Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast

In this episode of the Industrial Hemp Podcast, we take you to the GreenBuild Conference and Expo in Philadelphia, the world’s largest event dedicated to green building and sustainable construction.

This annual gathering brings together architects, engineers, builders, and innovators, all focused on creating a more sustainable future for the built environment.

Under the banner of The Goodness of Hemp, an inspiring collective of hemp-based businesses showcased their products and vision for the future of construction.

From cutting-edge materials to bold collaborations, this episode highlights the voices shaping the intersection of hemp and sustainability.

On this episode, you will hear:

Katie Gillham – Event Director, GreenBuild

Greg Wilson – HempWood

Tom Rossmossler – HempStone

Mattie Mead – Hempitecture

James Forbes – Tiger Fiber

Pierre Berard – HEMI and The Goodness of Hemp

Alex Sexsmith – Sexsmith Architects

Zach Popp – Sativa Building Systems

Amanda Martin-Behrendtsen – Renewal Revolution

Trey Riddle – IND HEMP

Mario Machnicki – US Heritage Group

Indra Fanuzzi – American Basalt Company

Colyn Stangl-Meddaugh – BRR Architecture

Listen now to hear how hemp is revolutionizing the construction industry and why GreenBuild is the perfect platform to showcase its potential.

Support the ONE PLANT Kickstarter!

Thanks to our Sponsors

IND HEMP

Mpactful Ventures

ForeverGreen

Music by Tin Bird Shadow

This is part one of our coverage of the 2024 Montana Hemp Summit, also known as the "Goodness of Hemp" Summit, that took place in Great Falls, Montana, Oct. 15-17.

First, please take action now. Help support the One Plant Kickstarter campaign.

The episode opens with a conversation with Ken Elliott, co-founder of IND HEMP in Montana. Host Eric Hurlock and Ken talk about the recent summit, the introduction of HEMI, and why people in the hemp industry should stop what they’re doing right now and go help throw in on the "One Plant" documentary film KickStarter Campaign.

Then you'll hear a series of interviews that Eric conducted with attendees at the summit.

By order of appearance:

Eduardo Garcia

Chef and CEO of Montana Mex and Dream Farm, Eduardo shares his enthusiasm for hemp as a superfood and sustainable material. His work focuses on educating people about the connection between food, health and environmental sustainability.

Cheryl Mitchell

A food scientist with Steuben Foods in the Grains, Nuts and Seeds Ingredient Manufacturing division, Cheryl specializes in plant-based beverages. She talks about her process for creating nutrient-rich, highly digestible hemp milk and the health potential of hemp as a food source.

Erica Campbell

Co-founder and partner at InCommon Group, a food systems strategic consulting firm, Erica discusses her work in advancing regenerative agriculture. She highlights her involvement in the films "Kiss the Ground" and "Common Ground" and introduces the 100 Million Acres campaign to promote sustainable farming practices.

Anjli Kumar

Founder of Inner Bark Heritage, a sustainable textile startup in Atlanta, Georgia, Anjli explains her efforts to establish a U.S.-based farm-to-fabric hemp textile supply chain. She aims to make hemp apparel mainstream by managing each step from decortication to finished fabric.

Guy Carpenter

Hemp textile expert and founder of Bear Fiber, Guy shares his work on creating the Benton shirt, a hemp-cotton blend garment produced entirely in the U.S. He emphasizes the importance of re-establishing American hemp textile production for sustainable clothing options.

Steve Groff

Regenerative agriculture educator and Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, hemp farmer, Steve reflects on the Montana Hemp Summit's networking value. He shares insights from his partnership with Larry Serbin on green decortication research and discusses hemp’s potential in reclaiming saline soils for agriculture.

Larry Serbin

An OG hemp entrepreneur collaborating with Steve Groff on green decortication research, Larry appreciates the summit’s role in building connections. His work focuses on advancing hemp processing technology to support a sustainable future for the industry.

Jordan Berger and Maxwell Duryea

Filmmakers from Sunflower Films, Jordan and Maxwell discuss their documentary "One Plant," which highlights hemp’s many applications. They share their excitement about launching a Kickstarter campaign at the summit to fund the film’s completion and bring awareness of hemp to a broader audience.

