly lines as market growth continues.
Not a hard concept to understand.
I think Bruce was accurate with his statement that hemp fiber isn't (and likely will never be) vastly profitable. But neither are beans, apparently, but production must go on. The unthinkably endless amounts of uses for fiber will make operations sustainable, and revenues will be made.
It's a volume play, not a margins play. All commodities industries understand.
Maybe we should ask Bruce directly? They have emails, telephones, and facebook DM's...
Wow... Texas... sign of the times, I guess...
Hemp Inc saw this day coming, what, 5, 6 years ago? More?
And the sales are going strong.
Gezz, am I the only one hyped about this industry? or...?
What are we waiting for?
FLOODGATES
Mohave County hemp farm poised to plant its first seeds
By Pam Ashley Today’s News-Herald
6/11/2019
Now that state and federal laws allow Arizona farmers to grow hemp, expect to see hemp fields sprouting in the Grand Canyon state.
In Mohave County, hemp farming has already gotten a head start with Hemp Inc.’s project near Golden Valley. CEO Bruce Perlowin said Monday that he has 4,500 acres of land north of Kingman that will contain a 500-acre community now under construction. Dubbed a “Veteran Village,” the 500 acres will contain 160 lots of 2 1/2 acre parcels. Each parcel farmed by a U.S. military veteran can yield one acre of hemp as well as support a garden, beehives, a pond and a sustainable dwelling. He expects to begin actively looking for veterans to work the land by January 2020.
Perlowin estimated the market value of one acre of hemp at $30,000 to $60,000 for a high quality CBD crop.
“We’ll grow hemp for CBD oil, not fiber. Fiber isn’t really profitable,” he said.
Perlowin’s publicly traded Hemp Inc., founded in 2008, is based in Spring Hope, North Carolina. The company has growing and processing operations in North Carolina, Oregon and now, a growing operation in Arizona.
An additional 300 acres of hemp will be grown at Hemp Inc.’s Golden Valley farm above and beyond the veterans’ acreage. If all goes as planned, Perlowin hopes to establish a hemp processing facility in Kingman.
“There’s a processing plant in Las Vegas, but really, it’s too far away,” he said, noting that the hemp buds wilt and degrade when the shipping distance is beyond 50 miles.
“We’re hoping to open a processing center in Kingman. We’ll need a warehouse that is 50,000 to 200,000 square feet on a railroad spur,” Perlowin said. He estimated a processing facility would employ 200 people full time and another 100 seasonal workers during harvests.
But first, hemp seeds must be planted. To teach others how to farm hemp, Hemp Inc. is coordinating a Hempathon. Perlowin said 20 growers have already signed up for the program at a cost of $50,000 each. Growers must provide their own seeds.
The Hempathon is a joint venture with Hemp Inc. and growers. The arrangement is a 50-50 revenue split with the company. The contest provides each participant with a five-acre parcel and includes the planting, maintaining, harvesting and processing of hemp plants. Investors in the competition hire master hemp growers to get the job done.
Winners will share up to $100,000 in prize money. Perlowin said five acres of quality hemp can net up to $300,000.
Numbers like that have the attention of Tami Ursenbach, Mohave County’s economic development director.
“I want to know how Mohave County can capitalize on the hemp industry,” she said Monday afternoon, noting that recently she has been in talks with four potential growers in addition to helping Perlowin locate industrial space in Kingman for a hemp processing facility.
“Mohave County farmers already grow grapes, nuts, hay and alfalfa, so it shouldn’t be a stretch to consider growing hemp,” Ursenbach said.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture, Mohave County farms had $23 million in crop sales for 2017. It’s the most recent year for which the USDA could provide statistics. The report includes grain, fruit and vegetable sales for the county.
Source: https://www.havasunews.com/news/mohave-county-hemp-farm-poised-to-plant-its-first-seeds/article_c230ef36-8c10-11e9-8cdd-e3d3ef91d891.html
North Carolina Farmers Embrace Hemp as the Market for Tobacco Dwindles
Big investments in hemp processing facilities is creating a reliable market for a new cash crop to replace tobacco.
Heather Wilkerson Published 12:30 pm CDT, Tuesday, June 11, 2019
Grandma and grandpa might raise an eyebrow, but a new generation of farmers in North Carolina have traded acres of tobacco for acres of the state’s newest crop -- hemp.
It’s actually been legal to grow hemp for research purposes in North Carolina since the passage of the Farm Bill 2014. Since then, farmers have been able to apply for a license to grow the crop under the state’s Industrial Hemp Pilot Program. Flash forward to the 2018 Farm Bill, passed in December, which legalized hemp and promotes it as a viable crop.
What’s that saying? Legalize it and they will come? Yeah, something like that.
With the expected growth in hemp production, a new alliance has formed that’s putting North Carolina farmers at the forefront of the rapidly growing East Coast hemp industry. Root Bioscience and Greenfield Agronomics are partnering to launch the largest hemp processing, storage and extraction facility in the state.
The new Green Root Extraction Services (GRES) alliance will increase access to national markets and resources while providing a farmer-to-farmer support network currently limited in the Southeast. Additionally, the collaboration will provide regional cannabis processing companies with a reliable source for top-quality hemp flower and crude oil.
“The national hemp and CBD markets are growing rapidly with the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, and there is significant need for a large, centralized drying, extraction, storage and sales facility for local farmers,” says Garrett Perdue, CEO of Root Bioscience. “With unmatched agricultural, university and life science resources, North Carolina is poised to become the epicenter of the East Coast hemp industry. We have known the families who make up Greenfield Agronomics for decades, and this new company is the result of our deep trust and confidence in each other.”
