Katelyn Baker
Well-Known Member
Asheboro – A roomful of farmers got a crash course Tuesday on growing industrial hemp as part of a pilot program in North Carolina.
Most of the farmers at the meeting held at an Asheboro hotel will be contract growers for Founder's Hemp. The Asheboro-based company will process hemp plants and seeds into food and oil at a building under construction on Dorsett Avenue.
The 6,287-square-foot facility should be completed this summer, in time for fall production, according to Bob Crumley, the founder of Founder's Hemp.
The company logo features likenesses of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, who were both hemp farmers. In fact, the first five U.S. presidents grew hemp, a legal crop in the nation until 1937. During World War II, the government briefly reversed course, asking farmers to grow hemp for the war effort.
Crumley also founded the North Carolina Industrial Hemp Association (ncindhemp.org) to lobby to change the law in the Tar Heel state. In September 2015, members of the N.C. House of Representatives voted 101-7 in favor of proposed legislation. It passed the Senate on a vote of 42-2.
The final legislation authorized an industrial hemp pilot program in the state and established the Industrial Hemp Commission (IHC) to create rules and regulations to be followed by pilot program participants.
Many people confuse hemp and marijuana. Hemp has a much higher concentration of cannabidiol, which is an essential oil like lavender or peppermint; marijuana is higher in tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, a psychoactive chemical.
North Carolina law now defines industrial hemp along with federal guidelines as containing three-tenths or less (0.3) percent of THC. High-grade marijuana may have 20-30 percent THC (or more).
A learning curve
Crumley said he hopes temporary rules will be approved next week that will govern the pilot program in its first year, so farmers can begin to apply this month for permits to grow hemp. He said farmers need to plant in April or May to harvest in September.
Interest has been so high among farmers that his contracted growers (24 to date, including six in Randolph County) will cultivate close to 300 acres this season. He had expected to contract for about 100 acres.
Since farmers do not have experience growing the crop, cultivation in the first year will be limited to 10 acres per grower. "None of us are going to make a lot of money this year," he said. "We're going to learn a lot of things."
Next year, with a season of growing experience, he expects the acreage to expand to 1,000 or more.
'Break the stigma'
Founder's Hemp brand names will include Historically Healthy and Historical Remedy for products such as whole roasted seeds, some with flavorings, and seed hearts, and oils pressed from hemp seeds, like sunflower oil is pressed from sunflower seeds, capsules with oil, hemp oil-based tinctures, and more.
Last October, when requesting zoning approval to build the Founder's Hemp facility, Crumley told members of the Asheboro City Council that hemp has over 400 trace compounds, of which the most notable are cannabinoids.
Cannabidiol, or CBD, is the most used and talked about cannabinoid and is known to have anti-inflammatory, anti-anxiety and anti-seizure properties.
The company already has Hemp Flower Extract capsules on the market. The label describes the nutritional supplement as full spectrum cannabinoids. Crumley said the capsules were produced using seed from U.S. and Canadian sources.
"One of the things we have to do in this industry is break the stigma," Crumley said.
Toward that end, a company that creates mascot costumes for major league and college teams is designing one for Founder's Hemp. Expect to see George Washington at a festival, fair or convention in the near future. In April, George is tentatively slated to attend the North Carolina Azalea Festival in Wilmington and MerleFest in Wilkesboro.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Hemp - Coming Soon To Six Randolph County Farms
Author: Chip Womick
Contact: (336) 625-2101
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: The Courier-Tribune
Most of the farmers at the meeting held at an Asheboro hotel will be contract growers for Founder's Hemp. The Asheboro-based company will process hemp plants and seeds into food and oil at a building under construction on Dorsett Avenue.
The 6,287-square-foot facility should be completed this summer, in time for fall production, according to Bob Crumley, the founder of Founder's Hemp.
The company logo features likenesses of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, who were both hemp farmers. In fact, the first five U.S. presidents grew hemp, a legal crop in the nation until 1937. During World War II, the government briefly reversed course, asking farmers to grow hemp for the war effort.
Crumley also founded the North Carolina Industrial Hemp Association (ncindhemp.org) to lobby to change the law in the Tar Heel state. In September 2015, members of the N.C. House of Representatives voted 101-7 in favor of proposed legislation. It passed the Senate on a vote of 42-2.
The final legislation authorized an industrial hemp pilot program in the state and established the Industrial Hemp Commission (IHC) to create rules and regulations to be followed by pilot program participants.
Many people confuse hemp and marijuana. Hemp has a much higher concentration of cannabidiol, which is an essential oil like lavender or peppermint; marijuana is higher in tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, a psychoactive chemical.
North Carolina law now defines industrial hemp along with federal guidelines as containing three-tenths or less (0.3) percent of THC. High-grade marijuana may have 20-30 percent THC (or more).
A learning curve
Crumley said he hopes temporary rules will be approved next week that will govern the pilot program in its first year, so farmers can begin to apply this month for permits to grow hemp. He said farmers need to plant in April or May to harvest in September.
Interest has been so high among farmers that his contracted growers (24 to date, including six in Randolph County) will cultivate close to 300 acres this season. He had expected to contract for about 100 acres.
Since farmers do not have experience growing the crop, cultivation in the first year will be limited to 10 acres per grower. "None of us are going to make a lot of money this year," he said. "We're going to learn a lot of things."
Next year, with a season of growing experience, he expects the acreage to expand to 1,000 or more.
'Break the stigma'
Founder's Hemp brand names will include Historically Healthy and Historical Remedy for products such as whole roasted seeds, some with flavorings, and seed hearts, and oils pressed from hemp seeds, like sunflower oil is pressed from sunflower seeds, capsules with oil, hemp oil-based tinctures, and more.
Last October, when requesting zoning approval to build the Founder's Hemp facility, Crumley told members of the Asheboro City Council that hemp has over 400 trace compounds, of which the most notable are cannabinoids.
Cannabidiol, or CBD, is the most used and talked about cannabinoid and is known to have anti-inflammatory, anti-anxiety and anti-seizure properties.
The company already has Hemp Flower Extract capsules on the market. The label describes the nutritional supplement as full spectrum cannabinoids. Crumley said the capsules were produced using seed from U.S. and Canadian sources.
"One of the things we have to do in this industry is break the stigma," Crumley said.
Toward that end, a company that creates mascot costumes for major league and college teams is designing one for Founder's Hemp. Expect to see George Washington at a festival, fair or convention in the near future. In April, George is tentatively slated to attend the North Carolina Azalea Festival in Wilmington and MerleFest in Wilkesboro.
News Moderator: Katelyn Baker 420 MAGAZINE ®
Full Article: Hemp - Coming Soon To Six Randolph County Farms
Author: Chip Womick
Contact: (336) 625-2101
Photo Credit: None Found
Website: The Courier-Tribune