Bob Quinn

Organic farmer and founder of Montana Flour and Grain, Bob talks about his research with IND HEMP on using hemp to mitigate saline soil in Montana. Known for his work with ancient grains like Kamut, he sees hemp as a key player in regenerative farming.

https://quinninstitute.org/

Contact:

Questions or comments? Reach out to Eric at [email protected]

Credits:

This episode of the Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast is produced by Eric Hurlock. Music by Tin Bird Shadow.

Thank you to our Sponsors:

IND HEMP

Americhanvre

Mpactful Ventures

Forever Green

 

In this special episode of the Industrial Hemp Podcast*, we talk to Erica Stark, executive director of the National Hemp Association (NHA), and Lancaster County regenerative hemp farmer Steve Groff. Together, they break down the exciting news that the USDA has awarded $19.6 million to support a transformative project focused on climate-smart hemp farming in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

The project aims to help farmers adopt regenerative practices using industrial hemp, reduce agricultural runoff, and protect the health of the Chesapeake Bay. Erica and Steve discuss how the grant will benefit farmers directly, the challenges of building infrastructure, and how this initiative could boost the hemp industry in Pennsylvania and beyond.

National Hemp Association

Steve Groff

USDA Regional Conservation Partnership Program

Watch the ONE PLANT trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1tlMo1VtWA

Support the ONE PLANT Kickstarter campaign:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/oneplant/one-plant

Thanks to our sponsors

IND HEMP

Mpactful Ventures

Forever Green

 

MUSIC by TIN BIRD SHADOW https://tinbirdshadow.bandcamp.com/album/dot-dot-dot

 

This week on the Hemp Podcast, we travel to Japan.

Not literally, but vicariously.

Our three guests recently attended the inaugural Tokyo International Hemp Conference last month and toured an 8th generation hemp farm and processing facility called Golden Hemp that makes sacred ropes used in Shinto temples.

On this episode we will talk to Jean Lotus, Robin Destiche and Patrick Atagi.

The trip was organized by the National Industrial Hemp Council of America and was funded by USDA’s Regional Agricultural Promotion Program.

Lotus, the publisher of Hemp Build Magazine, was fascinated to learn about the ancient traditions and processing methods that are still in use today, and thinks Japan will embrace hemp building practices.

“I really see some opportunities there with hemp building materials just because of the decarbonization,” she said. “The Japanese have really embraced all of the United Nations sustainability goals for construction.”

Robin Destiche, a co-founder of American hemp seed company KonopiUS, said he sees the potential for growth, but doesn’t expect it overnight.

“Like many things in the hemp industry,” he said, “I can see it maybe in three to five years, but it definitely feels like there’s traction, there’s development.”

Patrick Atagi, the president and CEO of the National Industrial Hemp Council, organized the trip in conjunction with the Thailand Industrial Hemp Trade Association.

“Our goal is to market and create a market for hemp domestically and globally,” he said.

Learn More:

National Industrial Hemp Council of America

Hemp Build Mag

KonopiUS

Regional Agricultural Promotion Program (RAPP)

Texas Hemp Building Event: Architect/Builder Training and Tour, San Marcos, TX October 24-25

Greenbuild 2024

News Nuggets

US Hopes Green Construction Awakens Japan’s Hemp Industry

Honeywell and SGP BioEnergy to develop plant-based biochemicals, reducing industry’s reliance on fossil fuels

Thanks to our Sponsors!

IND HEMP

Americhanvre

Forever Green and the KP4 Hemp Cutter

Secretary Russell Redding made an official Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture trip to Montana this week to meet with founders of IND HEMP, one of the largest hemp fiber and seed processors in the U.S.

On this week’s podcast, Lancaster Farming catches up with Redding as he visits the hemp facility in Fort Benton, Montana. The show features a joint interview with Redding and IND HEMP founder Ken Elliott from the IND HEMP office.

Redding said he originally planned to attend the Montana Hemp Summit, hosted by IND HEMP, in Great Falls later this month, but had a commitment in Pennsylvania he could not cancel.

Wanting to see the oil seed and fiber processing facilities with his own two eyes to better understand what is needed back home in Pennsylvania, he scheduled a last-minute trip to Big Sky Country.

The fact-finding trip is part of a larger commitment from his department to develop a robust hemp industry in Pennsylvania, where, so far, the industry has struggled to find capital to build out the processing infrastructure.

Redding spent the day with IND HEMP founders Morgan Tweet and Ken and Julie Elliott who answered his questions and gave him a tour of both the oil-seed facility and the fiber-processing facility, housed in separate facilities on IND HEMP’s campus in Fort Benton, a town along the Missouri River in north-central Montana with a population of around 1,400.