GRES currently operates a 65,000-square-foot processing plant in Windsor, N.C. The facility, in operation since North Carolina’s inaugural 2017 growing season, is poised to be one of the five largest plants in the mid-Atlantic. It features streamlined processing with equipment custom-built for harvesting, drying, storage of harvested hemp flower to efficiently and effectively preserve the valuable cannabinoids and terpenes. Extraction is accomplished using a proprietary cold ethanol procedure designed to be updated as improved technology becomes available.
“As hemp growers, we built this new company to be responsive to farmers and to create a unifying standard for best practices in cultivation, genetics and extraction,” said Fen Rascoe, Member Manager of Greenfield Agronomics. “Currently, most North Carolina farmers have limited access to national markets and must rely on inaccurate, inconsistent and unregulated hemp flower valuation methodologies. Green Root’s philosophy of ‘farmers first’ will aid in its commitment to see that growers be fairly compensated for their crops.”
Farmers are at a disadvantage the way hemp flower is currently sold, Perdue explained. They have to send flower samples to a third party lab to test for cannabinoids. Once they have results they need to find a processor and negotiate a price per cannabinoid percentage point per pound. There are many problems with this method, Perdue said. The cannabinoids grow as crystal formulations on the hemp flower. Every time the flower is handled, crystals fall off. In transport, they settle. There are wide variants in lab testing and variability in testing equipment from lab to lab.
“Farmers have basically been held hostage by third party lab results that they don’t control,” says Perdue. “It’s a poor, archaic way to value these transactions.”
The farmer-to-farmer support network GRES toutes promises to be another differentiator in the hemp marketplace.
“When we talk about farmers helping farmers, we are talking about a holistic approach,” Perdue continues. “We have three years of growing under our belts. And growing these plants in eastern North Carolina is different than growing them in western North Carolina -- which is radically different than growing in Colorado.”
Another advantage is access to top markets close to home. “Instead of selling to other states, you’re selling 60-90 minutes from your farm,” Perdue said.
This merger will hopefully be welcome news to eastern North Carolina farmers like Taylor Carson. In 2017, Carson, who lives in the small town of Bethel, N.C., and other area farmers were invited to join a hemp co-op and participate in the North Carolina State University pilot program to grow industrial hemp. Unfortunately, the program was unable to obtain enough seed in time for the growing season.
In 2018, the focus turned to growing hemp to extract CBD oil, and Carson obtained a N.C. license to grow two acres. The acreage for hemp for oil extraction is much smaller than industrial hemp due to the manual labor required to plant and harvest the crop.
Carson has been farming row crops in eastern North Carolina for 38 years. He has primarily grown tobacco, cotton and soybeans, with the profits coming mostly from tobacco. Carson said farmers have seen the profits from row crops decline over the past five years due to the world economy and trade issues with China.
According to Statista.com, North Carolina produced more than 360,000 pounds of tobacco in 2017. That number decreased to just over 250,000 pounds in 2018. Carson predicts tobacco acreage in North Carolina this year will be even lower.
Carson and farmers like him are searching for other crops, so the timing was right for hemp to be reintroduced with the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill. More than 3,100 acres of hemp were planted in North Carolina last year, according to VoteHemp.com.
Carson said he has enjoyed learning to grow hemp. He had a good harvest in 2018, but had trouble finding a market for his crop due to the lack of infrastructure and capital from potential buyers. Hopefully, companies like GRES will alleviate those problems.
Carson plans to grow eight to 10 acres in 2019 and feels the market will be better when he is ready to sell his crop. He continues to grow his other crops, hoping trade relations and commodity prices will improve, but he is optimistic that hemp will become a major crop for North Carolina farmers in the future.
John Brecker of Altitude Investment Management, LLC, agrees that hemp is part of the future of farming. Hemp is a higher margin crop than normal food products, Brecker said, and with the increasing demand, it will be beneficial for farmers. “That’s why Mitch McConnell is so passionate about the Farm Bill,” Brecker said.
According to the Brightfield Group, demand for hemp CBD is expected to sharply rise with the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, reaching $22 billion by 2022.
Source: https://www.mysanantonio.com/business/article/North-Carolina-Farmers-Embrace-Hemp-as-the-Market-13967674.php
Kroger to carry CBD products at 945 stores
Rollout of hemp-derived CBD topicals under way on West Coast
Russell Redman 1 | Jun 11, 2019
The Kroger Co. confirmed that it plans to roll out cannabidiol (CBD) topical products to stores in 17 states.
Kroger will sell hemp-derived CBD items such as lotions, balms, oils and creams in 945 stores, Kristal Howard, head of corporate communications and media relations at Kroger, said Tuesday. She did not name the brands that will be sold.
News of Kroger’s CBD product distribution emerged this week in published reports. Howard said the rollout has begun on the West Coast, and the products will be at all 945 stores before the end of June.
The CBD products will be carried at stores in Kroger’s Atlanta, Cincinnati, Columbus, Michigan, Central, Louisville, Delta, Nashville, Mid-Atlantic, Roundy’s (Mariano’s and Pick ‘n Save), Dillons, King Soopers, Fry’s, Fred Meyer, QFC and Smith’s divisions.
“Like many retailers, we are starting to offer our customers a highly curated selection of topical products like lotions, balms, oils and creams that are infused with hemp-derived CBD,” Howard said in a statement. “CBD is a naturally occurring and non-intoxicating compound that has promising benefits and is permitted within federal and state regulations. Our limited selection of hemp-derived CBD topical products is from suppliers that have been reviewed for quality and safety.”
While various CBD offerings continue to make their way into stores, many retailers remain uncertain about the regulatory framework regarding the sale and labeling of hemp-containing products. Scientific research on CBD’s purported health benefits also is still in its early stages.
