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iHEMPx’s Top 10 Tips for Growing Your Best Hemp Ever

TEEM — Tue, 03 Nov 2020 22:56:00 +0000

Are you creating your plan for hemp-growing success in 2021?

The popularity of hemp farming has exploded over the past few years, thanks to the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill – so we know there are many farmers transitioning fields to hemp for the first time, or they’re fairly new to the industry and looking to learn as much as possible.

With that in mind, we thought it would be helpful to give you a few quick tips for growing the best possible hemp crop this season.

This is a quick list of our top suggestions for success – but if you’re like a more detailed guide to growing hemp, you can click the link or image to access our free How to Farm Hemp e-book.

10 Tips for Growing Hemp

1. Plan ahead and do your research before you buy. Do some careful planning before you order hemp seeds or starts. Your weather conditions, soil, and infrastructure will be different from other farmers, so your plan will be unique. Include a plan for your harvest, too. Last year, many farmers failed to consider how they were going to get their material out of the field and dry it, and they ended up losing money on their crops. Planning ahead will save you a lot of time and effort later in the season, so make sure to take all factors into consideration.

Think about your operation’s equipment, your available labor pool, regional weather differences, soil, water, and irrigation/pest control plans, before you make decisions about which varietials you’ll buy in which quantities. The more you plan ahead, the greater your chance of success will be at the end of the season.

2. Connect with local resources in your region. We always recommend connecting with your state or local hemp-growing resources for more information about what’s required in your area. Start with your state’s Department of Agriculture to get their advice and learn about networking opportunities and events that support your supply chain.

3. Create an irrigation plan that will help your plants thrive. Hemp is typically drought tolerant, but in many regions, you’ll get a better yield and higher quality if you plan to irrigate. Consider the irrigation equipment you’ll need before you buy your seeds and starts.

4. Order your hemp seeds and starts. Once you’ve got a game plan based on your regional factors and infrastructure needs, it’s time to order. If you’re growing for the CBD market, we recommend buying feminized seeds, which predominantly produce female plants. Using feminized hemp seeds can vastly cut down on waste and reduce the amount of time you spend culling males out of your fields later in the season.

5. Time the arrival of your order. If you order your starts early (January or February) you can often choose the specific day(s) when you want your plants to arrive, to coincide with your planting timeline. If you order hemp seeds, they will ship immediately after you order. Remember to work backward from your target transplant timing and allow time to germinate seeds.

6. Store your hemp seeds properly. Moisture and light are your enemies when you’re storing your seeds, so plan to keep them in a cool, dark place. We’ve been hearing reports of people storing them in refrigerators or freezers, but we don’t recommend that long-term. While it’s best to plant your hemp seeds in the season following purchase, our hemp seeds can be stored for 3 to 5 years under good conditions.

7. Prepare for the arrival of your starts. If you order starts, they will arrive on a refrigerated tractor trailer truck. You’ll need a forklift or tractor to unload your plants. Depending on your location, your seedlings will have been in the truck for 5 to 30 hours before they arrive. Ideally, you’ll give them some water, and move them to a spot where they can get natural sunlight. If you’re not immediately able to get them into the ground, make sure you have a plan for watering during the waiting period.

8. Germinate the smart way. If you choose to buy hemp seeds and germinate them yourself, we recommend growing them in a greenhouse environment. Plan for approximately 4 weeks (28 to 30 days) from sowing your hemp seeds to planting the starts in your field, depending on the size of your tray and the size of your root mass. Use a soil mix that is hospitable for hemp seedlings, instead of using soil from your field to propagate your starts.

9. Don’t skip the hardening off process. Before you transplant your seedlings to the field, you’ll need to get them acclimatized to the harsher outside conditions. This acclimatization process is called hardening off, and you’ll need to plan for it. You can open up your greenhouse, or put your plants out during the daylight hours for a few days, before returning them to the greenhouse at night.

10. Bring in an outside expert to help you troubleshoot. We know that farmers like you are always going to have the best eyes on their crop, and they will be in tune with what’s happening in their field – but it never hurts to get another pair of eyes on your crop. We recommend bringing a third party (like an agronomist or a rep from your fertilizer company) to help you walk the field and identify bugs, disease, and other issues.

If you have questions about how to successfully grow hemp in your geographical area, or you’d like help identifying third-party advisors who can help you, we’d like to assist! Contact us to set up a free call to discuss all your supply-chain needs.

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The Scoop on Hemp Seed Certification

TEEM — Sun, 14 Jun 2020 19:16:52 +0000

Farmers who grow traditional crops like corn and wheat typically rely on certified seeds to ensure they’re buying genetics that meet accepted standards for germination rates and purity.

Since the reintroduction of hemp in the U.S. is so recent, there is not yet a national standard for certifying feminized hemp seeds. There are a handful of smaller certification programs that are beginning to address the industry’s concerns about hemp seed quality on a state-by-state basis, but currently the definition of “certified hemp seed” is new and vague. Very few hemp genetics companies specializing in high-cannabinoid, feminized strains have begun the process of obtaining any kind of certification.