IND HEMP has created just over 50 jobs since setting up the facility in 2019.

Redding is returning home with a new perspective.

“I think in Pennsylvania, having something that would look like what is happening here in Montana is exactly what everybody in the steering committee and the hemp engine is trying to do, but it’s not the final answer,” Redding said.

“What I’ve learned today is that there’s a quest to just keep building out the marketplace,” he said.

“And the economics of that marketplace then determine sort of what those income streams look like for both the company and the farms,” he said.

Elliott is optimistic about the Keystone State’s potential in the burgeoning hemp industry, partially because of Pennsylvania’s reputation for hemp in colonial times. He was keynote speaker at the Pennsylvania Hemp Summit in Harrisburg November 2022 and has since gotten to know key players in Pennsylvania’s hemp industry.

“We can help you guys take that next step,” he said. “We would love to be part of whatever the solution is for Pennsylvania’s the hemp industry.”

Do Pennsylvania farmers even have an appetite for hemp, after the boom and bust of the CBD market along with recent controversies surrounding so-called hemp-derived intoxicants like Delta 8?

Redding thinks Pennsylvania have an appetite for something big and boring that can be another revenue stream for producers.

“The margins, whether you’re in Montana or Pennsylvania, are thin,” Redding said.

“So to whatever extent we can add diversity to it — you can help de-risk the operation by adding an enterprise — that’s universal.”

Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture Hemp Program

IND HEMP

Thanks to our sponsors!

Mpactful Ventures Forever Green

 

 

On this week’s Hemp Podcast, we talk to Geoff Whaling from the National Hemp Association, who recently returned from a trip to Africa.

The trip, funded by a USDA Emerging Markets Program grant, focused on developing hemp exports to Malawi, Rwanda and Ghana.

The purpose of the trip, Whaling said, “was to undertake a review and to report back to USDA as to the barriers for exporting American grown hemp products into those three countries.”

In Malawi, he met with government officials, including President Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera, who Whaling said was impressed with the economic potential of hemp in improving food security and creating industry.

One of the barriers Whaling found is that hemp is not on the World Food Program and USAID’s ingredients list.

That exclusion will hinder the export of hemp-based nutritional products from the U.S. to Africa, Whaling said.

Whaling also talks about the Lancaster County Hemp Circuit that took place last month. Whaling was instrumental in bringing Betsy Londrigan, the administrator of USDA’s Rural Business-Cooperative Service, to the event.

Whaling said her presence at the circuit signaled USDA’s interest in supporting the hemp industry, with potentially billions of dollars of funding available to the industry through Rural Development programs that Londrigan oversees.

Also on this week’s show, we follow up on that white deer Steve Groff saw on his way to the Cornell Hemp Field Day.

As you might have guessed, there’s more to the story.

A lot more.

An Army base. Nuclear warheads. An encampment of protesting women. A fence. A herd of inbred deer.

Who knew one white doe would be such a can of worms.

Thanks to our Sponsors IND HEMP

King's Agriseeds

On the latest episode of the Hemp Podcast, we take the show on the road once more — this time to Cornell University’s Hemp Fiber and Grain Field Day at the Agritech Campus in Geneva, New York.

Among the many voices on this episode is Christine Smart, director of Cornell Agritech, who’s leading groundbreaking work on hemp diseases and crop resilience.

Hailee Greene, a recent Cornell MBA grad and founder of GreeneAcres Processing, talks about her ambitious plans to establish the first full-scale hemp-processing facility in New York, despite the financial challenges that lie ahead.

“We’re a couple million dollars away, which is probably the story of everybody that says they want to do processing at this point,” she said.

I also spoke with Maciej Kowalski, a Polish hemp entrepreneur who just wrapped up a trip around the U.S. to learn more about hemp processing.

He highlighted the disconnect he sees in the U.S. between farmers and textile manufacturers, stressing that fiber quality must start in the field.

“The textile people don’t care about what’s happening in the field, and the cultivators don’t care about what happens afterward. That’s not the way to make a good product,” he said.

Shelby Ellison, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, is working to collect and preserve feral hemp genetics from across the U.S., preserving the genetic diversity of hemp, which can be used to breed more resilient and adaptive varieties.

So far, she and her team have collected more than 1,500 individual plant samples across 14 different states in the U.S.