On May 31, the Food and Drug Administration held a lengthy public hearing to get a bead on current scientific data and information about the safety, manufacturing, product quality, marketing, labeling and sale of products containing cannabis or cannabis derivatives.
“Cannabis contains more than 80 biologically active chemical compounds, including the two best-known compounds: delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD). If one of these compounds, or the plant itself, is added to a food or cosmetic, marketed as a drug or otherwise added to an FDA-regulated product in interstate commerce, then it falls within FDA’s jurisdiction,” Acting FDA Commissioner Ned Sharpless said at the hearing.
“Late last year, the federal scheduling of cannabis changed. The Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, or the Farm Bill, removed hemp — meaning cannabis or derivatives of cannabis with a very low THC content (below 0.3% by dry weight) — from the CSA’s [Federal Controlled Substances Act’s] definition of marijuana. As a result, while marijuana remains a Schedule I drug, hemp is no longer a controlled substance under federal law,” he explained.
Under current law, CBD and THC can’t be added to a food or marketed as a dietary supplement, Sharpless noted.
“There are real risks associated with both those substances, and critical questions remain about the safety of their widespread use in foods and dietary supplements, as well as other consumer products — including cosmetics, which are subject to a separate regulatory framework. And given the new interest in marketing cannabis products across the range of areas FDA regulates, we will need to carefully evaluate how all these pieces fit together in terms of how consumers might access cannabis products,” he said. “Nowhere is this truer than with CBD. While we have seen an explosion of interest in products containing CBD, there is still much that we don’t know.”
At the hearing, Peter Matz, food and health policy director at the Food Marketing Institute (FMI), urged the FDA to act swiftly to provide retailers more clarity and create a pathway for the “legal and appropriate sale” of hemp and hemp-derived products. He noted that there’s already “staggering” demand for CBD products ranging from food, beverages and dietary supplements to topical items like creams and lotions.
“I am here to convey the seriousness of the regulatory ambiguity facing our member companies and their customers each day as consumer demand for products containing hemp and hemp-derivatives continues to grow, as does the commercial availability of such products — especially those which count CBD as an ingredient,” Matz said in his remarks. “While most of the stakeholders participating today understand the Farm Bill did not alter FDA’s authority over the use of such ingredients in FDA-regulated products, the fact is there is mass confusion in the marketplace for the public, for suppliers and retailers, and also for state regulators and law enforcement.”
Source: https://www.supermarketnews.com/organic-natural/kroger-carry-cbd-products-945-stores
Texas governor signs law legalizing hemp, CBD products
BY NATHANIEL WEIXEL - 06/11/19 04:46 PM EDT
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed legislation creating a state-regulated hemp industry, which will allow farmers to grow hemp and hemp-derived products, such as cannabidiol (CBD).
The law makes it legal for Texas farmers to grow and cultivate hemp and for the Texas Department of Agriculture to regulate the process, including inspections, fee collections and licenses.
The law will allow hemp and hemp-derived products to be sold as long as they do not contain a tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) concentration of more than 0.3 percent. THC is the psychoactive element in marijuana.
The law requires retail stores planning to sell CBD products to register with the state’s health department.
It goes into effect immediately.
Abbott did not publicly comment about the legislation, but it had bipartisan support when it passed the Texas legislature.
The new law is an attempt to clarify the gray area surrounding hemp and hemp-based CBD products. Hemp is a lucrative agricultural product for farmers, and 42 other states have legalized industrial hemp production.
Last year, Congress removed hemp from the list of controlled substances and legalized hemp production nationwide. That legalization has allowed a booming market of CBD, which is derived from hemp.
But the federal government has yet to come up with a regulatory framework for hemp and hemp-based products, leaving states to figure it out on their own.
Prior to Abbott signing the legislation, Texas treated marijuana and hemp the same, even though hemp does not contain the same amount of THC as marijuana. Some business owners even reported that police raided their shops and seized CBD products as if they were illegal narcotics.
Marijuana remains illegal in Texas.
Source: https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/448012-texas-gov-signs-law-legalizing-hemp-cbd-products
Haven't seen the weekly bollies this tight in years...
Are we dipping and ripping?
NORTH CAROLINA INDUSTRIAL HEMP REGISTERED PROCESSORS (MAY 2019)
https://www.ncagr.gov/hemp/documents/5-23ProcessorListForWeb_000.pdf
2018, NC did 910,000 acres in corn, and 1,650,000 in soybean. At the soybean market price peak in 2012, farmers were able to make $160 per acre after costs. But now, thanks mainly to the trade war, prices have fallen so far that farmers have gone from making a modest profit off their crop to losing approximately $20 per acre of soybeans. Projections for 2019 are dire, with farmers set to lose $47 per acre. Hemp grain can sell for anywhere between $0.60-$0.65 per pound, and on average, hemp farmers get about 1000lbs of hemp grain per acre. After taking into account costs, which can range from $300 to $350, farmers can make around $250 to $300 per acre. Similarly, hemp fiber sells for approximately $260 per ton. On average, hemp crops can yield about anywhere between 2.5 to 3 tons of hemp fiber per acre, which means after costs farmers can make upwards of $480 per acre in profit. Much of the fiber market depends on industrial processing capacity, and at present, there is little in the emerging US market.
I understand hemp has a long way to go, nationally and state-wide. However, please keep in mind that hemp was legalized at the state level in 2015, started test plots in 2016, and didn't start officially reporting acres until 2017, then legalized at the national level not even half a year ago.
Since then, NC has ramped-up from just under 1,000 acres harvested in 2017, to a little over 3,000 acres harvested in 2018, to now nearly 13,000 acres licensed for 2019.
