NORTH FORK TIMES
SURFACE CREEK NEWS
VICTIM OF WEST NILE
POPS IN THE PARK
Memorial service planned this Friday for Ed Marston, B1
SPORTS
Valley Symphony kicks off 48th season with free concert, C1
DELTA COUNTY
DELTA ROUTS THORNTON Panther victory raises the bar for football coach Ben Johnson, B6
SEPTEMBER 5, 2018 VOL. 135, NO. 36
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INDEPENDENT
www.deltacountyindependent.com
Hemp acreage grows by leaps and bounds BY PAT SUNDERLAND Managing Editor
According to the Colorado Department of Agriculture, the regulatory agency for the cultivation of industrial hemp, nearly 1,200 acres have been registered for the growth of hemp in Delta County. An additional 104,282 square feet of indoor space is registered for hemp. Ty Odle, Western Slope Extractions, reports that acreage might have been higher had growers not faced the uncertainty of water to irrigate their crops this year. “The drought kept quite a few people from growing, knowing they would likely run out of water early,” Odle said. Located on Rogers Mesa, Western Slope Extractions is one of several hemp processing facilities in Delta County. Odle started his business a year and a half ago with the goal of providing a local option for growers looking for someone to extract CBD oil from their hemp. “There’s a lot more hemp being grown this year ... a lot more than last year, and I think it’s here to stay. The demand for CBD products is growing fast.” So fast, Odle says, he and his three employees could be selling more oil to clients who are looking for large quantities.
Mike Mason counts himself as one of the growers who is still learning and expects to keep learning as the hemp industry changes “before our very eyes.” “The demand for CBD oil is through the roof,” Mason said. “The processors can’t get enough.” He said he’s been visited by a processor from the Front Range, and from California investors who would like to help him expand his operation. But he’s content to grow his operation slowly, learning as he goes and keeping risk at a minimum. “If you want to do this, do an acre,” he recommends. “That’s more than enough to get your feet wet. Learn with that before you commit to 40 acres.” Mason said five acres is as large as he’s willing to go, due largely to the cost of plants but also taking into account how labor intensive hemp can be. He said he wound up pulling weeds by hand, so next
He explains there are two sides to hemp. The first is fiber, for which farmers need to grow hundreds of acres. Because hemp can be labor intensive, no one in Delta County is into that kind of volume yet, he said. Then there are the high CBD strains used to produce salves, tinctures and gel caps. Harvest will be ramping up throughout the month of September, with the peak occurring in October. Odle explains the hemp is harvested by hand, after the grower has verified the delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) concentration does not exceed threetenths of one percent (0.3%) on a dry weight basis. After the plants are harvested, they’re dried and stripped of the buds and leaves, which are sent to a processing facility like Odle’s. Some processors buy the product outright; others do a split, meaning they keep a portion of the oil in exchange for their services. Most new growers — meaning most of the folks Odle works with — don’t have the contacts to sell their oil once it’s been extracted, so he helps with that aspect as well. He also provides a “white label” program, making retail products for the growers to sell themselves.
year he’ll be looking for an easier option. Some growers lay down plastic in the rows between plants, but he’s seen the wind pick up the plastic, along with the drip system, and whip it around through the plants. While hemp can be very hardy, there are big risks. Seeds are hard to come by and may have unknown THC levels; clones can run $5 apiece. You can put too much nitrogen on your plants and wind up killing them. When it comes to finding someone to refine your product, you have to find a reputable handler. “There are definitely risks involved,” Mason said, “but the biggest is keeping the right THC balance.” He and other growers would like to see the THC level raised to 1 percent. “Then almost all varieties would pass and we wouldn’t have to harvest early,” Mason said, explaining that the higher the THC, the higher the level of CBD oil. There’s currently a lot of research going into plant vari-
eties, with the goal of keeping the THC low while maximizing the CBD levels. The latest thing from Oregon is a variety known as “cherry wine,” a variety that Mason plans to start indoors over the winter. “There’s a whole lot of energy going into hemp, and what you can do with it,” he said. So why is CBD oil in such high demand? “It’s growing by leaps and bounds because it’s so effective,” Mason said. “My personal experience is having had stage four renal cell caricinoma. The oncologist prescribed narcotics for the intense pain. CBD oil allowed me to reduce the amount of narcotics to control the pain.” CBD oil is also touted as an effective treatment for anxiety and depression, inflammation from arthritis, sleep disorders ... even acne (healthline.com). “There has to be something to it or the demand would not have skyrocketed,” Mason said. “And all of this is without massive advertising campaigns, just word of mouth.”
