Apr / May / June 2018
ISSUE 03
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editor’s note
PARADOXES IN THE traditional
American agricultural industry manifest themselves throughout the supply chain. First, government agencies pay subsidies to farmers so that they won’t farm, then billions of dollars’ worth of produce is wasted in transport while millions go hungry and, all the while, the image of the small pioneering farmer is lauded as the American ideal while regulations promote large corporations instead. Nowhere are the contradictions more evident than in the hemp industry. The hemp plant has no psychotropic effects, yet the federal government refuses to grant it full legality. And while many traditional agricultural commodities — such as corn and cattle — stress the soil and the atmosphere, hemp’s healing properties are left unresearched and its seeds are left unplanted. But thanks to these contradictions, the hemp industry is a unique place for the small farmer. Without insurance, certified seed banks or federally legal marketplaces, the small hemp farmer faces challenges different from traditional small farmers. But this also means that they can thrive in an industry lacking institutional corporate competitors and benefit from a boost in hemp oil prices because of hemp’s relationship with marijuana. In this issue of HEMP, we’re focusing on these small farmers. Over the past few months, we’ve talked to small farmers across America about the problems they’ve faced and the innovative solutions they’ve created to remain profitable and thrive in the industry (“How Small
04 thehempmag.com
Farmers Can Compete,” pg. 50). From a Vermont couple making hemp honey to a Kentucky woman who switched from farming beef to producing hemp for chocolate, this issue profiles the people who form the backbone of the modern American hemp industry. Within these pages, our writers also discuss and debate issues with politicians such as Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO) regarding crop insurance (“Insuring the Next Harvest,” pg. 47) and with federal water bureaucrats about hemp farm access to federal irrigation channels (“Water Wars,” pg. 36), and much more. When I talked with Barry Cook, a father of three who farms hemp and nursery stock in Oregon (pg. 52), he said that he thinks one of the biggest factors holding back the hemp industry is the lack of open communication channels between different hemp farmers. “This is an industry that doesn’t communicate as well as traditional agriculture,” Cook told me. “Farmers have a reputation for having strong opinions, but in the hemp industry, we don’t have a history of sharing those opinions with each other.” At HEMP, we’re hoping to open up those communication channels — and to give the small hemp farmer the connections and information they need to succeed. Julia Clark-Riddell, Managing Editor
PHOTO COURTESY LUCE FARMS
Small farmers are finding unique opportunities in the American hemp economy, but the current gray market presents unique challenges.
®
ISSUE Three
features Shane Davis has spent the last few years planting several test fields of hemp for his Boulder Hemp Farms. Read more on page 55
HOW SMALL HEMP FARMERS CAN COMPETE 50
Meet the American family farmers forging new, profitable paths in the hemp industry.
BARRY, SAM & BO COOK 52
NICK AKINS & ETHAN BROWN 58
SHANE DAVIS 54
JOE & REBECCA PIMENTAL 60
By Francesco Guerreri
By Joel Hathaway
ELLIOT BROWN & LYDIA SMITH 56
LAURA FREEMAN 63
A long-time activist in Colorado supports other small farmers and uses sustainable growing methods.
A Colorado couple switches from farming marijuana and starts producing hemp. By Mitchell Colbert
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Two Oregon friends grow hemp for CBD flower, not for oil. By Joel Hathaway A husband and wife team in Vermont makes hemp honey and collaborates on CBD beer.
A Kentucky beef producer and organic pioneer turns to hemp, and back to pesticides. By Annie Rouse
PHOTO COURTESY SHANE DAVIS
An Oregon father and his sons grow hemp and focus on environmental restoration. By Julia Clark-Riddell
ISSUE THREE
Mission Lago Farms’ first hemp crop thrives in 2017 in Central Point, Oregon.
contents
HEMP-FED MEAT? 30
STATE OF HEMP: SOWING SEEDS FOR A NEW SEASON 13
By Joel Hathaway
A federal hemp lobbyist gives the forecast for this year’s planting season and describes the potential storms brewing on hemp’s horizon. By Ben Droz SEEDS OF DOUBT 18
Without widely available certified hemp varieties and with an overeager DEA patrolling the border, hemp farmers struggle to access the seeds they need for successful hemp production. By Annie Rouse
IS HEMP A SOIL SAVIOR? 23
Bankruptcy and lost data have stunted research into hemp’s radioactive remediation abilities, leaving the public left to sift through misinformation. By Mitchell Colbert
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Hemp cultivators are bringing the plant into traditional agriculture and onto your table. SPAGYRIC HEMP EXTRACTION 33
This ancient technique creates a full-spectrum hemp extract containing the plant’s original terpenes, cannabinoids and minerals By Bryan Caruso WATER WARS 36
Hemp farmers in western states face down the federal Bureau of Reclamation for the right to irrigate in time for growing season.
INSURING THE NEXT HARVEST 47
In an increasingly unpredictable environment, hemp farmers look to Washington, D.C. for help insuring their crop against the elements. By A.J. Herrington PRODUCT REVIEWS 66 CBD salves and topicals. By HEMP Staff RECIPE: HEMP ENERGY BARS 69
No cooking is necessary to make these easy energy bars packed with nutrients. By Laurie Wolf
THE FORECAST 70
By Kit O’Connell
The stories on HEMP’s horizon.
THE ROAD TO LEGALIZATION 40
HEMP HINDSIGHT 72
The Hemp Road Trip has traveled through 48 states in two years, bringing a pro-hemp message from sea to shining sea. By Emily Stifler Wolfe
Insight from one of history’s heroes.
TOP PHOTO COURTESY MISSION LAGO
EDITOR’S NOTE 04
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Dusk at Boulder Hemp Farms is a beautiful and melancholic sight, as sun sets over a field of hemp.
Publisher
Eugenio Garcia Art Director
Todd Heath Managing Editor
Julia Clark-Riddell Contributing Editor
Ben Droz Copy Editor
Joel Hathaway Assistant Photo Editor
Emily Joan Greene Advertising
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Dan Armstrong Brian Caruso A.J. Herrington Mitchell Colbert Francesco Guerreri Adam Jones Kit O’Connell Annie Rouse Matthew Staver Laurie Wolf Bruce Wolf Emily Stifler Wolfe On the Cover
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PHOTO SHANE DAVIS
The Stanley Ranch in Fossil, Oregon plants hemp in June 2017, with consulting help from the Boring Hemp Company. Photo by Barry Cook
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SOWI NG S E E DS F O R A N E W S E AS O N A federal hemp lobbyist gives the forecast for this year’s planting season and describes the potential storms brewing on hemp’s horizon. By Ben Droz
is upon us, and promises to bring another historic harvest. Thousands of acres of federally legal hemp are now being cultivated and new supply chains are bringing wholesome American hemp product to market. Finally, years of grassroots activism are paying off. But just as a farmer faces a slew of uncertainty after they plant their seeds for the season, so too is the hemp industry facing a year of unknowns. Farmers must endure torrential rains and spring storms, but the biggest threat isn’t the weather — it’s legal challenges. Here is the forecast for the upcoming season, as it looks now. THE 2018 PLANTING SEASON
PHOTO EMILY JOAN GREENE
STATE GROWTH
In 2014, prior to the passage of the Farm Bill, ten states had passed hemp legislation. Less than a year later, it had doubled to 20 states ready to grow. Today, at least 34 states have hemp laws, and more than 20 have active programs. In 2015, the first season of legal hemp, seven states planted hemp: Colorado, Kentucky, Hawaii, Indiana, Oregon, Tennessee and Vermont. Colorado harvested around 2,300 acres and Kentucky planted 922 acres; ultimately around 4,000 acres were harvested this first legal season. The following year, America more than doubled its hemp harvest to 9,649 acres in 15 states, with participation from 30
universities and 817 hemp licenses issued. The increase in states, universities and acreage showed that the industry was on a strong course for success, which was validated by another year of exponential year in 2017. Last year, more than 25,000 acres of hemp were grown across 19 states, in 32 universities, with 1,456 licenses. We finally have 25,000 acres to match the potential 25,000 uses of hemp (as asserted by a famous Popular Mechanics article in 1938). Judging by this growth trend, 2018 will be our most productive year yet. IS AMERICA READY FOR HEMP?
While 2018 holds promise, challenges exist on the horizon. On Jan. 4, Attorney General Jeff Sessions rescinded the Obama-era “Cole Memo,” a toothless act that doesn’t affect hemp, but still foreshadows speed bumps ahead. For example, at an event in February, the undersecretary for the USDA Greg Ibach said, “Opening the door [to hemp] nationwide, with no restrictions, may not be in the best interests of the hemp industry” and reiterated the federal Department of Justice’s jurisdiction over hemp. HEMP-DERIVED CBD STORM BREWING
On Feb. 12, authorities in Tennessee raided 23 stores and confiscated hemp CBD products in what they called “Operation
#hempmag 13
A CBD-rich plant weathers the storm.
Candy Crush.” All charges were later dismissed. In Indiana, similar raids occurred with CBD vendors, until the state’s governor signed a law in March reiterating that selling CBD is legal. While these cases both ended in victory, they sent a chill through the industry and illustrated the power of anti-hemp forces and misinformation.
