FFA Q&A

greenhouse while keeping tabs on a large amount of hemp.

“We decided we weren’t going to do it the same way we did it the fi rst year ever again,” Casey said. “We had a lot of steep learning curves that fi rst year. We had too many plants and no irrigation system. It was a lot of fi nger-crossing.”

Preceding the fi rst harvest came another stressful aspect of hemp cultivation, as a test sampler visited the Ruckheim farm and went through their expansive fi eld of hemp, cutting fi ve inches of cola off of 30 plants to gauge their tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) levels. THC is one of many compounds found in hemp and is what produces the psychoactive effects in marijuana, and if a hemp sample is found to exceed the 0.3% legal limit of THC, the plants must be destroyed.

“Our fi rst year, our test results were .294,” Matt said. “It took a bit for it to sink in to us.”

PHOTOS SUBMITTED Hemp plants hang inside of a barn on the Ruckheim farm Oct. 17, 2019 in Parkers Prairie. After hemp plants are cut from the ground, they must be hung to lose moisture immediately afterwards to preserve their chemical compounds.

Audrey Ruckheim, 15, feeds hemp branches into a bucking machine January 2020 in Parkers Prairie. The Ruckheims own both a bucking machine and a trimmer for their hemp plants, helping in the processing of their crops.

Once the harvest arrives, the next step starts: hanging up the hemp plants. The Ruckheims take hand-pruning shears and remove their plants from the ground at the base and load them onto trailers. From there, the family will hang their hemp in a barn to dry, as the plants often maintain a moisture content of up to 80% after being cut. Because of this, and the possibility of losing valuable chemical compounds, it is essential to hang hemp plants immediately after cutting them.

“By the time you have them on a trailer, you want them hung in an hour,” Casey said. “We listened to a lot of stories when we were at the hemp conference. A lot of people lost crop by not being prepared.”

Preparation extends much further than simply moving the product from one location to another. The Ruckheims use a bucking machine and a hemp trimmer, with the former to remove the fl ower material from the stem, while the latter sheds unwanted leaf material.

While these stages of hemp farming could be exhausting and meticulous, it did have its benefi ts. The Ruckheim family grew closer as they worked side-by-side to harvest plants.

“There was some bonding time, since most of the time, I don’t see my wife for six months while I’m farming for the summer,” Matt said. “I saw her every day, right by my side, for two weeks.”

While this step-bystep undertaking can be complex and detailed, the couple received help from Leigh Barry, a hemp farmer from Fergus Falls who owns a hemp extractor.

“He was a wealth of knowledge,” Casey said. “He gave us a lot of advice and helped us fi ll in the blanks we didn’t have yet.”

Barry’s extractor has opened up more possibilities for the Ruckheims and their journey and growth as hemp farmers. While Matt and Casey originally planned on selling the plants, they gravitated to cannabidiol (CBD) oil, which can be used to ease pain. Behind this legal, health-oriented focus, the Ruckheims began their own CBD business, titled R Bottled Gold, which sells tinctures, roll-on gel, balm and even gummies and pet products.

“If you have a good product to sell, you can’t go wrong trying to get into business with it,” Matt said.

And every so often,

Ruckheims page 30

Paynesville

320-243-3938 www.feedcomn.com salutes

ETHAN HAYES

Pierz Healy High School Senior Parents: Karen and Corey Hayes Pierz FFA Chapter

Tell us about your FFA chapter and your involvement in it: Mrs. tax is our advisor. Our chapter has a meeting every month and weekly practice for a contest. The offi cers have a meeting every two weeks. I participate in the dairy and livestock judging. This summer, we also got together and decided to help people move. And, every year during FFA week, we get together and decide what we are going to give to our farmers around the town to help them out and to let them know that we appreciate them and all the hard work they do.

Name one current issue you believe will impact agriculture in the future. Why? The dry weather, because the hay and corn will not be able to grow.

What is the greatest benefi t you have received from being involved in FFA? Getting to meet a lot of new people and getting closer to everyone in my FFA chapter.

What do you enjoy most about FFA? Why? Doing a contest because you meet new people and learn a lot.