Nationally, bean has been taking a beating due to tarrifs. Farmers are growing at a loss.
Meanwhile, hemp has become a profitable crop.
I think we will see more farmers turn to hemp, and as more and more manufacturers and retailers transition to a more sustainable, eco-friendly crop, hemp will continue to see increase in demand, both on the consumer and production side.
Lol, corn has been free to grow for centuries. Hemp awaking from decades long slumber.
It's all a matter of time. Critical mass will arrive, eventually.
FLOODGATES
NC 2018 Acres Grown: 3,184 | 2019 Acres Licensed: 12,635.92 (as of May 23, 2019)
Oh man... this is getting better and better everyday!
FLOODGATES
Mr. Adams reported that as of May 23, 2019, North Carolina has 1,017 licensed industrial hemp growers, representing 12,635.92 licensed acres and 4,946,965 square feet of licensed greenhouse production. There are currently 601 registered processors in the state.
Mr. Wilson – Reported that as of May 3, 2019, North Carolina has 933 licensed industrial hemp growers, representing 11,572.85 licensed acres and 4,540,926 square feet of licensed greenhouse production. There are currently 545 registered processors in the state
Mr. Wilson – Reported that as of April 2, 2019, North Carolina has 765 licensed industrial hemp growers, representing 9,121.4 licensed acres and 3,625,678 square feet of licensed greenhouse production. There are currently 474 registered processors in the state.
WHO'S GONNA PROCESS ALL THE HEMP?
HEMP INC -- CBS NEWS
https://ktvl.com/features/in-the-weeds/hemp-university
https://www.cbs17.com/news/local-news/nc-hemp-processing-facility-is-largest-in-western-hemisphere/1103849580
HEMP INC -- NBC NEWS
https://kobi5.com/news/top-stories/hemp-inc-holds-first-west-coast-educational-seminar-in-ashland-98655/
https://kobi5.com/news/hemp-the-burgeoning-industry-of-southern-oregon-92209/
HEMP INC -- ABC NEWS
https://www.abc15.com/news/state/farmers-could-plant-hemp-in-arizona-fields-this-summer-if-bill-passes
HEMP INC -- WASHINGTON TIMES
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/dec/11/senate-passes-867-billion-farm-bill/
HEMP INC -- FORBES
https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrebourque/2019/03/25/how-hemp-is-giving-renewed-life-to-americas-tobacco-farmers/#434da3f84726
https://www.forbes.com/sites/andrebourque/2018/12/17/how-hemp-and-the-farm-bill-may-change-life-as-you-know-it/#4f98a6a8694c
HEMP INC -- CRAINS
http://www.crains.com/article/news/north-carolina-growers-are-betting-hemp
HEMP INC -- FOX BUSINESS
https://www.foxbusiness.com/small-business/hemp-ceo-thanks-to-farm-bill-the-hemp-revolution-will-now-be-made-in-america
HEMP INC -- THE BUSINESS JOURNAL
https://thebusinessjournal.com/farm-bill-talks-invigorate-hope-for-hemp-in-the-valley/
HEMP INC -- COLORADO SPRINGS INDEPENDENT
https://www.csindy.com/coloradosprings/hemp-incs-new-product-makes-oil-drilling-a-bit-more-eco-friendly/Content?oid=14668202
HEMP INC -- SPECTRUM NEWS
https://spectrumlocalnews.com/nc/triangle-sandhills/news/2018/09/02/carolina-hemp-festival-educates-public-about-many-uses-of-hemp
HEMP INC -- ROCKY MOUNT TELEGRAM
http://www.rockymounttelegram.com/News/2018/07/28/Area-hemp-plant-inks-new-distribution-deal.html
HEMP INC -- THE WILSON TIMES
http://www.wilsontimes.com/stories/raising-hemp-a-lucrative-but-risky-business-endeavor,152622
http://wilsontimes.com/stories/carolinas-next-cash-crop,155136
HEMP INC -- CARRIBEAN BUSINESS
https://caribbeanbusiness.com/industrial-hemp-sustainable-economic-development-for-p-r/
HEMP INC -- KDKA RADIO
https://kdkaradio.radio.com/media/audio-channel/hemp-farming-act-2018
HEMP INC -- THE OREGONIAN
https://www.oregonlive.com/politics/2018/12/oregon-hemp-industry-poised-for-big-growth-after-feds-sign-off.html
HEMP INC -- MASS LIVE
https://www.masslive.com/news/2018/12/the-federal-government-is-about-to-legalize-hemp-what-does-it-mean-for-massachusetts.html
HEMP INC -- AGDAILY
https://www.agdaily.com/crops/america-hemp-farming/
HEMP INC -- TULSA WORLD
https://www.tulsaworld.com/business/industrial-hemp-has-potential-to-be-a-big-cash-crop/article_b6b1549a-b1bb-5059-8106-3e9be291bf7f.html
WATCH---HEMP INC GROWING, PROCESSING, & SHIPPING HEMP
https://www.facebook.com/KingOfPot/videos/pcb.10217430198723361/10217430198283350/?type=3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/KingOfPot/videos/pcb.10217430198723361/10217430206603558/?type=3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/KingOfPot/videos/pcb.10217128448259788/10217128456099984/?type=3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/KingOfPot/videos/pcb.10217128448259788/10217128479380566/?type=3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/KingOfPot/videos/pcb.10216944818829167/10216944817629137/?type=3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/KingOfPot/videos/pcb.10216944818829167/10216944827509384/?type=3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/KingOfPot/videos/pcb.10216944818829167/10216944846109849/?type=3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/KingOfPot/videos/pcb.10216937472445512/10216937468805421/?type=3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/KingOfPot/videos/pcb.10216937472445512/10216937479325684/?type=3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/KingOfPot/videos/10216341909436809/
https://www.facebook.com/KingOfPot/videos/10216335888526290/
https://www.facebook.com/KingOfPot/videos/10216330020819601/