Medicines Agency granted the drug approval to treat a rare tumor disorder. If Epidiolex is approved by the FDA in late June as anticipated, the federal government could increase enforcement against CBD companies not approved by the FDA, which is to say, everyone besides GW Pharmaceuticals. HEAVY RAINS FOR A ROBUST CROP
Just three days after Operation Candy Crush, a major court heard oral arguments in Hemp Industries Association v. DEA, a lawsuit that seeks to invalidate the DEA’s classification of CBD under the ‘Marihuana Extract Rule.’ Attorney Robert Hoban, with added support from 28 members of Congress, represented the hemp industry well, but the judges still seemed confused by the complexity and immediacy of the CBD issue. The turbulence and challenges with CBD may just be beginning. GW Pharmaceuticals’ new drug, Epidiolex, which is essentially a CBD extract, has been under review by the FDA for years. On Feb. 27, the European
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Despite the challenges, I believe that hemp’s forecast is good and the industry will weather the storms. While we have ongoing challenges, they pale in comparison to our progress. Because of the Farm Act of 2014, American farmers, researchers and businesses will plant tens of thousands of acres of hemp this year. Even without full legal status, we can still build and develop our industry, supply chains and credibility. In fact, as long as hemp is not fully legal, we actually have our foot in the door to the great opportunity to build the industry we want, without influence from gigantic corporations. Hemp is now only available for the true hemp entrepreneurs — the small farmers and the enterprising individuals that make the hemp industry so vibrant and dynamic. When hemp is fully legal, it could open the floodgates, pushing out some small producers to make room for larger corporations. This growing season, we should stay focused on developing the best hemp industry we can and pushing forward long-term values and visions. The planting season is now, so let’s get out there and grow some hemp!
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SE E DS OF DOUBT Without widely available certified hemp varieties and with an overeager DEA patrolling the border, hemp farmers struggle to access the seeds they need for successful hemp production. By Annie Rouse | Photos Emily Joan Greene
WHEN BRIAN FURNISH became one of
the first approved hemp farmers under the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, he didn’t think that the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) would seize the seeds he intended to plant, but they did. Fortunately, this didn’t deter Furnish. Instead, he teamed up with thenKentucky Agriculture Commissioner Jamie Comer and attorney Jonathan Miller of Frost Brown Todd. The group sued the DEA shortly after the seizure, forcing the DEA to release the seeds. Four years later, Furnish is still planting hemp on his 2,000-acre farm, but says he hasn’t had to deal with anymore DEA legal battles when it comes to acquiring seeds. Furnish says the process “is much more streamlined now, because the state Department of Agriculture knows how to do it now. They know what the DEA expects [and] the DEA knows what they want.” Still, Furnish says, “It takes a lot of paperwork … but if you do the paperwork right, you can have seed to you in seven to ten days.” Today, Furnish gets his seeds from Ecofibre, an Australian company that has acquired a large seed bank from around the world. But other farmers have much more trouble acquiring seeds and genetics than Furnish. Kentucky farmer Michael Johns has taken incredible risks to source hemp seeds. Her family farm, Greenman Gardens, grew from seed last year, but had issues with consistency in the cannabinoid spectrum. Some of their
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greenhouse plots tested well below the legal THC concentration, whereas other plots, using the same seed variety, tested well above the legal THC concentration. Some of this inconsistency may be related to stress, but it could also be related to unstable seed varieties. Given the inconsistencies with seed variety, Greenman Gardens has moved towards clones, but in order to clone the plants, the farm had to acquire their own genetics. The process was not simple. After locating a few genetic sources, Greenman Gardens worked with the Kentucky Department of Agriculture to ensure the varieties had success growing in Kentucky. Johns then drove out to Colorado to solidify an agreement with a trustworthy genetics source, and then drove the mother plants back to Kentucky for reproduction. For now, Greenman Gardens felt this option was the best way to move their growing operation forward while they search for more stable seed varieties. CREATING RELIABLE GENETICS IN THE U.S.
Today, there are genetics firms focusing on fixing the seed dilemma in the hemp industry. For example, New West Genetics — a Colorado-based genetics research and development company working to create hemp cultivars for grain, cannabinoids and fiber — has been collecting feral and donated seeds and then crossbreeding the seeds over many generations to create variations. New West then selects for desired traits such as uniformity, cannabinoid profiles, terpenes or seed size.
According to Wendy Mosher, CEO and cofounder of New West Genetics, their varieties are “designed to be harvestable with existing, large-scale mechanical equipment that are on farms right now.” However, designing these plants isn’t an easy process. It takes years to make a good variety and the process involves a thorough analysis of the genetic traits. Breeders also must be patient and “willing to throw out 99 percent of what they are growing,” says Mosher. Eventually, the analytical data is used to certify the plant variety, which is helpful for farmers and for protecting the intellectual property through patents. In January, New West Genetics became the first company in the United States to have an approved U.S.-bred certified hemp seed cultivar, NWGElite. Now that it is certified, the company will begin to multiply the seed so processors and their farmers can license the variety, but this process also takes considerable time. Certified seeds are more approachable for farmers, given that the Association of Official Seed Certifying Agencies (AOSCA) also validates traits like germination rate and, in the case of hemp, proof that the variety tests below the 0.3 percent THC threshold. FOR NOW, SOME FARMERS ARE IMPORTING THEIR SEED STOCK
While there are not many certified hemp varieties in the United States, they are plentiful abroad. Companies like Ecofibre, Atalo
Barry Cook, owner of Boring Hemp Company, sifts through the seeds for his next hemp crop.
#hempmag 19
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LEFT: A worker at Boring Hemp Farms in Oregon separates dried hemp flower from hemp seed. RIGHT: Finding viable hemp seed is challenging for many hemp farmers, given the volatility of the plant.
“ [Breeders also must be patient and] willing to throw out 99 percent of what they are growing.” -WENDY MOSHER, CEO, NEW WEST GENETICS
Holdings and International Hemp Solutions are trying to solve this issue by importing certified seed varieties for United States breeding, certification and production. Atalo Holdings, a Kentucky hemp company, has formed a strategic alliance with the Canadian company, Hemp Production Services; however, since hemp is a latitudinal crop, some of the varieties have not done as well in Kentucky’s hot and humid summer climate. For example, varieties like CFX1 and CFX2 are taller in stature and have performed well in Kentucky soils, but some of the newer Canadian varieties are bred to be short in stature. This becomes problematic when hemp is confronted with weed pressure. One Colorado company, International Hemp Solutions, has established a relationship with the Institute of Medicinal Plants and
Natural Fibers in Poland. This institute has a seed bank of over 180 specific hemp cultivars that have been certified and bred over the last forty years. International Hemp Solutions has imported small amounts of these seeds since the passage of the 2014 Farm Bill for a variety trials and eventually certification. Recently, the Colorado Department of Agriculture and AOSCA certified an imported variety called “Bialobreskee,” or what International Hemp Solutions refers to as “B-lab.” This successful certification encouraged the company to import 21 tons of this variety into the United States. According to International Hemp Solutions Board Advisor Tim Gordon, the institute did not have issues with the Drug Enforcement Agency seizing the seeds at the border, but the importation was extremely difficult. If the paperwork is not done perfectly, it can
cost companies thousands of dollars a day for Customs and Border Patrol to hold the seeds until documentation is properly completed, Gordon says. Like Furnish and Johns, Gordon is also a farmer. Gordon’s vision is to drive U.S.-grown hemp into big markets such as the automotive industry. Gordon knows the U.S. industry is not fully scalable yet, but he believes creating large volumes of certified seed banks will help push the industry towards commercialization. “Success is farmers having access to certified seed with quality and consistency year after year, which is what we’re used to with traditional agriculture,” says Gordon. “We know what corn will do, we know what millet will do, but we’ve had ups and downs with hemp. Certified seed is something that has very stable consistency and quality. As a farmer, this is what I want with my genetics.”
#hempmag 21
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R AD I OAC TIVE R E S E ARCH :
I S HEM P A S O I L SAV I O R ? Bankruptcy and lost data have stunted research into hemp’s radioactive remediation abilities, leaving the public left to sift through misinformation. By Mitchell Colbert | Photos Adam Jones
From Chernobyl to Fukushima, hemp is an agricultural superhero — cheaper than technology, more environmentally friendly than chemicals and able to clean up radioactive soil in a single season. But there’s a problem with this story. In the plethora of articles touting hemp’s ability to pull radioactive toxins from contaminated soils, they usually cite the same scientific source: a study whose results were never published. In 1998, the New Jersey-based company Phytotech, in partnership with Consolidated Growers and Processors (CGP) and the Ukraine’s Institute of Bast Crops, planted industrial hemp near the Chernobyl site to study its application to remediate the soil. But, for various reasons, the results of their research never reached the public. Today, the question remains: Did Phytotech actually find out that hemp could effectively remediate radioactive compounds? HERE’S HOW THE STORY GOES:
A CAUTIONARY TALE OF RESEARCH GONE MISSING
What can be pieced together from various secondary sources is that CGP was initially excited with their findings. In 1999, the CGP filed a document with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that said they had an “exclusive license for a phytoremediation process
technology for all applications that would utilize industrial hemp as the plant.” Unfortunately for CGP, they filed for bankruptcy the next year. Before they went bankrupt, one of the scientists on the team, Dr. Slavik Dushenkov, was able to present his research at the XVI International Botanical Congress in Saint Louis, Missouri, which was the only opportunity the scientific community had to hear Phytotech’s findings, since no scientific paper reporting the results of those field experiments has been published. Since Phytotech did not publish their data, generations of researchers have relied on hearsay, looking at books or other studies that reference hemp remediation. But since those sources also did not have a study to reference, some of them have major inconsistencies casting doubt on the alleged findings. Two recently published books reference the Phytotech research, a 2014 textbook called “Soil Remediation and Plants” and “Reviews of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, Volume 241,” published in 2017. In “Reviews of Environmental Contamination,” the authors say Phytotech’s research found hemp to be the “most efficient plant useful for eliminating toxins such as metals, solvents, pesticides, explosives, etc. from contaminated topsoil.”
