Farmer's Anxiety

Hemp 101: A Personal Account of a First-Year Louisiana Hemp Harvest

By Patrick Deshotels

I think I coined a new phrase. It’s called Farmer’s Anxiety.

I guess it's like when a racecar driver is ready to start a race, but it is delayed because of rain. I bet he is pretty amped up but has nowhere to go; adrenaline just dumped down the ditch and washed away by the rain. Maybe it’s similar to when a person is ready to start a new job, with all the excitement and happy tension but the paperwork is delayed in the Personnel Department…for weeks. It's when you're sitting on GO and you just have to wait. That’s what I felt like before I got the seedlings in the ground for this year’s inaugural Louisiana Hemp Season.

HEMP 2020!

It’s been the rally cry since the first meeting I attended in Alexandria put on by the Louisiana Department Agriculture and Forestry. I left impressed and more intrigued than ever.

I spoke with people, purchased books, and investigated online. I conducted research every chance I could. I went to more meetings, met more people, and sifted through the fluff to find the truth about this incredible plant. I made decisions and made plans, however, 2020 in its reputation as the most unprecedented year, had other plans. Within the confusion, I proceeded with my plans, maybe that was my way of keeping things normal. Even though it was difficult, we decided to plant hemp anyway.

I remember standing in this hemp field thinking, “It would be legendary if I could just get these plants in the ground.” I had been chomping at the bit since late winter to get plants in the ground and it was midsummer with our window of opportunity getting smaller. Personally, I got a late start, with dozens of postponements, including the FBI background check delayed for months due to COVID. Finally, we were able to purchase and plant some seeds in some soil that I had prepared in February. I distinctly remember planting on Independence Day.

Conquering those initial hurdles took some of the edge off of the Farmer’s Anxiety but I knew that it's not really farming until the plants are in the ground. That’s where I was this summer. I got all the equipment ready, scheduled some help, and everyone was scheduled to show up; but the rain showed up too…then more rain. Naturally I hit a roadblock and couldn’t plant, all the adrenaline running down in the ditch again. Welcome to farming in South Louisiana, get your rubber boots on! That is about where my patience ran out and anxiety kicked in. That’s why I called it Farmer’s Anxiety. Sitting on Go!

MOTHER NATURE IS ALWAYS IN CHARGE

When I really stopped to think about it, I’ve dealt with this all the time as a Wildlife Manager and Forester by trade. I live and die with the weather. I schedule around Mother Nature, many times working straight through it. Some projects require me to be glued to the weather report to make decisions. For other projects, I don’t even look at the weather, I just do what I can when I can, and push through it. But even with all of this temperance, I was still not immune to the let down that summer morning when I had everyone scheduled to come and help, and the bottom of the clouds fell on our hemp farm. Just like the sun after the rain, time eventually proved to be of service. My Farmer’s Anxiety eased the next weekend when good help, strong backs and a bunch of resilience against the summer heat showed up to help. Finally, we got all of the seedlings in the ground. I was able to take one long breath: 30 seconds of feeling accomplished, then back to work. The Farmer’s Anxiety was relieved. Then the true work began.

FARMER’S ANXIETY: A BATTLE OF SHEER WILL

My mind raced with questions on the next step in the inaugural process. “Will we hit a drought next?” “Would the irrigation be sufficient, I sure hope so, we spent good money on the water well.” “Would the soaker hose work?” “How does it work?” “What if the genetics we picked was wrong?” “What if the field went hot?” “What if the bugs eat them all?” (You know the food is always better in Louisiana!) “What if the mold and mildew take over the plants?” “What if we didn’t grow any plants to harvest?” “What if we could harvest and there would be no buyers?” The questions are endless. I am an optimistic person by nature, but for a moment, the “what ifs” took over my body and paralyzed me. Being among the first group of farmers to work with this crop in this area proved to be a mountainous challenge. I was stuck in the mud of pessimism. However, take heart my friends, it was only for a minute. For me, action and movement is the perfect answer for that.

“Let's put the soaker hose on the first zone,” I told my partner. I was glad to find a partner; one that knew a little more about hemp than I did. In fact, I had two partners. One that knew more about hemp, and one that was strongly connected to the land. Now, we are all farmers; the guinea pigs of the Louisiana Hemp Industry. Simply farmers and guinea pigs taking care of thousands of little seedlings, thinking of them as our pets for a minute...not wanting to get too attached to all of them, because we know some of them won’t make it through the night, week or the month.

“Do you see how the streams of water eventually run together?” My partner was assuring me that the soaker hose was effective and I agreed it was. The plants were in the ground and now it was time to feed them. A friend that is familiar with hemp told me something that kept ringing in my ears. “Although it is true that hemp is derived from something that can grow anywhere, it is a nutrient hog. If you want good plants, you will have to feed them.”

I have been learning about fertilizer for 20 years. How can something so simple be so complex at the same time? My partners and I sifted through the fluff again, using time-tested traditions and mixing in a little new age technology.

Let's feed the hogs.

That is where we are at my friends, you will have to stay tuned to see how many of our pets make it to harvest. Oh shoot, how do we harvest? Well, I guess we will figure it out!

I’ll end this piece with a bit of advice from my experience thus far, “Be strong my friends, and let the soil dry out.”