Because farmers can’t count on uniform, nationwide standards for hemp seed certification, they may end up purchasing poor-quality seeds – which can have disastrous consequences. Farmers who purchase seeds from questionable sources risk accidentally buying non-feminized seeds, having crops perform poorly in the field, or growing non-compliant crops that have to be destroyed.

But there are organizations who are working together to establish industry-wide accountability by standardizing the quality of hemp genetics worldwide.

Oregon currently has some of the strongest testing protocols in the country for seed certification. High Grade Hemp Seed and iHEMPx, among others on the Certification Committee, have been integral in establishing the rules for certification hand-in-hand with the team at OSU.

Oregon State’s certification program offers a hemp seed certification that will give farmers peace of mind when they’re buying seeds, because they will have a guarantee that the seeds and starts being purchased are true to strain, with proven feminization and germination rates, and of the highest quality.

Matterhorn CBG is the first hemp strain under production by iHEMPx that is being certified under OSU’s new Oregon Seed Certification Service. Matterhorn seed produced by iHEMPx has received its Experimental Tag while in the process of being certified, and we look forward to soon receiving Full Certification and a “Blue Tag.

The Current Seed Certification Landscape

American seed certification programs across the country are governed by The Association of Official Seed Certifying Agencies (AOSCA), an organization dedicated to assisting in the identification, production, distribution, and promotion of certified classes of seed.

The Association of Official Seed Certifying Agencies sets minimum standards for genetic purity and identity, and the organization recommends minimum standards for seed quality for the various classes of certified seeds.

Now, with programs like Oregon State’s Seed Certification Service, hemp is being incorporated into the same certification process used by traditional seed producers.

Currently, the Oregon Seed Certification program certifies approximately 250,000 acres of seed crops across 50 different crop species on an annual basis – including hemp. Their testing process ensures varietal purity and seed quality through field inspections, laboratory evaluations, and record keeping.

There are 2,500 traditional seed growers and 382 seed warehouses participating in OSU’s program. iHEMPx is pursuing certification for all hemp strains under production, and currently has the only approved Seed Cleaning Warehouse for feminized hemp seed in Oregon.

The Oregon State Seed Certification program has its own standards (all of which are equal to or above required AOSCA standards) and Oregon State administers the testing and issues certification tags.

A Peek Behind the Scenes of the Certification Process

The Oregon State testing process is quite vigorous, and each field is assigned 2 to 3 inspectors from the field inspection group. Each field has to pass inspection, and there are requirements for greenhouse sanitation, isolation, and crop rotation to ensure that each seed lot is true to the variety. During iHEMPx’s current certification process, OSU is able to visit our farms and greenhouses at any time with no restrictions.

Oregon State maintains the chain of custody of the seed sample from the warehouse and tests each seed lot for purity, feminization, and germination. They also fully inspect each operation to ensure that equipment, recordkeeping, and processes comply with the Federal Seed Act.

“Oregon is known for quality seed production and has leveraged that knowledge in the newly-established hemp seed certification process,” shared Rachel Hankins, a Seed Certification Specialist and Hemp Program Coordinator at Oregon Seed Certification Service. “Our standards are set higher than the national requirements to ensure that Oregon-certified seed is of the highest quality.”

A Peek Behind the Scenes of the Certification Process

Here at iHEMPx, we are proud to partner with Oregon State University to provide confidence and clarity for farmers in the midst of an onslaught of questionable genetics and inflated claims from seed suppliers.

Oregon State has some of the strongest testing protocols in the country for seed certification, and their new program will provide much-needed protection for hemp farmers as they’re making choices about their 2020 growing season.

To connect with iHEMPx, or to inquire about Matterhorn CBG hemp seeds, visit www.ihempx.com or call #877-FARM-HEMP (327-6436). To learn more about Oregon State’s seed certification program, visit their website.

About iHEMPx

iHEMPx serves the hemp industry as a trusted, vetted, and reliable supply chain partner, from seed to finished product. We exclusively produce and distribute High Grade Hemp Seed genetics, the most genetically superior seeds available, and provide support and education to help farmers turn those seeds into profitable crops.

Take a look at this: The Ultimate Guide to Tadalafil: Benefits, Uses, Dosage & Expert Insights

For more information on iHEMPx, or to inquire about the availability of Colorado seeds, starts, clones, and smokable flower call #877-FARM-HEMP (327-6436) or click here to contact our sales team.

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First-Annual AHPA Hemp-CBD Supplement Congress

Trish — Tue, 17 Sep 2019 19:09:01 +0000

The American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) held it’s annual Hemp-CBD Supplement Congress onAugust 15th and 16th, and the keynote speaker was none other than CO Governor Jared Polis. Governor Polis has long been acquainted with the benefits of CBD and hemp and writing legislation that streamlines the agricultural growth of the industry.