https://www.facebook.com/KingOfPot/videos/pcb.10216154785518828/10216154816239596/?type=3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/KingOfPot/videos/pcb.10216102687736416/10216102686136376/?type=3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/KingOfPot/videos/pcb.10216196627844860/10216196635405049/?type=3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/KingOfPot/videos/pcb.10216040924112364/10216040917992211/?type=3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/KingOfPot/videos/pcb.10215806930262664/10215806932622723/?type=3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/KingOfPot/videos/pcb.10215568627025232/10215568648105759/?type=3&theater
TOURING POTENTIAL MASSIVE HEMP-HUB IN PUERTO RICO
https://www.facebook.com/KingOfPot/videos/10216757569348047/
https://www.facebook.com/KingOfPot/videos/10216757588108516/
https://www.facebook.com/KingOfPot/videos/10216476607324172/
https://www.facebook.com/KingOfPot/videos/10216469874395853/
TOURING POTENTIAL MASSIVE HEMP PROCESSING FACILITY IN CENTRAL FLORIDA
https://www.facebook.com/KingOfPot/videos/10216659709101602/
WORKING WITH DIFFERENT STRAINS OF HEMP
https://www.facebook.com/KingOfPot/videos/pcb.10216047106466919/10216047136787677/?type=3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/KingOfPot/videos/pcb.10216047106466919/10216047127107435/?type=3&theater
'HEMP UNIVERSITY', SATURDAY, MARCH 23RD, MEDFORD, OREGON
https://www.thehempuniversity.com/
https://www.facebook.com/KingOfPot/videos/pcb.10217141800193578/10217141853834919/?type=3&theater
'HEMP UNIVERSITY', SATURDAY, MAY 4TH, ASHELAND, OREGON
https://www.thehempuniversity.com/
https://www.facebook.com/KingOfPot/videos/pcb.10217439328511600/10217439303470974/?type=3&theater
https://www.facebook.com/KingOfPot/videos/pcb.10217447692080684/10217447683320465/?type=3&theater
NORTH CAROLINA INDUSTRIAL HEMP REGISTERED PROCESSORS (APRIL 2019)
https://www.ncagr.gov/hemp/documents/IHProcessorList4_1_19.pdf
As expected, KROGER jumps into the hemp game.
Was only a matter of time, the largest grocer in the US takes a stance with hemp, following CVS, Walgreens, RiteAid, Wholefoods, and WalMart (online only, but expected to go full retail).
Man, this industry is going to be EVERYWHERE!
Bruce, early-shareholders saw this coming YEARS ahead.
Who's going to grow AND process all the hemp?
Kroger Launches CBD Sales In 17 States
Mon / Jun 10th TG Branfalt
Grocery store chain Kroger has begun selling CBD topicals at its stores in 17 states, joining a growing trend of traditional corporate retailers who are embracing CBD products since hemp was federally legalized last year.
Cincinnati, Ohio-based grocery store chain Kroger Co. is now selling CBD-infused topicals in its stores in 17 states, the Detroit News reports. The company joins other traditional retailers, such as Walgreens, CVS, Walmart and even Family Video in offering CBD products following the passage of last year’s federal farm bill.
In Michigan, the products will be available at 92 of Kroger’s 120 stores. Rachel Hurst, corporate affairs manager for Kroger’s Michigan division, told the News that the company started carrying the products due to its “promising benefits” and its legality “within federal and state regulations.”
The company is sticking to topicals since the Food and Drug Administration has yet to approve adding CBD to dietary supplements, cosmetics, and food additives. Jennifer Holton, communications director for the Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Department, clarified that it remains against state regulations to add CBD to food, drink, and animal feed due to the FDA ban.
The FDA did hold its first public hearing about CBD on May 31; however, no decisions were made, and the FDA has offered no further guidance. A statement on the FDA website indicates that the agency “considers many factors in deciding whether or not to initiate an enforcement action.” The statement says those factors include “agency resources and the threat to the public health.”
“FDA also may consult with its federal and state partners in making decisions about whether to initiate a federal enforcement action,” the July 13, 2016 statement says.
A February survey by Cowen & Co. found that about 7 percent of Americans are already using some form of CBD. The firm estimates that 10 percent of U.S. adults will be CBD consumers by 2025.
Source: https://www.ganjapreneur.com/kroger-launches-cbd-sales-in-17-states/
Kroger to sell CBD products in 92 Michigan stores
by Madeline CiakMonday, June 10th 2019
Getting a CBD-infused topic product will soon be as simple as going to your local Kroger store.
According to a news release, Kroger is getting ready to roll out CBD products like oils, balms and lotions in 92 of their Michigan locations.
Details about specific locations, and a timeline for rollout have not been made available.
According to Corporate Affairs Manager Rachel Hurst, there will be a limited selection of hemp-derived CBD topical products that have been reviewed for quality and safety.
Source: https://nbc25news.com/news/local/kroger-to-sell-cbd-products-in-92-michigan-stores
Not sure what company that poster was referring to, but there are several KY hemp processing companies.
Sunstrand
GenCanna
Vertical
Colorpoint
... to name a few. Pretty sure they are all private companies, and none of them have the Temafa/Mactavish equipment for high-volume fiber processing. Someone can correct me, but pretty sure most of those companies are starting with CBD production. Colorpoint has an impressive op for high CBD hemp grows. Each one of those companies are doing large-scale production/processing.