#hempmag 23
Chernobyl Reactor 4, where the nuclear disaster occurred, falls apart within the Chernobyl exclusion zone.
IN “ S O IL R EMED I AT I O N,” T HE A U T H O R S R EP O R T T H AT P H Y T O T E CH F O U ND “HEMP WA S A S GOOD AS SUNFLOWER” AT EXTRACTING RADIOACTIVE CESIUM AND STRONTIUM ISOTOPES, AND T HAT SUNFL OWERS COUL D “REMOVE A S MUCH AS 95 PERCEN T OF T OXIC CON TAMIN AN T S.”
LEFT: The town of Pripyat, left within the Chernobyl exclusion zone, comes with a radiation warning. RIGHT: An abandoned house within the exclusion zone.
24 thehempmag.com
Researchers walk past Chernobyl’s Reactor 4.
In “Soil Remediation,” the authors report that Phytotech found “hemp was as good as sunflower” at extracting radioactive Cesium and Strontium isotopes, and that sunflowers could “remove as much as 95 percent of toxic contaminants.” This book was the only source to actually describe the experiment, which the authors claim examined hemp’s ability to pull toxins from contaminated water, not topsoil, as “Reviews of Environmental Contamination” claims. While Phytotech’s findings on hemp weren’t enough to be worth publishing, there appears to be something that the company believed was worth trademarking in 1993, and then again in 1996, regarding “environmental remediation services; namely, remediation of environmental pollution.” As both of those trademarks predate their hemp research, which began in 1998, and neither specifies radioactive compounds or hemp, it is unlikely the trademarks had anything to do with the supposed hemp research. For whatever reason, Phytotech let their first trademark expire and cancelled their second trademark on May 8, 2004. WHAT WE REALLY KNOW ABOUT HEMP PHYTOREMEDIATION
If Phytotech did find anything useful, it appears to have been lost to the ages in a bad game of telephone played out over two decades on the internet. Thankfully, there is more recent research that shows
hemp can phytoremediate radioactive compounds. In 2004, a study in the Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry looked at 28 different species of plants and found hemp to be the fourth best remediator of radium out of all species examined (even better than sunflowers). The rest of the literature on hemp as a phytoremediator has focused on its effectiveness at pulling heavy metals and other chemical compounds, rather than radioactive isotopes, from contaminated soils. In the past 19 years, at least three studies have shown hemp to be an effective remediator of several toxic heavy metals, including copper, cadmium, nickel, lead and chromium. One 2006 study in the International Journal of Phytoremediation even found that hemp can sequester the compounds known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are groups of chemicals that occur in gasoline and oil and can be carcinogenic. The studies do disagree over where the bulk of those toxins are sequestered, with some studies saying the toxins are stored in the roots and others saying it’s in the leaves. Regardless, Dr. Dushenkov’s 1999 presentation of Phytotech’s research does seem to have spurred on a surge of research on hemp’s usefulness as a phytoremediator.
#hempmag 25
I n 2 0 0 4 , a s t u dy i n t h e J o u r n a l o f R a d i o a n a ly t i c a l and Nuclear Chemistry l ooked at 28 differen t species of pl an t s and f ound hemp t o be t he f our t h b e s t remediat or of r adium ou t of al l species e x amined.
But given the promising findings on hemp phytoremediation over the past two decades, and the continued need to remediate toxic areas like Chernobyl and Fukushima, it is surprising that so little is being done with that research. While hemp is currently being used in Taranto, Italy to clean up the toxins from a massive steel factory, it hasn’t yet caught on in the United States, where it could prove helpful at the Hanford Nuclear Site, referred to as “America’s Chernobyl,” as well as numerous other polluted areas. Perhaps with time, the legends around hemp’s radioactive remediation powers will prove to be true.
26 thehempmag.com Hemptodaymagazine.com
TOP: Abandoned Soviet infrastructure in Chernobyl. LEFT: A derelict basketball court in the ghost town of Pripyat. MIDDLE: A monument for the villages abandoned in the exclusion zone. RIGHT: Books left in a schoolhouse in Pripyat, northern Ukraine.
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Small Farms
HE MP-FE D ME AT ? Hemp cultivators are bringing the plant into traditional agriculture and onto your table. B y J o e l H a t h a w ay | I l l u s t r a t i o n R y a n G a r c i a
PRIOR TO THE demonization of allthings-cannabis in the United States, hemp grew freely across North America. Animals, both wild and domesticated, could graze on naturally growing hemp before the plants were largely eliminated from the landscape under federal prohibition. But today, hemp as a nutritional supplement for animals is starting to return to the United States in interesting ways. There are a myriad of companies selling CBD products for pets, claiming that dogs and cats will gain the same benefits as humans from the cannabinoid, despite the lack of conclusive studies. A few pet food companies are also starting to offer treats and daily foods featuring full-spectrum hemp to supply proteins, amino acids, omega-3s and omega-6s. Perhaps most interesting, traditional agriculture is beginning to turn to hemp to supplement the diets of livestock to increase health, weight — and in the end — profits. Like many areas of hemp cultivation, production and legislation, Colorado is leading the charge. In March 2017, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper signed a bill to create a working group under the Commissioner of Agriculture
to study the feasibility and benefits of hemp as animal feed. Since then, ranchers in Colorado have begun to introduce hemp to their livestock’s foodstuffs. Because of its proteins, beneficial fatty acids and overall cannabinoid profile, hemp-derived food offers an array of nutritional benefits for animals consuming it. “We’ve been adding about 10 percent to 20 percent of our pelletized hemp to feed for cattle and pigs,” says Pauli Roterdam of Endo Scientific, a hempbased tincture company, and Audacious Farms, an organic urban farm in Denver, Colorado growing produce and hemp. “No one should ever feed their animals just everything hemp. It’s a supplement. What we’ve seen are healthier animals going for 10 to 20 percent more at auction. Their coats look better. They weigh more. And that’s just from four months on our hemp feed.” And because these animals are being reared for eventual human consumption, Roterdam says some of those benefits are passed down to the end consumer. Basically, eating meat from healthier animals is good for whomever consumes that animal.
“We think we’re going to establish even more rare cannabinoid contents, returning the waste and regenerative qualities back to the soil, which adds more value to our animals, soil and people, returning hemp and CBD to our diet the way it was 100 years ago,” says Roterdam. Hemp is also being used as a supplement for chickens and ducks at Enlita Farms, a Longmont, Coloradobased multipurpose farm. Because its poultry are consuming hemp, the eggs that Enlita Farms produces contain higher levels of omega acids, amino acids, vitamins and cannabinoids, says Roterdam. It’s an interesting development to see Colorado and others considering integrating hemp into the diet of livestock. For most of the food-concerned public, it seems the thinking has focused on humans eating different parts of the hemp plant for its nutritional benefits. But ultimately, the most complete way to reintroduce hemp to our diets involves feeding our livestock hemp, bringing the traditional diet full circle to reap the nutritional benefits of a plant that Americans who came before us consumed.
#hempmag 31
A H OW-TO GU I D E TO
SPAGY R I C H E M P E X TR AC TI ON This ancient technique creates a full-spectrum hemp extract containing the plant’s original terpenes, cannabinoids and minerals. By Brian Caruso
(pronounced “spa-geer-ic”) extraction process is much different than any other hemp extraction method currently used. Most companies employ the modern science of C02 extraction or the liquid solvent method to turn hemp flower into its oil form, but spagyric extraction is a distinctly older process, dating back to medieval alchemy and operating under a logic not found in contemporary science. Spagyric extraction is based on the ancient belief that everything has a spirit, a soul and a body. In this
PHOTO DAN ARMSTRONG
THE SPAGYRIC
A spagyric hemp extraction from Zion Medicinals boasts an extra verdant color.
method of plant extraction, the “spirit” is represented in the alcohol (which is part of why we call it “spirits” today), the “soul” aligns with the oils or medicinal compounds of the plant and the “body” of the plant is known as the purified minerals. In the end, this ancient method of plant extraction produces an oil that retains many of hemp’s original terpenes, cannabinoids, flavonoids and minerals — including chlorophyll, which makes spagyric hemp oil distinctly green.
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Unlike butane, propane or CO2, the alcohol can extract both water-soluble and oil-soluble compounds, so it can dissolve a much wider range of molecules, including almost all of the plant’s medicinal oils, polysaccharides, carboxylic acids and other beneficial chemical s. 1.
HERE ARE THE THREE GENERAL STEPS INVOLVED IN MAKING A SPAGYRIC HEMP EXTRACT:
2.
STEP 1: ALCOHOL EXTRACTION
The basic process starts with the organic alcohol extraction. First, organic alcohol is evaporated under a vacuum and then re-condensed. The alcohol is then continuously flushed through the hemp plant matter and is run until the resulting tincture is relatively clear. Unlike butane, propane or CO2, the alcohol can extract both water-soluble and oil-soluble compounds, so it can dissolve a much wider range of molecules, including almost all of the plant’s medicinal oils, polysaccharides, carboxylic acids and other beneficial chemicals. In the past, when spagyric extraction was conducted by hand, practitioners would complete this step by merely putting the alcohol and the plant in a jar and waiting 40 days for full maceration.