Polis said, “We know what’s worked to grow our agricultural sectors, and it’s no different for hemp. It’s a big part of our rural economic initiative.” He went on to say that while Colorado has led the charge in many ways for industrial hemp research, the state is “still in [its] early days” in regard to CBD and industrial hemp as an economic staple. The large majority of the country falls into the category of having little to no insight into the hemp as an industrial crop or CBD as a supplement, leaving the USDA and FDA with limited knowledge as to how to implement a federal standard for testing and verifying the integrity of these non-psychedelic forms of cannabis.
At the AHPA Congress, Colorado’s Governor presented his newest initiative, the Colorado Hemp Advancement and Management Plan (CHAMP). The purpose of the initiative is to give further insight into CBD and hemp to other states as well as the federal government in hopes that a fair and trusted standard can be set nationwide and streamline the growing and production of hemp.
Also in attendance was Cara Welch. As the FDA’s Acting Special Assistant to the Deputy Commissioner for Policy Legislation & International Affairs, she has said that the government agency has sound structures in place for such regulations and is working on developing hemp-specific regulations expediently while also being thorough.
In search of a solution for regulated interstate hemp commerce, the USDA Hemp Program chief, Bill Richmond, said that the USDA is still struggling to find a streamlined testing format for farmers as well as state and local regulators that complies the Farm Bill’s call for less than .3% THC content in all hemp crops.
Richmond said, “Our goal is to provide a consistent, easy-to-follow regulatory framework around hemp production.”
Aside from governmental challenges in creating nationwide standards, the CBD industry has seen 57% growth since last year and is expected to see even more in the coming years. Vote Hemp, an advocacy group for industrial hemp, stated that hemp acreage in the US has grown five times that of the acreage we were seeing in 2018.
The exponential growth of the hemp and CBD markets, along with the high turnout at this first AHPA Congress, exemplifies the massive potential that lies in the industry as well as the desire for credibility and accountability in providing both agricultural crops and medicinal products for the public. The industry realizes they need to band together in order to successfully navigate the economic, legal, and compliance-based arenas to ensure their long-term prosperity. They began this journey by participating in workshops on topics ranging from GRAS (generally regarded as safe) regulation, cGMP (current good manufacturing practices), and regulations for NDIs (new dietary ingredients).

Source:
“Colorado Governor Jared Polis Charts Course for CBD and Hemp Innovation at Sold-Out American Herbal Products Association Supplement Congress” released by Steve Hoffman, Compass Natural.

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Status of States: Michigan

Trish — Tue, 10 Sep 2019 20:53:02 +0000

Under the 2018 Farm Bill, the United States Department of Agriculture put in place a system by which each state can register to have a legal industrial hemp program. This opened the door for every state to individually decide to create the infrastructure necessary to enter the industrial hemp market. Because the gateway was opened without a concise mandate at the federal level, it can be difficult to keep track of the varying hemp laws in each state. So, we thought we’d help condense the information and make it easier for farmers and potential hemp enthusiasts to learn where and how hemp can be grown legally. (3)

First up, Michigan. The Great Lakes State has become quite hemp-friendly since the passing of the Farm Bill and is working on streamlining the registration and growing processes both for statewide and interstate hemp commerce. (3)

The History

Michiganders are some of the newest to the industrial hemp industry, but they are a force to be reckoned with. In 2015, Governor Snyder of Michigan signed a bill that separated the legal definitions of hemp and marijuana, setting apart industrial hemp and allowing it to be cultivated for research. This is set into motion the trajectory that led to the state’s accessibility to the hemp market as a whole (4). While states such as Colorado and Oregon began their agricultural pilot programs to research Industrial hemp as early as 2009 and 2010, Michigan quickly caught up.

On December 28, 2018, Governor Rick Snyder signed Michigan House Bills 6330, 6331 and 6380 (Public Acts 641, 642, and 648 of 2018) into law. This amended the Industrial Hemp Research Act that was previously in place in the state, now allowing anyone over the age of 18 to register to grow industrial hemp. All growing, processing, and handling of industrial hemp will be regulated by the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD). (2)

The Fine Print

In order to grow hemp in Michigan, farmers must register with the MDARD. This will allow the state to facilitate a healthy and ethical hemp industry. Furthermore, a program is in development now that will implement guidelines for the interstate trading of hemp in congruence with the requirements of both state and federal laws. (3)

The Industrial Hemp Research and Development Act (IHRDA) limits application fees for growers to $100, and $1350 for processor-handlers. The statute also states that the applicants must disclose the names of all corporate members and those with equitable holdings of 10% or more in each given business, allowing systemic regulation from both agricultural and economic standpoints. (5)

The IHRDA also states that growers may not plant industrial hemp in the midst of a crop that is not industrial hemp. Industrial hemp must be on its own plot of land (5). Another rule stated in the Act says that any hemp crop that contains higher than the allowed .3% TCH content will be classified as Marijuana and dealt with as such under Michigan law. (3)

The Gist

It is now legal in Michigan to grow industrial as long as you abide by all the laws stated in the legislation. The attitude toward this beneficial industrial crop is coming overwhelming positive in the state. In fact, under the new legislation, Michiganders may even have criminal charges involving small-scale possession of cannabis expunged from their records. (1)

Michigan, now is the time to plan for investing in hemp however you can, whether that’s growing hemp, investing in hemp futures, or anything in between.

