Passion in the Particulars My "Accidental" Interview with Louisiana Industrial Hemp Virtuosos By Abby Meaux Conques If there's ever a time to be completely raw and real, free of ego-protective masks, I think the pandemic is a pretty good time to do so. I see it as an absolute zero to get rid of the song, dance and fluff that muddles professionalism to an extent, not to mention depleting precious time. Many people don’t have the mental capacity for the fluff right now in the midst of ensuring that they can afford their family’s grocery bill or confirm that every member in their household is now upholding a level of personal hygiene that rivals crossing a sterile field.
The men in which I had the honor of speaking with were Matthew O. Indest, PhD, Horticultural Consultant, MOI Consulting LLC, and Pat Jack, Compliance Officer, CBD Rich Louisiana LLC. The list of credentials, accomplishments and experience from both are long, technical, and have a bunch of well-deserved fancy letters attached, but I mainly just want our readers to have a complete grasp of the company I was in and to be able to ascertain the level of proficiency that we are dealing with in their writings that follow.
That being said, as the Creative Director of a couple of small publications, emails are tsent my way fairly often (simply for being the point of contact) with people suggesting story ideas or professional connections. Sometimes it’s a text or a post-it note with a simple name and “would be a good contact” mention. No backstory, no information... just a blind cold call to see what’s on the other side of the line (normally after a fair bit of social media sleuthing to get an inkling of an idea of who I may be about to have a fullblown conversation with.)
This is merely an introductory preface to their sophisticated cognizance of all things industrial hemp and beyond... like bitcoin and cotton and sweet potatoes...oh my. I want everyone to be well-informed of just how qualified these guys are when you read future issue musings by the duo which, in person, (as much as “in-person” you can be in a social distancing quarantine) have the most refreshing harmony of synergy as you could hope a two-man team to have.
In all honesty, many connections don’t pan out. Sometimes it’s due to a bit of self-selling of what said connection can contribute to the cause. Sometimes it’s a matter of a good bit of energy in the beginning stages and the zest for new ideas that tend to fizzle out over time if the proverbial fires aren’t fanned...fire fanning is a hot commodity in a small grassroots effort. In some instances, the promises are penciled in and precious space is allocated for, only for deadlines to approach and no contribution to be found. This is always followed by a mad dash of searching for good-quality content to fill in, fueled solely by a moderate level of anxiety and a typical Type-A quest for unattainable perfection. Fast forward to a simple “would be a good connection” text with a phone number. An approaching deadline and the last few fall-apart connections made reaching out without much to go on slightly comfortable. So a cold call was made, and a zoom call set up for the next day. At the time of the call, I brought my notebook with me “just in case.” If the aspects of our constructed reality are based on past experiences, I had let too many disenchantments govern my level of enthusiasm. To say that I was pleasantly surprised with my zoom company would be an unfair understatement. For the subsequent hour and a half, I learned more about various aspects of the science and compliance in the industrial hemp industry than I had learned in years of personal, casual research. 4
So let’s get all technical with it: Dr. Matthew Indest resides in the Greater New Orleans Area of Louisiana. He is a proud product of a multi-generational line of Urban Victory Gardeners; a family history which he credits planting the seeds of horticultural interest to. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Horticultural Science as well as a Doctorate in Plant, Environmental, and Soil Sciences from Louisiana State University. Throughout his degree programs at LSU, he was instrumental in the state’s plant breeding programs for sweet potato and cotton. His analytical skills were finely honed in a post-doctoral fellowship with the USDA ARS’s Cotton Structure and Quality research group. His extensive knowledge in agricultural research stems from years of study and data-gathering concerning various facets of all things cotton, agriculturally; from quality and yield, to heritability qualities and plant tolerance, to biotic and abiotic stressors, and from irrigation system qualities to pest management. He brings this knowledge to Louisiana’s hemp homefront with his focus on plant-breeding strategies, applied urban horticultural practices, cannabis-testing standards research, and legislative reform. Dr. Indest’s passion for plant-based medicine research and his concern for consumer safety has led to volunteering efforts with groups such as Sensible Marijuana Policy for Louisiana where he advocates for developing safety and quality standards in the interest of patient groups to include: autism, epilepsy, AIDS, pain management, addiction treatment, PTSD, and cancer. He is licensed to grow Total THC Compliant hemp under LA’s Federally Approved InL OU ISIA N A H EM P M A GA ZIN E
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