3.
STEP 2: MINERAL EXTRACTION
Once the extraction is complete, the remaining plant material that hasn’t been extracted into the alcohol tincture is burned to a white ash. Next, the ash is mixed with distilled water, filtered and slowly evaporated to crystalize into mineral salts, which alchemists call “calcination.” In the final step, the mineral salts created in Step 2 are gathered and mixed together with the alcohol tincture made in Step 1, creating a complete spagyric hemp extract. While the oil can be diluted into a less potent state if combined with coconut oil, MCT oil or other food grade oils, it is now ready to consume in careful doses.
Dosing Safety: The strength of the final spagyric extract depends on
the cannabinoid, terpene and mineral content of the original hemp flower. While it is best to get the extract tested in a lab and to consult your doctor before consumption, if this path is unavailable to you, start out by taking a very small dose of just a few drops to be safe. Brian Caruso is the founder of Zion Medicinals, a company which makes hemp extracts using spagyric extraction methods.
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PHOTOS COURTESY BRIAN CARUSO
STEP 3: RECOMBINATION
WAT E R WAR S
By Kit O’Connell
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PHOTO MATT STAVER
Hemp farmers in western states face down the federal Bureau of Reclamation for the right to irrigate in time for growing season.
“TECHNICALLY, NO ONE’S EVER DENIED ME THE WATER,” says
hemp farmer Kim Phillips, with a laugh. Legally, Phillips can grow hemp on her 75-acre farm in Montana’s Helena Valley, but whether she can water her crops is another matter. Phillips is at the center of a dispute that highlights the legal gray area around hemp farming in the United States. The water source she can access from her property is a federally regulated irrigation district controlled by the Bureau of Reclamation, a federal organization that manages water projects in America’s 17 westernmost states. Although Phillips has followed Montana’s strict hemp regulations, the Bureau of Reclamation didn’t respond to her request for water in time for her to irrigate the crops she planted last year. Her field languished and died. While Phillips has been more vocal about her troubles than most, she’s not the only farmer at risk if federal policy isn’t changed. Among the states under the bureau’s jurisdiction is Colorado, the current leader in U.S. hemp-growing acreage, and farmers there are worried too. When it comes to the federal government, change comes slowly. This year, there are signs that the bureau is reevaluating its policies and a bill is making its way through Congress that could further clarify the issue. Still, Phillips is concerned she may have to take legal action to irrigate this summer. “If they don’t let me have water,” she says, “I am planning on filing an emergency injunction to allow me to have the water until it’s resolved.” THE PROBLEM OF HEMP WATER RIGHTS IN THE WEST
The Bureau of Water Reclamation says they’re working to grant hemp growers rights to federal water on a case-to-case basis.
While the 2014 Farm Bill appeared to unambiguously legalize hemp grown under state research programs, not every federal agency seems to agree. The Drug Enforcement Administration, for example, continues to insist that CBD is illegal under the Controlled Substances Act, forcing CBD-oil producers to take them to court. Similar conflicts have occurred with the Food & Drug Administration, and other agencies seem to be caught in the middle. Water rights in the American West already reflect a byzantine and specialized area of law. Essentially, any water that passes through reservoirs or irrigation ditches created with federal funds is governed by Bureau of Reclamation laws. When federal water mixes with state or locally controlled sources, it’s considered “comingled,” which can further complicate matters. According to Dan DuBray, chief of public affairs at the commissioner’s office for the Bureau of Reclamation, the bureau’s policy toward industrial hemp was set during the early days of marijuana legalization in the 1990s. “What happened a number of years ago was that water districts started reaching out to Reclamation as the legalization of marijuana started occurring in places across the West,” DuBray says. The bureau’s policy doesn’t seem to distinguish between the high-inducing marijuana plant and industrial hemp, leaving farmers like Phillips relying on rainfall alone to keep her plants alive. “As far as the use of federal facilities, the water produced exclusively through federal facilities is still covered under the Controlled Substances Act and that has been the issue that we’ve been trying to navigate,” DuBray says.
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“ P r i va t e l a n d o w n e r s s h o u l d b e a b l e to use their water to grow industrial hemp, regardless of whether the water passed through federal water projects. Washington, D.C. bureaucrats shouldn’t b e a b l e t o r e s t r i c t a c c e s s t o wat e r for purposes that are allowed under state law.” -Steve Daines, U.S. Senator (R-MO)
In a handful of rare cases, marijuana growers suspected of using federal water have even been referred to the Department of Justice, though DuBray said he wasn’t aware of any prosecutions resulting from this. STATE AND FEDERAL LAWMAKERS RESPOND TO HEMP WATER RIGHTS ISSUE
Eric Steenstra, president of the advocacy group Vote Hemp, first became aware of the water rights problem when Phillips reached out for help in 2017. The group attempted to intercede on her behalf. Working with a supportive attorney, Vote Hemp sent a letter to the Bureau of Reclamation “informing them that they were ill advised and they had misinterpreted the law and there was no reason they should be blocking her access to the water because the hemp that she was growing is fully legal under federal law through the Farm Bill,” Steenstra says. The agency never responded to his letter, something he chalks up to the inherent conservatism of government entities. “People hear ‘hemp’ and, unfortunately, often it gets misinterpreted,” he says. Lobbyists have been working to change lawmakers’ perceptions towards hemp. Steenstra, Phillips and others reached out to members of Congress, who created the Industrial Hemp Water Rights Act to ensure that legal hemp growers have access to federal water resources. Authored by Sen. Michael Bennet, a Democratic senator from Colorado, the bill has six co-sponsors from both parties, including Montana Republican Sen. Steve Daines and Montana Democrat Sen. Jon Tester. “Private landowners should be able to use their water to grow industrial hemp, regardless of whether the water passed through federal water projects,” Daines said, in a joint statement issued by the bill’s sponsors, when the bill was introduced in July. “Washington, D.C. bureaucrats shouldn’t be able to restrict access to water for purposes that are allowed under state law.” The Water Rights Act was later added as an amendment to the 2018 Senate Energy and Water Appropriations bill, and according to Bennet’s office, the senator continues to push for its passage. Local hemp advocates in Colorado also successfully petitioned their state to stand up for water rights. Lawmakers there passed a bill called “Recognize Industrial Hemp Agricultural Product For Agricultural Water Right” last year, which affirmed that Colorado hemp farmers should have access to federal water. The bill is largely symbolic, since state laws cannot supersede federal law. Veronica Carpio, who runs Grow Hemp Colorado and helped
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lobby for the state bill’s passage, says rumors are swirling that federal officials “don’t want to allow water to be used this season for hemp in Colorado, so we’ll see how they prevent it.” A THAW IN FEDERAL POLICY TOWARDS HEMP?
Phillips says she’s frustrated because she feels like she’s “jumped through every hoop” necessary to grow hemp in Montana, even using certified seeds that have been approved by the DEA. She hopes it won’t take a potentially costly lawsuit to allow her to irrigate her crop this year. If she does take the government to court, she may have the upper hand, thanks to another act of Congress. After re-legalizing hemp growing in the 2014 Farm Bill, a 2016 amendment forbade the federal government from expending any resources to prosecute farmers operating under legal hemp programs. “All I can do is hope I can get some kind of injunction and then they’re not allowed to spend any money to fight me, and then I just have the water until the rest of the wheels in Congress get moving again and the laws change,” Phillips says. It’s possible it won’t come to that. After initially sharing a federal policy document that seemed to equate marijuana and hemp, DuBray followed up, in a further conversation, with another document that acknowledged the changes made in the 2016 Farm Bill. He said that the current policy is “under review.” “We’ll be working with growers on a case-by-case basis to try to harmonize our policy with the 2016 Farm Bill,” DuBray says. Meanwhile, Phillips still hasn’t received word that she’ll be allowed to water her hemp.
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TH E ROAD TO LE GA L I ZAT I ON The Hemp Road Trip has traveled through 48 states in two years, bringing a pro-hemp message from sea to shining sea.