Sources:

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iHEMPx Partner, High Grade Hemp Seed, to Have Presence at Southern Hemp Expo

Trish — Thu, 05 Sep 2019 19:41:55 +0000

Our exclusive genetics supplier, High-Grade Hemp Seed, is gearing up for their first appearance at the Southern Hemp Expo (SHE). The leading hemp event of the south, SHE 2019 will be held in Franklin, Tennessee on Sept. 6-7.

Research shows that the 2020 growing season will see nearly 500,000 acres of farmland invested in hemp cultivation, and a shortage of strong genetics to back up the exponential increase. The hemp industry as a whole is ablaze nationwide but is facing a shortage of reliable, compliant genetics to support mass seed manufacturing. High Grade Hemp Seed supplies genetics that are farm-tested, time-approved, and have never had a crop destroyed due to compliance issues with the national THC level regulations. That’s where High Grade Hemp Seed comes in.

The company plans to produce millions of seeds and starts of three of their most popular strains, and expects to sell 300-500 million seeds and 100 million starts to support the 2020 growing season. The strains that will be available are Cherry Wine, Berry Blossom, and Merlot at an unprecedented $.99 a start. Feminized seed starts outshine hemp clones, and provide a reliable and consistent crop due to the presence of the taproot that allows High Grade Hemp Seed’s starts to flourish quickly. Seed starts also make it easier for farmers to plan, allowing them to maximize crop time and have a reliable growing season.

With a vast network of nurseries nationwide, High Grade Hemp Seed is able to coordinate logistics of distribution and maximize supply to meet the demands of growers across the United States.

Founder and CEO of High Grade Hemp Seed, Bodhi Urban, said “We are dedicated to the success of our customers, and we are putting pricing muscle behind that dedication by making starts available for less than one dollar for the first time in our company’s history.” Urban added, “This is the lowest pricing available in the industry to the best of our knowledge, and we hope it helps farmers take advantage of starts. Now is the time to call and reserve as we anticipate selling out well in advance of spring shipping.”

Visit the High Grade Hemp Seed booth at SHE this year to find out more about what they have to offer and where the company is going. We are excited about their success and our continued partnership.

Also, join High Grade Hemp Seed as they sponsor the After Party, starting at 8 pm on Saturday, Sept. 7th, the closing night of SHE. The company wants to support and celebrate the thriving hemp industry and all of the thoughtful dedication going into its sustainable expansion.

Source:

“High Grade Hemp Seed Announces .99 Starts”, by Trish Thomas at TEEM Marketing.

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iHEMPx Partner, High Grade Hemp Seed, to Have Presence at Southern Hemp Expo

ihempx admin — Thu, 05 Sep 2019 19:12:22 +0000

With a vast network of nurseries nationwide, High Grade Hemp Seed is able to coordinate logistics of distribution and maximize supply to meet the demands of growers across the United States.

Visit the High Grade Hemp Seed booth at SHE this year to find out more about what they have to offer and where the company is going. We are excited about their success and our continued partnership.

Source:

“High Grade Hemp Seed Announces .99 Starts”, by Trish Thomas at TEEM Marketing.

The post iHEMPx Partner, High Grade Hemp Seed, to Have Presence at Southern Hemp Expo appeared first on iHEMPx.

Cleaning Up Soil with Hemp: Phytoremediation

Trish — Thu, 11 Jul 2019 20:28:00 +0000

There is a prevailing degradation of soil that has been taking place in America, and across the world, for decades. It has become a widespread devastation specifically in the United States as the desire to drive profits has superseded proper care for fields and attention to soil health. Farmers have been dousing industrial crops in chemical pesticides and herbicides while also eliminating the practice of fallow periods. This has led to a severe decline in topsoil levels, as well as a stripping of nutrients from the earth. The United Nations has acknowledged it as one of the major threats to human health in the coming years (4).

Absorbing Toxins: Understanding Phytoremediation

Hemp could be the answer to the problem of failing soil health. A dense crop with full leaves and sturdy stalks, hemp plants have a relatively high capacity for absorption. Phytoremediation is the term used to describe the act of extracting toxins from the soil using the fast-growing roots of the cannabis plant.

This process was officially discovered and named by Ilya Raskin in the 1990s when he and his team used hemp to clean up the soil around Chernobyl (2). Through this process, toxins are absorbed into the roots of the plants and transformed into a harmless substance (1). Raskin and his team were able to extract radioactive strontium and cesium from the Ukranian soil.

The extraction capabilities were later confirmed by a team of German researchers who successfully decontaminated a field that had been polluted with lead, cadmium, and nickel by an overflow of sewage sludge (2). Now, Italian farmers in Taranto, Italy are turning to hemp to decontaminate their soil after a decade of tainted pastures caused by steel plant runoff had eliminated the space for the grazing of their livestock.

Lifting The Hemp Ban: 2018 Farm Bill

It is clear that hemp holds great potential to mitigate some of the damage done to topsoil in the US, but until the 2018 Farm Bill was passed, the agricultural community was at a standstill on this front. Colorado has led the charge for industrial hemp in many ways, one of which was the first comprehensive study of the cleansing capabilities of hemp on soil. Dr. Elizabeth Pilon-Smits had long been interested in and aware of the phytoremediative capabilities of hemp, but it wasn’t until 2014 that some of the red tape cleared and research surrounding the benefits of hemp crops was encouraged.