Oil/gas working group begins with education BY ANNETTE BRAND Staff Writer
The Delta County oil and gas working group was formed as an outgrowth of revision of the Master Plan. A working group for concentrated animal feed operation was created at the same time. The working groups will research and develop recommendations for enforceable standards to be incorporated into the county’s land use regulations. At the first meeting of the O&G WG in June, Elyse Casselberry, county community and economic development director, and group facilitator, explained that the group would concentrate on understanding the engineering processes of oil and gas, discuss risks associated with the processes, and seek to understand the oil and gas industry’s perspective and individual operator’s perspective. The group will discuss the economics of drilling in the Upper North Fork and also the risks involved. “We will have honest discussions about all these issues,” Casselbery said. “Our goal will be to come to consensus on the collective knowledge we’ve gained as a group for the benefit of the Board of County Commissioners’ decision-making process regarding oil and gas.” As meetings occurred, Casselberry gained agreement for the definition of consensus,
INDEX
Accent ........................... A4 Activities ....................... A9 Back Page .................... D6 Business .......................A10 Church ............................C6 Classifieds .................. D1-2 Editorial ......................... A2 Legals ......................... D3-4 North Fork Times ........B1-4 Obituaries ..................... A8 School Zone .................. A6 Service Directory ........ D5 Sports ..........................B5-8 Surface Creek News ...C1-5 TV Listings ..................C3-4
which includes all the members working to support the outcome of the group’s work and not blocking or obstructing the decision or its implementation. “We can all rally behind the decision and help move it forward,” she said. The members of the O&G WG are: Alex Johnson, an environmental partner; Shane Sobtka, NGO/education partner; Wendell Koontz, representing industry; Mike Cleary, representing industry; Natasha Leger, environmental partner; Mark Waltermire, mineral owner and concerned resident; Mike Ludlow, industry, Oxbow Mining, and a member of the North Fork Coal Mine Methane Working Group. At the July 16 meeting of O&G WG, a list of “common themes” was compiled based on members’ priorities as indicated by numbers: identify risks, 172 points; understand roles and responsibilities, 112 points; identify solutions, 83 points; build trust, 83 points; fact-based consensus process, 45 points; education of working group, 35 points; and regulatory vs. policy distinction, 14 points. The risks identified were water; trucks and transportation safety; regulatory gaps; accidents; the need to work on interaction and expectations with Gunnison County; OIL/GAS TO A3
BHRC closes Friday
Photo submitted
Mike Mason said his first year of growing hemp has been a “huge learning curve.” Given the learning curve and the drought, Mason said he’s very glad he started with just one acre. Ty Odle, Western Slope Extractions, says he spends a lot of time with first timers, meeting and discussing options for growing hemp in Delta County.
McKee joins sheriffs in call for action on immigration reform Delta County Sheriff Fred McKee has been invited to Washington D.C. on Wednesday, Sept. 5, to meet with White House officials on illegal immigration matters, and to urge Congress to act on pending legislation to increase border security. Sheriff McKee will join almost 50 other sheriffs from across the country as a united group of elected law enforcement officers at a media event on Capitol Hill on Wednesday morning. Joined by some members of Congress, this group of sheriffs will share its experiences and public safety challenges associated with illegal aliens, and call on Congress to act on pending legislation to increase border security and reform the immi-
Bill Heddles Recreation Center will be closed Friday, Sept. 7, for maintenance. The entire facility will re-open Saturday with normal operating hours. Renee Ealey, recreation center manager, reports, “Our goal for this year’s maintenance is to get the high duct work and beams deep cleaned, finish the LED pool lighting retrofit, repaint parking lot lines, plumbing repairs that require shut offs and deep carpet cleaning among other things. Due to budget constraints, some of our normal wood flooring refinishes and painting projects have been scheduled for a future date.”
gration system. On Wednesday afternoon, the sheriffs will participate in a roundtable discussion at the White House with administration officials and policymakers. Hosted by the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, the round table will focus on immigration, border security and efforts by some elected officials to prevent the critical collaboration of local, county, state and federal law enforcement agencies. These partnerships maximize law enforcement’s potential to identify criminals in communities and remove them from neighborhoods. “The purpose of this visit is to express the need for Congress to pass legislation on the security aspects of immi-
gration reform, as a group of sheriffs we hope to impress on Congress that their failure to deal with this issue has made our communities less safe. “During our visit to the White House, we will discuss the challenges we face as a result of the ongoing Congressional stalemate, strategies to more easily identify criminal illegal aliens, and explore ways to expand and protect our valuable and critically important relationships with our local, state and federal law enforcement partners,” said Sheriff McKee. “We will also take the opportunity to express and thank President Trump and his administration for re-establishing law enforcement’s footing to enforce our laws.”
Crawford Area Indivisible to host debate Crawford Area Indivisible, a non-partisan, grassroots organization which promotes liberty and justice for all, has invited both Republican Congressman Scott Tipton and Democratic nominee Diane Mitsch Bush to participate in a debate for the people of Delta County and the surrounding areas. Mitsch Bush has accepted the invitation; Tipton’s campaign has not responded to multiple emails and phone messages. The debate is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 9, at 3 p.m. at Hotchkiss High School. The contest is for representation in the U.S. Congress of Colorado’s Congressional District 3, which includes the Western Slope. Mitsch Bush said, “I welcome the opportunity to debate the issues with Congressman Tipton. People deserve to hear directly from the candidates that are running to be their employees. However, if Mr. Tipton is not willing to attend I’m more than happy to have a Town Hall type meeting so we can all discuss the issues.” Tipton has been in Congress for four terms. Mitsh Bush is a former two-term Routt County commissioner and a former three-term Colorado state representative.