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PHOTOS COURTESY HEMP ROAD TRIP
B y E m i l y S t i f l e r Wo l f e
The bus, named “Hempy,” has traveled thousands of miles, criss-crossing North America.
been intrigued by hemp. The sixth-generation farmer from Nashua, Iowa, whose farm produces high-end wagyu beef, planned on growing hemp on the family farm once federal legislation cleared the way. But in 2016, when he encountered the industrial hemp advocate Rick Trojan, who was traveling the U.S. with the Hemp Road Trip, Vorhes suddenly became more than interested — he became an advocate. Vorhes met Trojan at a burger restaurant in Des Moines, when Trojan was passing through town on the Hemp Road Trip’s inaugural journey, bound for the Iowa presidential caucus. Vorhes was headed to the Iowa Farm Bureau’s annual Young Farmer Conference, and he stopped to meet Trojan because he wanted to learn more about the benefits of feeding hemp to his cattle, which boosts levels of the anti-carcinogen CLA in meat, but is illegal in Iowa. “Rick was the one who educated me and convinced me that this was the right thing to do, even though the federal government hasn’t changed their stance yet,” says Vorhes. Although Trojan didn’t have all the answers, Vorhes says the meeting motivated him to read scientific papers and talk to experts. He discovered that in addition to potentially raising the market value of his beef, planting hemp as a rotational cover crop would be good for his soil and water because hemp forms a canopy faster than soy beans, is disease-resistant, suppresses weeds and would help him avoid pesticide use. Since his meeting with Trojan, Vorhes has presented about hemp’s benefits to the Iowa Farm Bureau, to state legislators in the Iowa Agricultural Committee and to Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, the judiciary committee chairman who has blocked multiple hemp bills. ETHAN VORHES HAS LONG
“I put on my khakis and a nice shirt and wait for my opportunity to speak, and I stand up and I pour my heart out,” Vorhes says. “My message is that they need to do this. People like me, we are listening to the consumer, and the consumer wants products that are raised organically and with things that are natural. We’re willing to go to Colorado to give it to them, and it’s going to hurt Iowa.” FROM POINT A …
Trojan launched the Hemp Road Trip out of frustration. He was the co-owner of a 300-acre hemp farm in Colorado that manufactured CBD dietary supplements from its crops, but federal law prohibited the farm from selling its products across state lines. In the U.S., only imported hemp products are legal. “I was complaining one day, and a friend said, ‘You should do something about it,’” Trojan says. “I figured the best way to do that was to follow the primaries and get news exposure. And I was naïve and I thought we’d have it done in a couple of months.” Trojan bought a used, diesel-fueled 1993 GMC bus, rallied a crew and set out to educate America about the value of hemp. On January 29, 2016, they left Denver bound for the presidential caucuses and primaries. Two years, 48 states and five visits to Capitol Hill later, Trojan is no longer naïve — he knows there’s work to be done before American hemp is not only legalized, but being used to its potential — though he is still optimistic. The stats back him up: America is the largest importer of hemp in the world, with 2016 retail worth an estimated $688 million. “[But] less than 3 percent of the country even knows what industrial hemp is, let alone CBD,” says Trojan, who previously owned a health care software company and now owns
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PHOTOS COURTESY HEMP ROAD TRIP INSET PHOTO BEN DROZ
Hempy sits in a warehouse full of DEA-approved viable hemp seeds imported from Canada, which was the largest hemp seed import into America since WWII.
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TOP: The Hemp Road Trip stops in Des Moines, Iowa. INSET: Rick Trojan driving through Denver.
“My whole focus and our whole goal is to bring people together to move this industry forward.” -RICK TROJAN
multiple companies in the hemp industry, which range in function from farming to media. “There’s huge opportunity here.” Everywhere Trojan and his crew traveled, people were drawn to “Hempy,” the bus adorned with information about the plant’s uses. The crew used it as an entry point for conversations as they traveled the country visiting universities, political events, businesses, Native American reservations and legislators’ offices. They got a photo with Democratic presidential candidate Martin O’Malley holding an American flag made of domestically grown hemp, brought a hemp guitar signed by Willie Nelson to the Vermont Department of Agriculture and hauled a BMW door panel made of hemp into the Rhode Island Statehouse, where Senator Susan Sosnowski showed it off to her colleagues. But the Hemp Road Trip also met with misunderstanding. Once, while waiting for a tractor-trailer mechanic to fix a broken strut on the bus, they struck up a conversation with a man in the waiting room. When Trojan told the man he was a hemp farmer, the man refused to shake his hand, afraid it would cause him to fail the drug tests required by his job. “That was a big fight for us, especially on the first trip — just to explain what it is and what it can do,” says Maggie Booterbaugh, an intern who joined the Hemp Road Trip after graduating from University of North CarolinaAsheville. As the bus moved westward, the crew morphed and the mission changed with the geopolitical landscape. In Los Angeles, they gathered signatures for a petition in support of the 2015 Industrial Hemp Farming Act in collaboration with the National Hemp Association. In Oregon, they visited hemp farms. By autumn of 2016, they were in the Dakotas delivering food, water and supplies (including CBD and hemp hearts) to Standing Rock.
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An inside view of Hempy, as the bus sat outside the 5th annual NoCo Hemp Expo.
Trojan is building on work done in 2017, when he took the bus to visit Grassley and other members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, traveled to Eastern Europe and helped import 66,000 pounds of plantable hempseed into Colorado under a DEA permit, which was the largest hemp deal in the U.S. since WWII. His focus this year is on building coalitions and expanding internationally to places like Israel, Colombia, Japan and the European Union.
Growing season begins at one of the stops in Salt Creek Ranch, Colorado.
By inspiring local activists, the Hemp Road Trip has influenced state-level legislation, says Ben Droz, a hemp lobbyist in Washington D.C. (and a contributing editor to this magazine). Droz joined the road trip in the spring of 2017 from Denver, Colorado through Santa Fe, New Mexico to Austin, Texas, getting a first-hand view of Trojan’s dogged persistence. “It can be hard for activists to plan [a press conference or lobby day], but when Rick Trojan is coming into town, he’s going to have lobby day regardless, so you can come along,” Droz says. “That level of urgency and immediacy can really make an impact.” Trojan has funded the project in part with his own money, and in part with sponsor dollars from brands including Dr. Bronner’s, Bluebird Botanicals and Functional Remedies. “My whole focus and our whole goal is to bring people together to move this industry forward,” Trojan says. “Helping people understand what it is, helping farmers understand how to grow it, helping processors understand how to manufacture it, helping consumers buy it and helping grow the marketing.”
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PHOTO COURTESY HEMP ROAD TRIP TOP PHOTO TODD HEATH
… TO POINT B
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I N SURI N G T H E N E X T H A RV E ST In an increasingly unpredictable environment, hemp farmers look to Washington, D.C. for help insuring their crop against the elements. By A . J. Herrington
Americans have realized the value of protecting small farmers from the perils of a livelihood deeply intertwined with nature’s unpredictability. In 1880, private insurance companies began selling “crop-hail” policies to farmers to cover losses due to hail damage. These policies, overseen by insurance regulators in each state, are still available today for most farmers — even farmers growing hemp. But if hemp farmers are looking for insurance against anything more than hail damage, they’re in trouble. More comprehensive crop insurance coverage is available to farmers nationwide through programs administered by the United States Department of Agriculture. These Multiple Peril Crop Insurance plans can protect farmers from financial loss from risks including flood, fire, insects, disease and even price drops in unstable markets. Premiums for farmers are kept low by federal subsidies paid to insurance companies as reimbursement for overhead costs incurred by the plans. Government insurance programs are utilized almost ubiquitously by American farmers. According to industry group National Crop Insurance Services, 90 percent of insurable farmland in the United States is protected under federal crop insurance programs.
PHOTOS COURTESY HEMP ROAD TRIP
FOR GENERATIONS,
In 2016, more than a million policies protected $100 billion worth of crops on 290 million acres of agricultural land. INSURANCE DIFFICULTIES FACING HEMP FARMERS
But despite the legalization of industrial hemp cultivation under the 2014 Farm Bill, obtaining insurance for hemp crops can be problematic, if not impossible. Because all cannabis is still listed as a Schedule I narcotic under the Controlled Substances Act, the USDA has not authorized crop insurance programs for industrial hemp. Mann Mullen raises soy beans, wheat, hay and cattle on a portion of the 500 acres his family has farmed for five generations in Franklin County, North Carolina. In 2017, Mullen planted industrial hemp for the first time, and says he would absolutely purchase coverage for his hemp crop if he could. He’s grateful for the safety net it affords. “We’ve always had crop insurance” for his other crops, says Mullen. “It can be a lifesaver.” Mullen is a member of the North Carolina Industrial Hemp Association (NCIHA), a trade group working to help farmers navigate the state’s hemp cultivation pilot program and expand
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“ H e m p i s a va l u e - l a d e n c r o p t h at, i f t r e at e d l i k e a l e g i t i m at e a g r i c u lt u r a l c o m m o d i t y, c a n p r o v i d e f a r m e r s a c c e s s t o a h i g h g r o w t h m a r k e t. A s s u c h , i t i s c r i t i c a l t h at f a r m e r s r e c e i v e t h e s a m e p r o t e c t i o n s a g a i n s t i n c r e a s e d w e at h e r v o l at i l i t y e x p e r i e n c e d w o r l d w i d e .” -DAN DOLGIN, CO-OWNER JD FARMS
opportunities for their crop. David Schmitt, Chief Operating Officer of Industrial Hemp Manufacturing Inc. and a member of the board of directors of NCIHA, says he often hears from farmers frustrated by the lack of coverage for their hemp crops. “Any farmer that’s been [hemp farming] very long has talked with the Department of Agriculture in the individual states, and they know that crop insurance isn’t available,” says Schmitt. LEGISLATIVE HELP ON THE WAY?