Still unable to secure funding for her studies on hemp, it wasn’t until 2017 that Pilon-Smits was approached by Colorado Cultivars with the perfect opportunity to delve into funded research (2). Over the last decade, other states have granted access to researchers via universities to explore the benefits of industrial hemp, and these findings are finally able to be set into motion in many regions across the US as bans are lifted and the growth of industrial hemp is allowed.

Beyond the Farm: Hemp In The City

Another untapped area where hemp could be widely beneficial is in the restoration of brownfields in urban areas across the nation. According to the National Association of Local Government Environmental Professionals (NALGEP) and the Northeast-Midwest Institute (NEMW), there are more than one million brownfields nationwide. Not only are these vacant lots eyesores with hardpacked dirt made up of debris and strewn with weeds, but they are also lost opportunities to utilize land and benefit communities.

Cleansing the soil with hemp plants can rejuvenate the soil on these plots of land to make building easier and urban farming possible where it previously was not (3). Producing localized food for urban communities will help support the ever-expanding population of cities around the US, as well as contribute to cleaner air.

It is important to note that while hemp can clean up soil and groundwater better than most other plants, unmonitored consumption and production of these same crops could pose harm to the user (5). There should be a mindful separation of the crops used for phytoremediation and those processed for consumption to ethically maintain the highest level of health and quality.

Moving Forward With Hemp

With the burgeoning use of industrial hemp to clean up soil worldwide, it can also be used on personal land to stimulate individual agricultural aspirations. Click here to find out more about hemp growing laws in states across the US.

Sources:

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Hemp Housing: Sustainability in Building

Trish — Fri, 28 Jun 2019 18:13:47 +0000

The new frontier of sustainability in industries such a fuel and clothing, hemp is also leading the way to more sustainable building. From the cutting down of oxygenating trees to the chemical reactions of compounds used to make modern building materials, the construction industry is a substantial contributor to pollution worldwide. Replacing certain staples of building in the modern world with hemp-based materials will both decrease the output of CO2 and increase the level of CO2 absorption necessary to clean up our air.

Hemp As A Building Material

Beginning in Ancient Rome in the days of Julius Caesar, hemp as a building material is not a new concept (5). A bridge built in France in the 6th century was discovered to have been made with hemp abutments, and there are buildings with hempcrete walls all over Europe and the UK that have been standing for over 700 years. This sturdy, cost-effective, and carbon-neutral siding material can take the place of plywood, insulation, and drywall. It also stands the test of time better than nearly any other component, organic or not. (2)

Hempcrete, the primary building material derived from the hemp plant, is made from hemp hurds–the inner fibers of the hemp stalk–ground up with lime and mixed with water. The hemp begins to petrify as it interacts with the lime. This process does not lend itself to a quick-setting material that enables fast access, but it does mean that hempcrete only gets stronger over time as the lime continues to calcify. (3)

Hemp can be harvested in perpetuity, meaning the maturation of the plant does not have to be reached before it can be harvested, nor will it affect the quality of the resulting materials made from the plant. A standard hemp crop takes about four months to grow, and in some parts of the US this lends itself to the crop being harvested twice a year. This fact alone makes hemp much more sustainable than any other building material resource, i.e. trees, cement, and steel.

Hemp Vs Concrete: A Sustainability Comparison

When concrete is manufactured, the resulting carbon emissions from the chemical reaction that occur are unavoidable and are not affected by energy saving techniques. In comparison, hempcrete slashes the carbon footprint during manufacturing and actively extracts carbon from its environment (1).The use of lime in building materials emits 80% less CO2 than that of cement and when combined with hemp, it absorbs carbon even once it is made into a building material.

In 2010, Push Design out of North Carolina built the first hemp house in the US in the town of Asheville, NC . Sourcing their hemp from the UK, the builders of Push Design realized that hemp was the most sustainable effective building material apart from the cost of importing it from Europe or China. With the passing of the 2018 Farm Bill, this became a non-issue in a lot of states that lifted bans on industrial hemp production.

Benefits Of Hemp As A Building Material

Aside from the environmental benefits of building with hemp-based products, it is a sensible option with performance to back up its reputation. It is highly fire-resistant due to the limestone and continued calcification. Hempcrete also regulates temperature, humidity, and is mold and pest resistant. Also, because of its insulating capabilities, greenhouse gas emissions of buildings that use hempcrete are cut by 64 percent. (3)

Factors To Consider

In building with hempcrete specifically, there are a few drawbacks that limit its use in infrastructure. Hempcrete takes a long time to set, so it is not used for load-bearing walls (3). This means it is not being used in the foundation of homes or to support any type of structural integrity. One solution builders have found for this issue is hempcrete bricks. Hempcrete bricks cure faster, so they work better when trying to fill a wall cavity quickly. (1)

There are other uses for hemp in building and home maintenance besides hempcrete. Hemp oil can be used to treat wood. It is natural and adapts to the character of the wood while protecting it from weather and physical damage. Hemp can also be made into a bioplastic alternative for a variety of uses. It can also be made into a particle board used for finishing walls. (4)

The benefits of using hemp as a sustainable building material are inarguable, and with the lifting of restrictions on growing, the accessibility is only going to fan the flame of industrial hemp production and usage.

