A Growing Divergence. How will Declining Acreage Impact Hemp’s Potential
By Beau Whitney, Chief Economist, Whitney Economics
Hemp has been a hot topic as of late, even when it comes to adult-use and medical policies. Despite being separated legally, there seems to be an intersection when it comes to how cannabis and hemp can coexist. Despite these discussions, there is a lot of education that needs to be done on hemp in general and the opportunities that expanding the hemp market brings.
Three Industries within the Industry
The three pillars of the hemp industry: Fiber, grain and cannabinoids have had a rough go of things as of late. Not only are policy makers so focused on hemp-derived cannabinoids that they are inadvertently and negatively impacting the fiber and grain sectors, but with falling prices, lack of investors and regulatory murkiness, participation in the hemp industry is at a pre-farm bill low point.
The Surge of Participation Has Declined to the Point of Over Correction
As many in the hemp industry know, the number of acres licensed grew significantly after the passage of the 2018 farm bill. With over 80% of licensed acres dedicated to cannabinoid based cultivation even in 2020 and 2021, the collapse of the hemp cultivation market has seen its steepest declines in that sector, while fiber and grain cultivation has remained steadfast. As a result the U.S. hemp cultivation industry has the fewest licensed acres in the post farm-bill era.
HempFlavin – Health for Equine and Canine
Let’s Talk Hemp recently sat down with Brian Dickerson of Star Manufacturing Hemp, a vertical aligned hemp company, which owns the rights to HempFlavin and uses its own seeds to cultivate, harvest, extract and package its own products all on its property in Labelle, Florida.
By Let’s Talk Hemp
How did your career lead you to hemp?
As a lawyer, representing pharmaceutical companies, I ended up representing a couple of my business contacts who left Big Pharma and then formed their own nutraceutical and dietary supplement companies. Those companies evolved into cannabis and hemp. I then started representing several hemp businesses, including laboratories, contract manufacturers, extraction companies, and even farmers. After being involved with several of my clients selling their businesses to private equity and with the passing of the 2018 Farm Bill one of my bio-pharmaceutical clients and I decided to start a business model that would not only grow the hemp and botanicals, but also extract the botanicals, and then manufacture products directly from those botanical extracts. A vertical integration that would ensure the control of the botanicals, including hemp, and exclude the use of pesticides and heavy metals, so that the end product would be a pure dietary supplement or cosmetic. Since 2020 we have created several of our own lines, including Equine Hemp Solutions, Doctors Hemp Solutions, and Canine Hemp Solutions. We also contract manufacture for dietary supplement companies, healthcare companies, and physicians.
Hemp News Spotlight
Hemp in the Modern World: The Yearslong Wait for FDA Action
Committee on Oversight US Government
Ecofibre secures deal to supply specialty hemp yarn for use in Under Armour clothing
Small Caps
TSU expands hemp growing to make TN top state in the region
WSMV
Lawmakers lambast FDA for not creating legal pathway for hemp-derived CBD and other cannabinoids during public hearing
Nutritional Outlook
Hemp shop shutters Richmond-based retail and grow operations to move out of state
Richmond BizSense
Mastercard ban on cannabis debit-card purchases rocks industry
MjBiz Daily
PepsiCo and Walmart to Support Regenerative Agriculture
Sustainability Magazine
Nestle taps startup to advance Regenerative Agriculture in Beef Production
Food Dive
Study Identifies Hemp Pollen Nutrients for Bees, Most Hemp-Friendly Bee
High Times
How hemp-based drinks, edibles became big business before MN legalized marijuana
Yahoo News
Hemp advocates say more regulation needed to help industry
Hazard Herald
EVENTS
Cannabis Research Conference
Colorado State University Pueblo, Institute of Cannabis Research, August. 3-5, 2023, Denver
Industrial Hemp Educational Conference/Hempcrete Workshop/Facility Tour
August. 4, 2023, Complete Hemp Processing, Winfred, SD
ADS Market Week,
August. 20-23, 2023, Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, NV
HIACON 2023 – Going Mainstream
August 28-30, Austin, TX
11th Annual International Hemp Building Symposium
October 10-11, 2023. Amsterdam, Netherlands
CBD Journey & CannaCon 2023
November 2-3, 2023. Tokyo, Japan
10th Annual NoCo Hemp Expo & 1st Innovate Earth Symposium
March 20-22, 2024, The Broadmoor Resort, Colorado Springs, CO
Experience Hemp Prague and the European Hemp Conference
June 5-7, 2024, Prague, Czech Republic – Save The Date
Add your event to Hemp Events, a free listing service for legitimate hemp industry events. Visit www.HempEvents.org.
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About Let’s Talk Hemp
Let’s Talk Hemp is a publication of WAFBA – We Are For Better Alternatives focused specifically on the subjects of industrial hemp, cannabis, sustainable agriculture, environment, healthy foods & supplements, and climate-smart applications. We present features and curate news from across the globe to share the benefits of hemp, cannabis, bio-based materials, and better alternatives. WAFBA also is the Producer of NoCo Hemp Expo, the world’s leading hemp conference and exposition.
Publisher/Editor: Morris Beegle
Editor-in-chief: Steven Hoffman
Web Developer: Debby West
Design: Ben Wright
Contributors: Morris Beegle, Elizabeth Lunt, Beau Whitney
Production: Hope Keller
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The post Newsletter – August 2, 2023 first appeared on Let’s Talk Hemp.