Just another sign of the industry flourishing. Can't say if any of them are making money yet. They are most likely operating in the red, as they establish their facilities and operations. But the industry is painted green, and projections are in the billions. Everyone is rushing in for a piece of the hemp processing pie.
As far as I can tell, each hemp-state is trying to establish more than one processor.
HEMP INC is doing the same, albeit in multiple states.
FLOODGATES
Did you call? I think that might be helpful to the rest of those visiting the HEMP board. Could you let us know what he says?
We all want the price to go up.
Even the CEO.
With the infrastructure nearly completed, once expenditures simmer, all that we should expect is a growing top line. The bottom line will see the natural affects, as a result.
Hemp sales only projected to increase. That means more farmers, more acres, more seed, more hemp, more production, more processing, more jobs, and bigger industry.
FLOODGATES
Levi's. Ben and Jerry's. Coca-Cola. Proctor and Gamble.
Pretty much ALL the MAJORS in consumer products and commodities.
We aren't even half way through YEAR-1 of NATIONAL hemp legalization, and we see the FDA has a large hand in how hemp will be regulated (as far as food consumption and medical applications.) Building materials, clothes, paper, and textiles is still free game.
Outside of a few lotions and beauty products, the flood has yet to hit mainstream America, but it's coming, and there is no stopping it. Public opinion on hemp has changed for good. It's not going away. People know it's harmless, won't get you high, and has THOUSANDS of practical, everyday uses (think toilet paper).
No stopping it...
FLOODGATES
Government to ban single-use plastics as early as 2021: Source
Plastic straws, cotton swabs, drink stirrers, plates, cutlery, some plastic bags all on the list
Hannah Thibedeau · CBC News · Posted: Jun 09, 2019 2:15 PM ET
The Trudeau government will ban single-use plastics as early as 2021, CBC News has learned from a government source.
Plastic straws, cotton swabs, drink stirrers, plates, cutlery and balloon sticks are just some of the single-use plastics that will be banned in Canada, according to the source.
This is part of a larger strategy to tackle the plastic pollution problem that the government is expected to announce Monday.
Full list to mirror the EU
According to the source, the full list of plastics to be banned by the federal government will follow the model chosen by the European Union, which voted in March to also ban products made of oxo-degradable plastics, such as bags. Oxo-degradable plastics include additives that don't completely biodegrade but fragment into small pieces and remain in the environment.
Fast-food containers and cups made of expanded polystyrene, which is similar to white styrofoam, will also be banned.
At the G7 in Charlevoix, Que., last June, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the Canada-led Ocean Plastics Charter.
Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the U.K. and the European Union immediately signed on, agreeing to find ways to deal with marine plastics litter.
All of those countries have moved to curb plastic pollution, some of them with laws to reduce the consumption of plastics.
A report done earlier this year by consulting firms Deloitte and ChemInfo Services commissioned by Environment and Climate Change Canada found in 2016 only nine per cent of plastic waste was recycled in Canada, with 87 per cent ending up in landfills.
Plastic bags end up everywhere
Environment and Climate Change Canada says that Canadians throw away more than 34 million plastic bags every day.
It's a global issue because most plastic bags wind up in landfills and it can take as long as 1,000 years for them to decay.
Many also end up in the oceans harming marine ecosystems and wildlife. Recently whales have been found dead, washed ashore with pounds of plastic in their stomachs.
There is also a problem with microplastics that end up in water and the food supply.
The Deloitte and ChemInfo Services report also found that between 2012 and 2017, plastics manufacturing became one of the fastest-growing sectors, worth about $35 billion in sales, employing 93,000 people mostly in Ontario, Quebec and Alberta.
The study also found the Canadian recycling industry generates about $350 million and is in the hands of fewer than a dozen recycling companies with about 500 employees.
According to the Environment and Climate Change Canada, the new plastics strategy will generate jobs and reduce greenhouse gases. It is expected to release details on how this will work on Monday.
More recently, Canada was criticized for dozens of containers of rotting garbage found in the Philippines.
Ottawa is spending $1.14 million to bring those cargo containers of recyclables contaminated with garbage back to Canada for disposal.
Some municipalities have already moved to reduce plastic waste, but environmental experts point to a need for a consistent national strategy.
Tofino and Deep Cove, B.C., have banned plastic straws; Fogo Island replaced plastic bags with alternatives; Montreal is banning the use of plastic bags and bottles; St. John's promised in 2017 it would ban plastic bags.
The prime minister and Environment Minister Catherine McKenna will announce the new plastic strategy in two separate locations on Monday.
Source: https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/government-to-ban-single-use-plastics-by-2021-1.5168386
The Farm Bill of 2013 created the door to hemp legalization. The Farm Bill of 2018 opened it.
FLOODGATES
FLOODGATES
FLOODGATES
Is CBD Legal? What The Farm Bill of 2018 Did For Hemp
Everything you need to know about the legalization of hemp.
by Dianna Benjamin– June 7, 2019
Thanks to the Farm Bill of 2018, cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychoactive cannabinoid lauded for its medicinal effects, is federally legal. Mostly.
The law authorized the cultivation of hemp, and hemp is rich in CBD content. As long as the CBD is derived from hemp grown in compliance with federal and state laws, it’s legal. CBD obtained from cannabis plants containing more than .3 percent THC or that are cultivated outside of the bounds of the Farm Bill remain illegal.
The Farm Bill of 2018: The Key Changes
The Farm Bill of 2013 created the door to hemp legalization. The Farm Bill of 2018 opened it. Here are the ways that the 2018 legislation further legalized hemp and CBD:
Hemp cultivation is broadly legalized, not just through pilot programs.