Sources:

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Interview with Mike Leago of iHEMPx: State of the Hemp Industry

Trish — Thu, 20 Jun 2019 09:00:09 +0000

With the rapid changing and expanding of the hemp industry, we wanted to sit down with our founder, Mike Leago, and get the facts as he sees them. Here’s the story along with his insights…

Q: How has the signing of the Farm bill changed the industry?

The Farm Bill has certainly created an influx of individuals, businesses, and investors that are interested in getting involved in the hemp industry now. We’re hearing from a lot more farmers across the country that are excited to start growing hemp. We’re hearing about major investment happening across the world, and particularly here in the US, as a result of the Farm Bill.

We see it having a massive impact on the potential for the industry and starting to bring about a lot of the basic necessities that have been missing, like banking, insurance, protections for interstate commerce. It’ll take some time to really have its full effect, but the Farm Bill is going to give the Hemp Industry the support it needs so that it can grow. Those investment dollars are going to trickle down from CBD into some of those other categories, like food, fiber, and building materials, allowing those industries to also get more of a foothold here in the US. The economic impact of the signing of the Farm Bill is going to last a long time.

Q: Have all the logistics, like banking and insurance, started to pop up yet?

It’s slowly but surely happening. Banks that have been more progressive but didn’t feel totally comfortable yet are finding out how they can make it work for their shareholders and their executives. With the major banks, though, it’s going to be a while. They may start with only supporting the Hemp Farmer, without touching anything related directly to CBD sales. There is still clarification that is going to have to happen over the next couple of years—hopefully not too much longer than that—to finalize some of those uncertainties for the major banks and insurance companies. Slowly but surely, tides are turning in all those categories.

Q: What states are leading the charge in hemp farming?

The states that are leading the charge are Colorado, Oregon, Kentucky, Nevada, and North Carolina. Most of those states were on the early-adoption side. States like Colorado and Oregon were certainly at the forefront of open-market sales and marketing of the byproducts of hemp as part of RND that needed to happen under the 2014 Farm Bill.

Our business was fortunate to be here in Colorado where we had the Department of Agriculture on our side helping and supporting us to create more of a free market for these products. Like most of us predicted, the rest of the country is trying to play catch up. Thanks to the states leading the charge, there is a community of hemp farmers nationwide that have had a head start in this industry and helped pave the way for a larger pool of individuals and businesses to get involved with a reliable hemp supply chain. Now it’s really game-on all over the country and all over the world.

Q: Where are farmers able to obtain seed?

When it comes to seed, there are not a lot of proven, reliable options. State-by-state we’re starting to see a handful of companies emerge that are showing longer track records of producing solid seed that is working for farmers and staying compliant in producing the results that people are looking for. This year there is an overwhelming demand for seed with masses of new people getting involved with the global demand picking up after the passing of the Farm Bill. At this point, word of mouth is the best way to find seed. There are a handful of companies that are advertising—we’re certainly one of them–but you can’t go into a store and buy seed. As a consumer, you are typically dealing with companies online or making personal connections with sources directly to be able to work with them. We’re seeing a lot more small seed companies pop up and start to fight for the remaining market share, but only a handful of companies that have been around for longer than a year or two.

Q: Are there any regulations or issues currently holding back the industry?

Education and misinformation. A lot of politicians that are less progressive say things like, “because hemp looks so similar to marijuana, we don’t want it in our state because it would be indistinguishable and people would be trying to grow that instead.” We just need to get past that closed-minded mindset, otherwise those states are going to miss out on this economic opportunity.

Also, a lot of people would say that the FDA is trying to shut down the hemp industry. While I don’t agree with everything they’re doing, I do agree that there is a bit of regulation that needs to start happening for the consumers’ sake. Hopefully the FDA can assist without trying to just shut the CBD industry down on behalf of big pharma like some people are worried about. I think there is a middle ground to be found, but there is a lot of uncertainty about the FDA. That’s one big thing preventing a lot of the big groups from jumping in and investing, it’s probably the stance of the FDA right now which is a little up in the air. There was a request from congress asking the FDA clarify their stance on it, and it looks like they’re attempting to do so in a way that is a path to consumers having access to these products.

Q: What is their current stance in regard to CBD?

The big question they’re asking is what to classify it as. Is it a drug, is it a food product, is it a supplement? CBD isolate has been shown to be a pharmaceutical product, but most of what’s being sold on the market has a wide range of cannabinoids and compounds outside of just CBD. Most of our products have the full spectrum. While CBD has a pharmaceutical classification, hemp extract and other cannabinoids do not. While the FDA is trying to say that it’s not allowed in food products—because you can’t have something classified both as a pharmaceutical ingredient and a food ingredient—there is precedence that goes back to early 1800s of Hemp and Cannabis being used in food products that tested for THC and CBD. That shows you can’t say it’s only a pharmaceutical. So it’s things like that that are still being figured out. I have faith that the industry is going to continue to find plenty of pass to market regardless of where the FDA’s stance finally lands.