Schmitt sees new federal legislation as the best solution to the lack of crop insurance for hemp farmers, specifically HR 3530, the Industrial Hemp Farming Act of 2017, introduced by Rep. James Comer (D-KY) last July. HR 3530 would amend the Controlled Substances Act to exclude industrial hemp from the definition of marijuana, thereby making crop insurance available for hemp. Rep. Jared Polis (D-CO) is a member of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus and one of dozens of the bill’s cosponsors. He told HEMP that he supports HR 3530 because it will make it easier for his constituents to do business. “Many farmers in my district have asked that we cut red tape, allow certified seed purchases and allow them to get crop insurance on hemp, which is necessary to protect their livelihoods,” said Polis in an email. “The Industrial Hemp Farming Act would make hemp like any other crop so that farmers could get crop insurance on it, like they would on any other legal agriculture commodity.” Members of the Senate are also expressing their support for America’s industrial hemp farmers and the economic potential of the crop. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) visited JD Farms, a 1,500-acre certified organic hemp operation southeast of Syracuse, New York, where she expressed her support for new legislation. “If our farmers are going to invest their resources to grow industrial hemp and help build our local economy, they should
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have the peace of mind that their investments are going to be protected if a natural disaster comes and wipes out their harvest,” said Gillibrand. “The Industrial Hemp Farming Act would help change our outdated federal laws and clear a pathway to provide appropriate crop insurance protections for industrial hemp farmers.” Gillibrand, a member of the Senate’s Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, also sees potential to help industrial hemp farmers through regulatory action. During her appearance at JD Farms, she called on the USDA to clarify the legality of industrial hemp and certify it as a specialty crop eligible for federal crop insurance programs to protect farmers like Dan Dolgin, coowner of JD Farms. “Hemp is a value-laden crop that, if treated like a legitimate agricultural commodity, can provide farmers access to a high growth market. As such, it is critical that farmers receive the same protections against increased weather volatility experienced worldwide,” Dolgin said. Polis also sees another opportunity for a solution to the problem of hemp insurance: changing the original legislation that authorized hemp farming. “The situation is urgent for farmers, so we are pursuing many paths to allow them to get crop insurance as soon as possible,” said Polis. “Our efforts include amending the pilot program in the Farm Bill to allow for crop insurance. Of course, this effort is in addition to our continued push for the Industrial Hemp Farming Act, which would fully legalize hemp cultivation.” It’s clear that innovative farmers like Dolgin and Mullen need policy in Washington to keep up with them as they reintroduce hemp agriculture to the United States. They see federal crop insurance as a vital element in realizing the full economic potential of industrial hemp and putting it on a level playing field with other agricultural commodities. In short, Mullen said, “We really need it.”
How
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PHOTO MATTHEW STAVER
Small Hemp Farmers Can Compete
cover feature
M e e t t h e A m e r i c a n f a m i ly f a r m e r s f o r g i n g n e w, profitable pat hs in t he hemp indus t ry. THE NEW ERA OF LEGAL AMERICAN HEMP has just begun — it’s been
only five years since Colorado’s first hemp harvest following WWII — and so the industry’s community of hemp farmers has only recently started to blossom again into maturity. There’s no official number of how many hemp farmers exist today in America, but the number is likely quite small, given that only 1,456 hemp farms earned state licenses to grow over 25,000 acres of hemp in 2017, according to a Vote Hemp report. This spring, HEMP spoke to a handful of those few thousand
LEFT: A woman harvests hemp in Colorado for a small farmer who planted hemp illegally in 2013. The legal environment for the small hemp farmer has since become more friendly.
American hemp farmers. What we found captures a snapshot of the many lives of the small hemp farmer. In states of various political atmospheres, with marijuanagrowing experience and without, leaning on corporate partnerships or going at it alone, these hemp farmers are coming from different environments and finding unique solutions to keep their farms above water. But no matter their differences, all of these hemp farmers are optimistic about their next harvest and excited for what awaits in the full sun of legalization.
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Boring Hemp Company
B A R R Y, S A M A N D B O C O O K 75 acres total, 20 hemp | Boring, Oregon | Ecologists
everything comes back to the soil. Between father Barry Cook and two of his three sons, Sam and Bo, there’s an almost overwhelming amount of passion and knowledge about soil fertility and nutrition — including a half-century of work in environmental restoration and decades of experience farming berries and nursery stock. “We’re always geared to soil and soil function,” says Barry, “so it was a natural transition for us to start the work we do with hemp.” In 2016, the Cooks received the 14th hemp license in Oregon and immediately got to work planting hemp and examining its impact on the farm’s soil. Two years later, HEMP caught up with Barry over the phone. It was early March and the snow on his farm twenty miles east of Portland had melted. Barry was excited; he had just finished writing a business plan to convert an old Dow Chemical building in Woodburn, Oregon into a vertical hemp farming facility that would take the plant “from seed to consumer,” with yearround farming, extraction and research and development all under one roof. “It’s pretty fun to write the plans and prepare for going vertical,” says Barry. “The stumbling blocks to vertical integration are usually funding and facilities, and it’s so rare to have a unicorn of a facility present itself like this. I think this is going to be something with national impact.” The project, called Global Agriscience, will have its first open house this spring. Barry says the successes that the Boring Hemp Company has already achieved in its first
FOR THE COOK FAMILY,
two years can be attributed to the amount of collaboration the family has done with other people in the industry, as well as the winning combination he and his sons create when they work together. “We’re combining my ‘old guy’ experience with my sons’ vitality,” says Barry. And Sam — in an unprompted comment in a separate conversation — agrees. “When you’re working with a family, there can be unique challenges, but we’re seeing tons of benefits,” he says. “My dad is an entrepreneurial business owner, but he’s always given me a lot of autonomy to work for myself.” Today, Sam lives on one of Boring Hemp’s satellite farms on the north side of Mt. Hood, where he farms hops and 1.5 acres of hemp. “I grow different strains at my house than we grow on the Boring farm,” says Sam, who added that while the Boring Hemp Company is currently growing hemp for CBD because of market demand, he’s excited to try growing industrial hemp. “Industrial hemp has an amazing potential to fix terribly degraded soil,” Sam says. “I’ve done a lot with hemp as a phytoremediator, and while it hasn’t really been studied that much, it appears that it can pick up really heavy metals from the soil.” Add Bo to the mix — he’s a horticulturalist with a focus on living soil — and the Boring Hemp Company trifecta is complete. “We are farmers and we are ecologists,” says Sam. “We care about land and how we farm, and we have an agricultural background. We’re fully ready to see hemp grown again across the country.” — Julia Clark-Riddell
“The stumbling blocks t o v e r t i c a l i n t e g r at i o n a r e u s u a l ly f u n d i n g a n d facilities, and it’s so r are t o have a unicorn of a facility present itself like this. I think this is going to be something w i t h n at i o n a l i m pa c t.” -BARRY COOK
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LEFT: Barry Cook holds the fruits of last year’s labor. RIGHT: Sam Cook holds a bag of freshly harvested hemp. ABOVE RIGHT: For the 2018 harvest season, Boring Hemp is working with clients across 12 states in the U.S. Last year, they worked with this farm — the Stanley Ranch — in Fossil, Oregon.
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PHOTOS COURTESY BOULDER HEMP FARM
A canopy of CBD at the Boulder Hemp Farm in Colorado.
Boulder Hemp Farm
S H A N E D AV I S 10 acres | Boulder, Colorado | Activist
Shane Davis says, “and that plant’s liberation can liberate us.” The passion with which Davis speaks about hemp is matched only by his determination to support small hemp farmers. A few years ago, he founded the nonprofit Slow Hemp to assist the growth of small hemp farmers in the United States and develop a certification process for sustainable hemp production. In addition to Slow Hemp, Davis also runs Boulder Hemp Farm, and a hemp genetics company called 7GENx. “We try to look at how these small farms are advancing their communities,” says Davis. “They have to buy local, buy organic, grow
“WE’VE LIBERATED THIS PLANT,”
organic and have methods of protecting the flower.” The qualifications farmers must meet to gain Slow Hemp’s seal of approval makes it difficult for large, corporate farms to earn the distinction. Davis says this will keep “vulture capitalists” out of hemp. Bill Althouse, who sits on the board of directors for Slow Hemp, says this certification process will also help gain support from academia for hemp production. “People treat me as a crazy radical, because I talk about treating hemp just like a plant,” Althouse says. Slow Hemp, Davis says, ensures hemp made by small farmers leads to economic gains for the local community. Not only does
Davis believe his work will help preserve the future of small communities and our environment, but he also sees it as a testament to all those activists that came before him. “All the activists before me, they suffered. And I salute every single one of the activists that sacrificed their lives and their freedom to allow me the ability to do this,” Davis says, “and I’ll be damned if I let them down.” Davis is adamant that small hemp farmers can still find profits using growing methods that are regenerative for the planet and healthy for the end consumer. “Forget sustainable, I ripped that out of my dictionary,” Davis said. “This is thrivable.” — Francesco Guerreri
“A l l t h e a c t i v i s t s b e f o r e m e , t h e y suffered. And I salute every single o n e o f t h e a c t i v i s t s t h at s a c r i f i c e d their lives and their freedom to allow me the abilit y to do this, and I’l l b e d a m n e d i f I l e t t h e m d o w n .” -SHANE DAVIS
ABOVE LEFT: Shane Davis under the rainbow at his farm in Colorado. ABOVE RIGHT: Another high-CBD, low-THC beauty. BELOW LEFT: Variations and traits of hemp are still very much unknown like this “variegation.” Variegation is the appearance of differently colored zones in the leaves, and sometimes the stems of plants.
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AllHemp Trading
“ I want to provide cuttings and seeds at the beginning of the season, agronomic support throughout the season and processing at the end of the season.” - e l l i o t b r o w n
E L L I O T B R O W N & LY D I A S M I T H
Farm owners Smith and Brown.