Hemp products can be carried across state lines. There are no special restrictions on the transportation, sale, and possession of hemp as long as the product came from hemp cultivated in compliance with the law—most importantly, that the plants contain no more than .3 percent THC.
Additionally, the federal government will play an important role in the regulation of each state’s hemp cultivation. Each state that plans to set up a regulatory system for hemp must have its department of agriculture receive approval from the Secretary of the US Department of Agriculture before implementing hemp regulation. In states that have not developed a formal regulatory framework, hemp producers must apply for a federal license and comply with federal regulations.
Hemp farmers receive the same benefits as other farmers.
Prior to this law, hemp was considered marijuana under federal law. That created a frustrating barrier between hemp producers and resources made available to farmers of mainstream crops. Now that the law includes hemp as a mainstream crop, certain protections under the Federal Crop Insurance Act have been extended to hemp farmers. These protections will help farmers who lose crops due to normal agricultural hurdles.
CBD is legal only if it is derived from industrial hemp.
The 2018 Farm Bill did not broadly legalize CBD. If CBD is derived from a cannabis plant containing more than .3 percent THC, it is still illegal. The only way that CBD is federally legal is if it meets these conditions:
-It was derived from industrial hemp (a Cannabis sativa L. plant containing less than .3 percent THC)
-The hemp it was derived from was produced in compliance with the Farm -Bill and associated federal and state regulations
-The hemp was produced by a licensed grower
This doesn’t just apply to CBD. Excluding THC, any cannabinoid derived from a hemp plant produced in this way is legal.
The Law’s Rules About CBD Lack Clarity
Although the updated Farm Bill created legal access to CBD, there are still areas of unclarity. For one, cannabis researchers are currently limited to one source for their cannabis supply, the Marijuana Program at the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy’s National Center for Natural Product’s Research. The CBD research conducted in the United States has always secured CBD from that program. However, now that hemp-derived CBD is legal, it isn’t clear if researchers are authorized to access CBD from hemp producers as well.
Secondly, cannabis containing more than .3 percent THC is still federally illegal despite state legality. CBD consumers will have to do their homework before purchasing a CBD product if they are interested in complying with federal law. Just because a product is 100% CBD does not mean that it is legal. The product must be derived from industrial hemp produced in a manner that is compliant with the Farm Bill. All other CBD products are illegal at the federal level.
How the Farm Bill of 2013 Paved the Way
When President Obama signed the Farm Bill of 2013 into law, he codified the beginning of the end of hemp prohibition. Section 7606 of the act, “The Legitimacy of Industrial Hemp Research,” distinguished hemp from marijuana and authorized state departments of agriculture and higher education institutions to cultivate industrial hemp for research and pilot programs.
The law defined hemp as “the plant Cannabis sativa L. and any part of such plant, whether growing or not, with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis.” As with marijuana, states had their own laws on the legality of hemp. However, once the 2013 Farm Bill was passed, states that had already distinguished hemp from marijuana now had federal backing to support hemp farmers.
The Nonsensical Prohibition of Hemp
Cannabis has been effectively illegal since the 1937 Marihuana Tax Act and formally illegal since the 1970 Controlled Substances Act. An honest evaluation of these laws and their origins is troubling—a mix of xenophobia, racism, and political partisanship form the foundations. The justification used to demonize the plant, however, has always been the belief that cannabis intoxication induces insanity and violence in consumers.
But in the case of both the Marihuana Tax Act and the Controlled Substances Act, the prohibition of cannabis did not exclude hemp. While hemp and marijuana both belong to Cannabis Sativa L species, they are different plants. And one of the most significant differences between the two lies in their cannabinoid content: hemp contains trace amounts of THC (.3 percent or less) while marijuana is typically bred to maximize THC content. Hemp does not contain enough THC to cause any psychoactive effect, so the ban on hemp never made the moral or health sense the law was trying to convey.
Hemp prohibition never made economic sense either. While the cultivation of hemp on US soil was banned, the import of hemp products wasn’t. Illegalizing hemp did nothing to stop recreational cannabis use, but it left American farmers out of the global hemp industry. Given that hemp can be used in thousands of products over a multitude of industries, this is no small loss for US agriculture. In 2017, the retail value of hemp products in the US was $820 million, the bulk of which went to China, the US’s leading supplier of hemp.
Source: https://www.wikileaf.com/thestash/farm-bill-of-2018/
CEO is usually #1 investor.
So CEO is also "losing" shareholder value.
You actually think CEO wants to see its company fail?
You can't smuggle without being a intelligent distributor.
Was it illegal? Yes.
Is it today? No.
Laws have changed, and now all Bruce had to do was hop back on the horse that he rode some years ago. That's the beauty of deregulation.
No, nothing "easy" about the black market. You really have to pay attention and keep your relationships on good terms. Just like any trade there is an exchange of goods, and in cannabis the trade is very lucrative, legal or illegal. If the plant were legal back then, sure, they would have paid taxes. But it was outlawed, but the masses still kept cannabis in HIGH DEMAND.
And it is still in high demand. So high, in fact, that the government can't pass it up. It's legal. It's being taxed. And the demand is HIGHER THAN EVER.
And it won't stop.
The majority of Canadian hemp was being grown while Bruce served time over some whacky laws prohibiting the production and distribution of hemp.
The reality is ALL PUBLIC COMPANIES SELL SHARES. It's call SHAREHOLDER EQUITY, and is on EVERY PUBLIC COMPANIES BALANCE SHEET.
Bruce is still King. Competition still crying.
Real players are only making Bruce look smarter. The industry continues to flourish, and Bruce was a MAJOR part of its inception.