Q: Is hemp profitable?

Yes, hemp is extremely profitable right now. It can also be relatively modest money, so it just depends on what type of hemp you are growing. The guys that are growing CBD are seeing some unheard of numbers for farming per acre. Upwards of $200,000 an acre which just seems ridiculous but it happens. We’ve heard of people hitting more than that per acre seeing that return selling the raw biomass from their farms. I think the average is going to be a lot closer to maybe $50-100k right now, but for a farmer that is used to be making $1000 an acre, that is a pretty significant increase. Hemp is extremely profitable if you do it properly and find a path to market.

Hemp fiber, food, and building materials can still be profitable, but you will see returns that are more in line with traditional agricultural farming operations . Maybe a couple thousand bucks an acre, which is slightly better than the average farmer, but it is the CBD right now that farmers are flocking to for high returns.

Q: How long will this trend continue? In five years will the numbers be the same?

No it will fall a lot faster than that. I think farmers have just a few years to do pretty well in hemp. I think in the next 5 years we will see prices drop significantly as the global market picks up in terms of quality and production output. This will cause a lot of farmers to reevaluate whether they want to continue growing hemp or switch back to other crops they were growing previously. But it is common in farming to bounce around when there are opportunities or when there is a new crop demand or there are tariffs that are introduced that make growing crops like soy or corn more or less profitable. There is no better time to get into hemp than today.

Q: How would farmers go about converting their crops to hemp?

Most people are germinating their seeds indoors or buying seed starts, then using a transplanter behind a tractor to get these into the ground. It’s all relatively accessible equipment even if someone doesn’t have it on hand. Drip irrigation and field flooding are the most common practices from an irrigation perspective, which are pretty common in the farming industry. It’s really on the harvesting side–bailing and drying–where the equipment is getting to be a bit more custom. A lot of experimentation, research, and development going on with the major farm implementation companies. John Deere, Case, and plenty of others are putting out equipment now that can bring hemp fields down in a number of different ways; but all that comes back to how you plant it and how you treat it during the season when it comes to how you get it out of the field. Once you get it out of the field you have you figure out how you are drying and storing it. If you can’t dry it and store it, you need to figure out if there is an option for you to bail it that is not going to degrade the material too much so you have something that can be dried once you have the capacity for drying.

Q: Can iHempx assist with supply chain?

Yes, particularly in regions like Oregon, Colorado, California, Nevada, Kentucky, and North carolina. We really have some great resources at our disposal in Oregon, Colorado, California, and Nevada. We’ll continue to expand and have more reach with farmers all over the country.

Q: Any existing guide to converting to hemp?

Not at the moment. Most people are focused on trying to benefit right now, and it hasn’t become mainstream enough yet. The people that know how to do it are often keeping their heads down and trying to expand their operations or charge for their services, so I haven’t seen any great resources for farmers that serve as a tutorial or guide on how to do it.

Q: Where does iHempx fit into this equation?

iHEMPx is here to service the industry by being a trusted, vetted, and reliable supply chain partner from seed to finished product. We can assist in all aspects of the supply chain. Whether you are trying to find buyers for your products and services, or if you are looking to get into the industry for the first time and are looking for the highest quality and most reliable seed and farming partners that exist, iHEMPx can find or be that partner for you.

The post Interview with Mike Leago of iHEMPx: State of the Hemp Industry appeared first on iHEMPx.

Interview with Mike Leago of iHEMPx: About iHEMPx

Trish — Mon, 17 Jun 2019 20:20:19 +0000

We sat down with CEO and founder of iHEMPx, Mike Leago, and asked him to share a bit about his journey in the hemp industry and how iHEMPx came to be the leading force it is today. Here’s what he had to say…

Q: What is your background in farming and in hemp?

I got into hemp farming and production out of the cannabis industry in 2015. I started a hemp farm with a friend in Longmont, Colorado. We learned through experience the differences between indoor cultivation and outdoor cultivation. We had to learn most lessons the hard way, but we still had a successful first season.

Q: What inspired you to start iHEMPx?

I realized that the largest need for the industry was more connectivity and more support for the farmers and growers getting into the industry, and the other suppliers and other people in the supply chain, so decided to found International Hemp Exchange as a result. The idea with International Hemp Exchange was to give farmers, processors, and retailers access to product and connectivity with others in the industry that were doing things the right way. It started off more on the retail side—think Amazon for CBD when there weren’t a lot of options for somebody producing branded product—but it quickly evolved into a tremendous amount of wholesale demand and supply-chain support.

Q: What do you see for the future of iHEMPx?

I see iHEMPx having a foothold in the supply chain of Hemp, both domestically and internationally. I want to give farmers, processors, and brands consistency, reliability, and support for the effort they’re putting into the industry. Because of this, we plan to be vertically integrated by producing seed and working directly with farmers. In an effort to provide the best support for the supply chain, we need to have a more strategic approach, which means working with the best when it comes to genetics, helping and supporting farmers across the country, and figuring out who the best and most reliable partners are for a consistent supply chain. Similarly with extraction, we will be working with some of the best and most reliable partners in the country, as well as investing into our own infrastructure and technology.