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FOR 20 YEARS, ELLIOT BROWN has been growing marijuana and hemp; he got started with a few marijuana plants under a single grow light when he was just 15 years old. Because he realized his affinity for cannabis farming at a young age, Brown decided to study agronomy — the science of farming — in college, and has since specifically focused on plant genetics and plant breeding. Last April, Brown started his hemp farm, AllHemp Trading Ltd., which he says he’s been able to keep profitable in part from selling seeds and extraction equipment. With these profits, Brown plans to set up a tissue culture lab and a seed development center. His intention is to reduce the barriers of entry for the average farmer and help cultivators of traditional crops — such as apples and corn — transition to highervalue hemp farming. “I want to provide cuttings and seeds at the beginning of the season, agronomic support throughout the season and processing at the end of the season,” says Brown. “You have to make money, but to do good business, you have to do what you love … I don’t want more money or stuff, I just want more plants.” Brown recently acted as an expert witness in his first hemp case, where he served as a mediator “on the side of the plant.” At the core of the case were allegations from a buyer claiming that the hemp seeds he bought had hermaphroditic traits, resulting in “tens of thousands of hermied plants.” In retribution, the
buyer only paid the seller $60,000 of the agreed upon $250,000. But Brown was familiar with the seed-stock in question, having grown it himself without seeing any signs of hermaphroditic traits. As an expert in plant genetics, Brown says he “pulled out a Punnett square to show dominant and recessive traits, to demonstrate that if the genes were faulty there would have been some evidence of that in our fields as well.” In his view, the only thing that would cause “tens of thousands of hermied plants” are environmental factors. It was later shown that poor management and cultivation practices were the culprit. Thanks in part to Brown’s testimony, the hemp seed seller won the case and a judgment for over $160,000. On the flip side, Brown says he’s also seen plenty of people in Colorado try and take advantage of the small hemp farmer by selling them faulty seed — including one instance of someone selling Romanian birdseed for $500 per pound — or faulty clones that haven’t been photo-acclimatized yet. “What they are doing is screwing over hemp-curious farmers and turning them away from the hemp market after they lose all their money on worthless seeds and clones,” says Brown. “But I want to help farmers out with genetics, equipment and everything they need to get through the growing process successfully and make more than they did on other crops.” —Mitchell Colbert
PHOTOS COURTESY ALLHEMP TRADING
20 acres total, 3 acres of hemp | Delta County, Colorado | Agronomists
LEFT: Early spring at the AllHemp Trading farm in Delta County, Colorado. RIGHT: The growth continues months later.
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PHOTOS COURTESY MISSION LAGO
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Mission Lago Farm
“What we do is we harvest the flower first, hanging and drying it. Between our four strains, we’re averaging 11–16 percent CBD.” - Nick Akins
NICK AKINS & ETHAN BROWN 15 acres | Central Point, Oregon | CBD flower & hemp farm design consultants
LEFT: Boxes of CBD-rich strains after harvest. ABOVE: CBD-rich strains just before harvest on Mission Lago Farm in Central, Oregon. BELOW: Ethan Brown (Left) and Nick Akins.
THE TEMPERATE CLIMATE and broad valleys of Southern Oregon are perfect for outdoor agriculture. So, it’s no surprise that hemp farmers are flocking to the region to take advantage of the long growing seasons and abundant precipitation. In 2017, Mission Lago Farm opened their operation near Central Point, Oregon. Utilizing their decades of knowledge of growing medical cannabis, the owners, Nick Akins and Ethan Brown, created a farm that is rapidly expanding due to specializing in a different market than most U.S.-based hemp producers. Rather than primarily processing their plants through an extraction process for isolate, Mission Lago is focusing on selling high-quality CBD flower. “What we do is we harvest the flower first, hanging and drying it. Between our four strains, we’re averaging 11–16 percent CBD,” says Akins. “The terpene profiles are through the roof. Right now, hemp CBD flower just isn’t on the market. It’s a niche market we’re trying to create, and we’re doing super well with it.” Even though their primary focus is on the flower, the stalks at Mission Lago don’t go to waste. They harvest the stalks after the flower and sell them to extractors and other parties who use them for industrial applications and building materials.
Aiding their growth is Senate Bill 1057, a new Oregon law that allows Mission Lago to transfer product through a processor into recreational dispensaries. For Akins, that means the market has expanded. “In the next 60 days, we’ll be in 100 dispensaries with our flower. It’s a big task but it’s something that we’ve been working on for a long time.” For cultivators like Mission Lago, this success necessitates growth. While they planted and harvested 15 acres at Mission Lago in 2017, in 2018 they’re hoping to expand to 100 acres of production utilizing partner farms growing their plants. They’re also opening an alternative revenue stream by helping other farmers design and setup their farms to assist with the scalability and labor needs of creating a hemp farm. “People who’ve grown medical or recreational cannabis in the past are used to growing maybe a couple hundred plants,” explains Akins. “There’s a big difference when they try to start a hemp farm and they’re going from that to 30,000 plants. It’s a challenge.” With a rapidly expanding market, a different take on their CBD product and their design and setup operation, the future looks bright, says Akins. “Last year went extremely well, but we’re really excited about this year.” — Joel Hathaway
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Luce Farm
“The community h e r e l i k e s h e m p. Herbalism is big in Vermont as w e l l , a s i s C B D .” - JOE PIMENTEL
JOE & REBECCA PIMENTEL 206 acres total, 1.5 acres of hemp | Stockbridge, Vermont | Hemp honey makers & CBD beer producers
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ABOVE LEFT: A fall day on the farm in Stockbridge, Vermont. ABOVE: Joe and Rebecca Pimentel. ABOVE RIGHT: Greenhouses at Luce Farms. BELOW: A beautiful spring evening at the compound.
a 30-barrel batch to can, which sold out in two days. Unlike other areas in America, where knowledge and adaptation of CBD is still gathering speed, Vermont seems to have fully accepted it. “Vermont is very much pro agriculture,” says Joe. “The community here likes hemp. Herbalism is big in Vermont as well, as is CBD. We’re already in 50 stores statewide, including the local gas station. We have super strong support from our community.” To the Pimentels, that local support is meaningful. They understand the responsibility of owning a farm with two centuries of history and are working to raise awareness about the hemp plant’s benefits, while making the venture financially secure and providing jobs to the local community. They’re also hoping that based on the results they’ve seen with their products, they can do their small part to combat the opioid epidemic that is ravaging much of the country. While they currently grow, manufacture and sell their products, the extraction is being outsourced to one of Vermont’s two facilities that extracts industrial hemp via supercritical CO2. “We’re hoping to have the ability to do our own extraction next year,” says Joe. “That way, we’ll be able to control the entire process here on the farm.” — Joel Hathaway
PHOTOS COURTESY CMW MEDIA
NESTLED IN THE ROLLING mountains of central Vermont sits Luce Farm, a 200-year-old property that fulfills the yeoman farmer ideal of yesteryear. Sitting on Music Mountain, Luce Farm raises chickens, goats and an increasing plot of acreage dedicated to growing hemp. The owners, Joe and Rebecca Pimentel, have been farming this land for three years. To make the farm viable and aligned with their ideals of sustainability, they’ve been expanding the acreage dedicated to hemp each year. In the 2017 season, they raised 1.5 acres of hemp. This year, they’ll double that acreage. (As of 2017, Vermont has a total of 575 acres of farmland dedicated to growing hemp according to the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, good for the eighth most acreage in the United States.) With their hemp acreage expanding, they’ve been cutting down on the numbers of chickens and goats on the farm, which still provide the fully-organic operation with much-needed manure for fertilizer. Luce Farms is currently selling a hemp-derived coconut oil, topical balm and hemp honey, with the wildflower honey sourced locally. They’ve also paired with Long Trail Brewing to create a hoppy pale ale infused with CBD. If you can get your hands on that, consider yourself lucky. They recently brewed
PHOTOS COURTESY LUCE FARM
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Mt.Mt. Folly Farm Folly Farm
“ unlike the beef industry, hemp has a long road before ac c u r at e data i s ava i l a b l e f o r p r o p e r ly e st i m at i n g market size, costs and revenues, particularly for CBD raw material.” - L A U R A F R E E M A N
LAURA FREEMAN 13 acres | Winchester, Kentucky | Hemp chocolatier
windy road in Winchester, Kentucky sits Mt. Folly Farm, once home to a popular lean beef brand. That brand — Laura’s Lean Beef — was an early developer of hormoneand antibiotic-free beef. The farm’s owner, Laura Freeman, says that she was able to build Laura’s Lean Beef utilizing the beef industry’s precise data, which predicts cost of production and expected return on finished product. Freeman sold Laura’s Lean Beef in 2008, but has continued farming on Mt. Folly Farm. In 2015, Freeman and her daughter, Alice, planted their first 13-acres of organic hemp on the farm; however, they received their seed late and during a rainy summer — a combination that created a disastrous outcome. The entire 13-acres only yielded 50 pounds of grain, so Freeman began researching value-added products for their pitiful crop yield. That experience and the research that she performed afterwards helped her start a new company, Laura’s Hemp Chocolates. Freeman says “unlike the beef industry, hemp has a long road before accurate data is available for properly estimating market size, costs and
PHOTOS BRAD PASLEY
DOWN A LONG,
ABOVE: Prepping the farm before planting. BELOW: Laura’s Dark Chocolate Hemp wafers.
revenues, particularly for CBD raw material.” Even though she believes this is the largest obstacle for the emerging industry, it hasn’t stopped her from entering the market. Laura’s Hemp Chocolates grows their own hemp grain on Mt. Folly Farm, which is processed by Victory Hemp Foods, with Ruth Hunt Candies ultimately manufacturing the final product. Right now, Mt. Folly Farm is the sole hemp supplier for their branded chocolates, but in the future, they plan to source the remaining raw hemp material from neighboring farms. According to chief operating officer Ben Pasley, in the last few years, Mt. Folly Farm has opted for organic hemp production, but has found that hemp has issues outcompeting weeds, particularly Johnson grass and cockleburs. To mitigate these problems, in 2018 the farm will grow their hemp on non-organic acreage and adjust their operations to use glyphosate on the field prior to planting. Ideally, Freeman says, Mt. Folly Farm would stick with 100 percent organic hemp, but for now, given regulatory and market constraints, the option seems unrealistic with hemp grain. — Annie Rouse
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C B D S A LV E S
In the already-saturated CBD ointment market, we review products with the first-time buyer in mind. We all need a little salve in our lives. Whether we’ve sprained an ankle, bruised a hip or just slept crooked on a large throw pillow, our bodies continually experience distress. Combine those aches with age and we can begin to feel forever inflamed.