Competition continues to cry, while Bruce brings shareholders millions in quarterly revenue. It's great!
SEC will nag anyone for a few bucks or prestige. The free audit will show to everyone that Hemp is a healthy, function enterprise, and the beat will go on.
Noisy, noisy, noisy. So much noise, it's like the competition just wants to stir wind and cause confusion. They can't even keep up. Must be out of breath trying to catch up to a company like HEMP.
FLOODGATES
Is see your 20-yrs-Canadian, and raise you 50-yrs-Perlowin.
Born in 1951, Bruce has been involved with cannabis since he was a teenager. By the early 70's, Bruce had embarked on what would eventually turn into a BILLION dollar cannabis distribution organization. Whether illegal or legal, at that time - the mid-80's - Bruce was the head honcho of cannabis in America. BILLIONS and BILLIONS.
Canada was still on the ponds flipping pucks; had very little to do with MJ or hemp.
Canada doesn't wear the crown. Bruce does. Canada isn't King of Pot. Bruce is.
Let's get that clear.
Canada's hemp industry may have more establishment to date, but their PRIMARY CUSTOMER is now discovering they can grow their own goods LEGALLY. Bruce has seen this coming for DECADES.
20's years... ok...
Half a century? Wow.
One of those things is bigger than the other.
Hemp is here. Bruce is King.
Everyone wants to be King, and everyone wants ownership of the LARGEST decorticator in the WESTERN HEMISPHERE.
NOT Canada.
NOT Mexico.
NOT South America.
HEMP INC, Spring Hope, North Carolina, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.
The truth hurts the competition.
And there is no stopping it.
It's here.
FLOODGATES
Clearly?
Winging it?
How so?
I'm still not sure how an OTC Pink would be compared to a AAA blue-chip, with external auditors and detailed footnotes.
Are audits and footnotes a requirement in OTC Pink? If not, I'd say the company is navigating under the appropriate guidelines.
If they wanted to move up to a higher exchange, maybe we would have a more detailed financial statement, but why are we talking about that stuff when HEMP is OTC Pink?
Would you like to see HEMP tier up? Because that could soon be a possibility.
Reducing shifts is a part of the seasonality of agriculture. There is nothing unusual or alien about the cyclical nature of this industry. The funny bit is how it's not quickly acknowledge that HEMP has been running a SECONDARY line, now, for almost TWO YEARS!
Establishment goes a long way, and when customers see that Hemp has been up and running for multiple seasons, there is a level of trust and credibility formed.
AND, by running a second line, that means Hemp is preparing for the primary - CORE - product. H - E - M - P.
They have started with CBD, the obvious choice. But the bread and butter will be the mass production, high volume fiber line. It's been there, and waiting for the CRITICAL MASS. No one is growing enough long stock, and CBD is the clear hotness right now.
The strategy is being played out to perfection.
As for the SEC. C'mon... it's 3 years old. zzzzzz. Geez, that thing could be a DINOSAUR by the time hemp in racking in TENS of MILLIONS. Skies the limit.
Still no evidence, or the hammered would have dropped long time ago. It's a snoozefest. Bad tip from disgruntled ex-associate, got cut from the big money, big future in HEMP. Outside of one defendants oversight to file personal federal returns from periods BEFORE the case was filed, as far as court records are concerned, it's a NOTHINGBURGER.
Big money being made each quarter. Probably won't slow down. Farm bill was just signed, and not even through half a year after....
FLOODGATES
What the hempidy hoo-haa heck are you talking about?
Why not just take those questions directly to the company?
The have email, phone #'s, and facebook.
You could then share their response with the rest of us.
Mr. Wilson – Reported that as of May 3, 2019, North Carolina has 933 licensed industrial hemp growers, representing 11,572.85 licensed acres and 4,540,926 square feet of licensed greenhouse production. There are currently 545 registered processors in the state.
House Bill 491, legalizing hemp and CBD, is set to be signed by Governor
By: Caroline Marcello
Posted: Jun 05, 2019 10:24 PM CDT
Updated: Jun 05, 2019 10:24 PM CDT
BATON ROUGE, La (KLFY) - Governor John Bel Edwards is set to sign House Bill 491 tomorrow. This bill would legalize the growing and processing of industrial hemp in Louisiana in line with regulations set under the 2018 Farm Bill.
This includes the production and sale of CBD. For retailers of the hemp-based product, this means they no longer are operating in the gray area of the law. CBD will now be legal both on the state and federal level.
“Hemp truly is something that people can benefit off of. It’s been all about education and people learning that this is agriculture and the stigma should not exist,” says Kristy Hebert with Cypress Hemp a CBD company out of Baton Rouge. Right now Cypress Hemp is growing its hemp in Virginia, she says they want to move the farm back her home state.
Today Hebert presented an educational Hemp and CBD class to the Rotary Club of Baton Rouge. She says, “For CBD companies this is really positive, there’s no more gray area and so as of 2020 we are going to have time to get into the regulations and make sure our products are approved within the state.”
Louisiana will now start to develop its own hemp industry from the ground up. All growers must be licensed and products will be strictly regulated. “Even down to the labeling. There’s going to be a QR code that links back to certified laboratory results so that you can be assured the product has what you believe it has in it,” explains Hebert.
“The fact that there is a growing industry with potential as she was saying that can supplement crops or generate additional economic opportunity such as processing, growing, and so forth. It looks exciting,” says Paul Moran an interested Hemp grower.
Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain says hemp could be grown in the state starting next year.
Source: https://www.klfy.com/news/local/house-bill-491-legalizing-hemp-and-cbd-is-set-to-be-signed-by-governor/2055976025