Q: Can iHEMPx assist with supply chain?

Yes, particularly in regions like Oregon, Colorado, California, Nevada, Kentucky, and North Carolina. We really have some great resources at our disposal in Oregon, Colorado, California, and Nevada. We’ll continue to expand and have more reach with farmers all over the country.

Q: What makes iHEMPX a powerful partner?

It is our track record. You would be hard pressed to find somebody who has had a bad experience with us anywhere in the supply chain and that is what we pride ourselves on. We are here to do good business and be good stewards to the hemp industry and the hemp supply chain. Our reputation shows that we go about this with the right ethos and we’re in it for the right reasons. While it is a profitable industry, it is also one that is very rewarding to communities and the planet. Humans and animals all over the world will benefit from hemp being reintroduced into society. So, we are here to be a conduit for that to happen in a positive way and connect people that want to be good stewards of the land and of business.

Partnering With The Best

Q: Why was HGH chosen as a partner?

We were the first licensed bonded hemp broker in the US and we’ve been helping farmers buy and source genetics since 2016. About a year ago, we were just overwhelmed with the number of seed inquiries, particularly those regarding feminized seed. We had a relationship with HGH seed and worked with them on a number of deals to help farmers find a high-quality seed. We had farmers reaching out to us to see if we could help them source HGH seed over anything else on the market and knew that since we were local to HGH we may have access.

We ended up working with HGH quite a bit and had some really great experiences, other than that there were not enough seeds to go around for all the demand. When we started realizing that HGH only had a certain allotment that we could help bring to the market, we started working with a handful of other companies that were producing and selling seed. We had some really terrible and expensive experiences.

We didn’t get the seeds we were promised, we didn’t get feminized seeds from a couple of groups that were promising those to us. We ended up having to go out of our way a lot because it is our ethos to make deals right for our farmers even if that means coming out of pocket on some really large deals to get our clients what they needed to have a successful season.

So, once the dust settled from a few of those bad experiences, we realized that it was going to be imperative to partner with the best. Since we had not had any negative experiences with HGH and had only heard positive things from farmers that had been growing it…they were our first choice. After months of working together on different ideas and ways to make it happen, we identified Oregon as a market that we could help HGH break into. We partnered on a production facility in Oregon to produce, market, and sell their genetics and established ourselves as a national and global sales partners for HGH to help them field inquiries and spread the reach and brand of their company.

Q: Why is HGH the best?

Like I said before, it is the track record. HGH started in 2014 in Colorado with one of the first hemp farms in the country and has been putting out quality reliable seed ever since. They were really one of the first to identify this niche opportunity and put out the highest quality product and ramp up production, genetic development. HGH genetics were used in many of those breeding programs and imitated across the country. If you look at it from the perspective that “imitation is the highest form of flattery”, no one is being imitated more than HGH right now.

I think they have created the premium quality boutique high-percentage CBD varieties that can still be compliant. Their compliance record and the ability for the total THC to remain under .3% while still having some really high and really attractive CBD values is outstanding. Also, for the total composite of the plant once it is harvested and homogenized to remain high in those attractive cannabinoids and compounds is exceptional.

Q: What does the future look like for the partnership, hemp, and iHEMPx?

It’s hard to talk about the future because I either get pretty far out there or I come back to the fact that the world of hemp can change so quickly. As we are identified as a leader and innovator in looking at new opportunities, I am continuously amazed at what is brought to the table.

Right now it is the opportunity to partner with HGH genetics. We are putting a lot of our resources toward developing new genetics, bigger production facilities, more distribution channels both domestically and globally. As you do that, it creates not just ripples, but massive waves. HGH is the leader in genetics right now so we are seeing first hand, the amount of farmers that are converting, the acreage that’s going up, and the rising global demand. It’s hard not to feel the effects all of these things are going to have downstream.

It feels huge when you look at the total biomass produced, the total amount of drying and harvesting infrastructure that’s going to need to be in place, the amount of extraction capabilities that need to be set up in order to utilize that material, and then ultimately the market for all for that. Ultimately it comes down to the consumer realizing the benefit and us having the paths to market. Whether as a daily supplement, part of their skincare regiment, or pain management in the athletic world, there are countless ways that CBD can be introduced to more products. But it comes down to having the green light to put it in these products and put these cannabinoids, compounds, and terpenes into all these different products around the world.

If all these things line up, it will take off like crazy. If they don’t line up, we are going to experience massive bottlenecks. In the season, in drying, in extraction, having all this supply and then having the FDA clamp down on it and saying “ you guys don’t have any access to the consumer”. There is a lot to be determined in the future, but we continue to hit things on a trajectory and pace that continues to grow exponentially and overcome these bottlenecks. If we continue on that trajectory, it’s going to be a fascinating thing to see unfold because it’s having a global impact today and we are only at the tip of the iceberg.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of the interview: State Of The Industry

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