While we’ve all tried a myriad of ointments to help soothe our soreness, none of us at HEMP had actually tried CDBinfused salves before! After comparing results from our first CBD salves, here’s what we concluded.
By HEMP Staff | Photos Dan Armstrong
Salvation CBD Skin Salve by Inesscents
1.
www.inesscentscbd.com / $14.99
Inesscents is notable right away for the standards and principles they claim to be upholding, including making their products and salves from all organic ingredients. Their salves are made from a long list of flowers and herbs we recognize and can actually pronounce, with no weird fillers or peculiar additives. The company is also a B-Corp, certified as a fair trade company and supportive of philanthropic efforts throughout the farming community. The customer service was also impeccable, as they sent HEMP an email with all the necessary thirdparty testing results (per batch) and certifications showing their commitment to a quality product. About the salve: The CBD travel stick, or “salvation CBD FOR THE TRAVELING HEART.
skin salve,” has an easy applicator — think a super-wide tube of lip balm — making for a clean coating on your skin, without messy fingers. The sticks come in three separate remedies, each with its own color and smell. The green salve has the most mellow pungency, while the orange and red have more flavorful odors of cloves and peppermint. The red “Hot Freeze” was our favorite in the bunch, as it left the cool feeling of ice, but warmed up after several minutes to provide long-lasting relief. It’s perfect for a kinked neck or sore back. This was our favorite all-around rub because of the integrity of the brand, amazing customer service, easy travel applicator, overall relaxing properties and all-organic ingredients. SPECS: 0.5 ounces per stick with 40-50mg CBD.
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2. Ova Muscle Rub
www.innovativecbd.com / $19.99
Innovative’s Ova Muscle Rub had the most powerful scent and produced a very similar effect to the popular Biofreeze gel, with camphor and menthol crystals for alleviating pain. Of the three brands we tested, it offered the strongest pain relief. It’s unfortunate this brand was incapable of producing any thirdparty certifications for their hemp or CBD products. They claim on their website to use organic hemp from the EU with all organic ingredients, but we were unable to get any test results after numerous calls and emails. We really enjoyed the effects of the product, but have a hard time granting the salve our full stamp of approval without receiving any details on their extraction process or organic claims. The only test results we saw on their website are from 2015 and, when we mentioned that to a service rep on the phone, they seemed puzzled. We hope to revise our statements regarding this brand in the future, but as of now, we can’t fully endorse it.
LACKING TRANSPARENCY.
SPECS: 0.5 ounces with 70mg of supercritical CO2 extracted cannabidiol from hemp.
3. Plus CBD Oil
pluscbdoil.com / $35.95
The mild, earthy scent of Plus CBD Oil’s original salve is less aromatic than the other brands reviewed, making it a nice addition to have in our collection. Plus CBD Oil is a big player in the industry; they’re a bestselling hemp-based phytocannabinoid brand and currently rank in the top 10 of all supplements sold over the last 52 weeks (according to SPINS data analytics, who compiled barcode purchase data). By contacting their marketing department, HEMP was able to obtain third-party certifications via our product’s batch number for all of their European-grown hemp, which was extremely helpful and adds our seal of approval to this brand.
CLEAN AND PROFESSIONAL.
Although their CBD and hemp pass the test, we were a bit disappointed that none of their products are certified organic. However, outside verification showed this product is free of microbiologics, pesticides and herbicides, residual solvents and heavy metals after their supercritical CO2 extraction process. The natural scent of this salve is pleasant for day or work-time applications and is less harsh on the eyes when used on the neck or shoulders. This salve is best suited for massages and before bed, as it won’t make your sheets or body smell unreasonably minty. For treating soreness, however, we would have enjoyed more menthol to create that soothing, cooling feeling. SPECS: 1.3 ounces with 50mg CBDA/CBD.
SEND INFO ABOUT YOUR PRODUCTS TO EDITORIAL@THEHEMPMAG.COM IF YOU’D LIKE US TO TEST THEM OUT.
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recipe
H EMP EN ERGY BARS No cooking is necessary to make these easy energy bars packed with nutrients. store-bought energy bars, you often have to settle for unhealthy chemical additives and preservatives. But when you make energy bars at home, you know exactly what goes into them and you can get just what you want out of them — you don’t have to settle for adding a single flax seed if you don’t want to. That control alone is worth the minimal effort these hemp energy bars require. These hemp energy bars combine the nutritional benefits of both hemp seeds and hemp oil. Hemp seeds, a legal hemp byproduct available in supermarkets around the country, are packed with protein, minerals, omega-3s and omega-6 fatty acids. The seeds are earthy, crunchy and nutty — a perfect companion to soups, salads, smoothies and these easy energy bars. Because hemp oil is made from crushed hemp seeds, hemp oil has the same health benefits as hemp seeds; it lacks CBD, but if you want to take your bars to the next level, you can add CBD to your hemp oil. You can find CBD oil and tinctures online — though the legality of shipping hemp-derived CBD oil remains uncertain — and in some health stores, even if you are not in a state with recreational cannabis shops. If you have access to hemp, you can make your own CBD-infused oil. Simply heat ground hemp flower with coconut oil over low heat for 3 hours and strain. The result is a CBD-rich oil with little to no THC. Do not try to infuse the hemp oil directly, as it can become harmful when heated over 121° Fahrenheit. Once the coconut oil is infused, blend it with the hemp oil before using in your homemade bars.
Makes 8 half-cup servings
Chef’s Note: Hemp seeds are best stored in the refrigerator or freezer.
3. Cut into bars or bites, depending on your preference.
W H E N P U RCH A SING
PHOTO BRUCE WOLF
B y L a u r i e Wo l f
INGREDIENTS 1 cup hulled hemp seeds 1 cup oats, toasted 1 cup pitted dates 2/3 cup walnuts, toasted ½ cup raisins 3 tablespoons hulled hemp seeds 2 tablespoons CBD oil or hemp oil 1–3 teaspoons agave nectar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract ½ teaspoon cinnamon Pinch of salt
DIRECTIONS 1. In the bowl of a food processor, purée all the ingredients. If the ingredients don’t come together in the bowl, knead to combine. 2. Press the mixture into a 9-inch pan lined with parchment. Chill in the refrigerator for at least an hour.
Visit laurieandmaryjane.com for more great cannabis recipes.
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forecast
I N O U R N E X T I SS U E , W E ’ R E AS K I N G : HOW RELIABLE IS THE CBD MARKET?
of hemp grown in the United States is used to make CBD tinctures, but the loosely regulated marketplace is filled with unknowns. In HEMP Issue 4, we’ll be examining the consistency of CBD products and their labelling, digging deep on the science behind the entourage effect and talking about the murky legality of selling CBD online, plus much more.
MORE THAN 90 PERCENT
IF YOU HAVE A STORY YOU’D LIKE TO SHARE WITH THE HEMP MAG, SEND AN EMAIL TO: EDITORIAL@THEHEMPMAG.COM
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE CBD MARKET, EMAIL THEM TO HEMP’S EDITORIAL TEAM AT EDITORIAL@THEHEMPMAG.COM, AND WE’LL DO OUR BEST TO ANSWER THEM IN ISSUE 4! Meanwhile, check out our website thehempmag.com, which include articles such as: • THE IMPACT OF JEFF SESSIONS’ ANTI-POT POLICY ON THE HEMP INDUSTRY by Julia Clark-Riddell
Fear and confusion swept the country after the U.S. Attorney General rescinded the 2013 Cole Memo, but hemp industry leaders say they have little to worry. • FEDERAL BILL COULD EASE HEMP INDUSTRY BANKING WOES
by A.J. Herrington
Rep. Andy Barr introduced his Industrial Hemp Banking Act (H.R. 4711) in December, and if passed, it prevent federal banking regulators from punishing financial institutions solely because they serve industrial hemp businesses. • RECIPE: HEMP SEED SCONES WITH ORANGE & VANILLA
by Laurie Wolf
Hemp seeds add a nutty crunch to this traditional breakfast pastry recipe.
We’re a new publication with room to grow, and we want to get to know you! Sometimes it feels like the hemp industry is scattered around the country with few avenues for connection, so until we meet you at the next conference or at the neighborhood farm supply shop, let’s meet up online! Add us @hempmag on Instagram and Twitter and tag a post with #hempmag and we’ll follow you back.
Twitter: @hempmag Facebook: @hempmagazine Instagram: @hempmag
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PHOTOS COURTESY ALLHEMP TRADING
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“Why use up the forests which were centuries in the making and the mines which required ages to lay down, if we can get the equivalent of forest and mineral products in the annual growth of the hemp fields?” -Henry Ford