Pennsylvania hempcrete builder Cameron McIntosh talks about the growing interest from federal agencies, including the Department of Energy, in addressing not only operational emissions but also the embodied carbon in construction materials.

We also hear from Pennsylvania hemp farmer Steve Groff, who shares a remarkable story about seeing an albino deer on his drive to Geneva.

Groff’s white deer might be a good omen for the industry, but it’s definitely a good omen for this episode of the podcast.

Thanks to Our Sponsors!

IND HEMP

Mpactful Ventures

Forever Green

Music by Tin Bird Shadow

MORTON, Minn. — The Lower Sioux Indian Community celebrated the opening of its new hemp-processing facility with a full day of hemp education and demonstrations on September 5, 2024.

This processing plant brings the tribe one step closer to what it calls “Seed to Sovereignty,“ where the tribe creates its own supply chain: growing the hemp to be processed in the facility, where it will be made into hempcrete houses to address the housing crisis on the reservation through agriculture.

This week on the Hemp Podcast, we bring you conversations from the Lower Sioux.

We’ll hear from Danny Desjarlais, project manager and leader of the building crew; Kristi Shane, Tribal Council treasurer; Robert Larson Jr., hempcrete mixmaster; and the “Earl of Hemp” himself, Earl Pendleton, who for many years has been the tribe’s vision holder for hemp.

We’ll also talk to Mary Jane Oatman, executive director of the Indigenous Cannabis Industry Association and a member of the Nez Perce Tribe of the Columbia River Plateau; Rob Pero, founder of Canndigenous and a member of the Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians; and Nick Hernandez, founder and CEO of Makoce Agriculture Development in Porcupine, South Dakota, and a member of the Oglala Sioux Tribe and a citizen of Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.

Plus, Ken Meyer from Complete Hemp Proeccsing and Derrick Dohmann from Horizon Hemp Seeds, North Dakota hempcrete builder Matt Marino, Minnesota inventor Bob Albertson, broadcaster Dan Lemke from the Linder Farm Network, and more.

News Nugget:

Newsom says hemp industry is ‘a disgrace’ for not policing itself over intoxicants

Thanks to Our Sponsors!

IND HEMP

AMERICHANVRE Forever Green

 

Music by Tin Bird Shadow

 

This week's podcast is Part Two of our Lancaster County Hemp Circuit Coverage.

Editor's note: Hey there, it's me Eric. I'm traveling this week to Minnesota for the Field Day at the Lower Sioux Indian Reservation, so in order to get the podcast out to you in a timely manner, I gave the transcript of the audio to my ChatGPT buddy and asked for a break down. And that's what the following is: AI-generated text. Thank you for your understanding! -e

Here’s a breakdown of the Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast episode titled Lancaster Hemp Circuit, Part Two:

Who:

Eric Hurlock: Host of the podcast and senior digital editor at Lancaster Farming Newspaper.

Fred Strathmeyer: Deputy Secretary of Agriculture for Pennsylvania.

Tarit Chatterjee: Director of Operations at Natural Textile Solutions and Bast Lab.

Alyssa Collins: Plant pathologist from Penn State.

Ron Kander: Professor from Jefferson University.

Shawn House: Entrepreneur and founder of Hempzels, a hemp pretzel company.

Other speakers: Local hemp experts, machinists like Joe from Joe's Machinery, and hemp advocates like Erica Stark and Cameron McIntosh. And Eric Beezer is running for office.

What:

The podcast features interviews from the *Lancaster County Hemp Circuit*, where participants discuss the latest developments in hemp production in Pennsylvania. Topics include advancements in industrial hemp, state support, fiber and grain hemp processing, and the potential growth of Pennsylvania as a leader in the hemp industry.

Where:

The event took place in various locations around Lancaster County, PA, including King's Agriseeds, the Landis Valley Farm Museum and Steve Groff's farm.

Participants also mention upcoming events in Minnesota, New York, and New Jersey, which include field days and workshops focused on industrial hemp.

Why:

The podcast aims to spotlight Pennsylvania’s growing role in the hemp industry. There is a significant push for infrastructure development, processing facilities, and innovative uses of hemp in textiles, construction, and feed. With local and state government support, the goal is to position Pennsylvania as a key player in the national and international hemp markets.

This episode highlights the collaborative efforts and future potential for industrial hemp in Pennsylvania, emphasizing the importance of local partnerships, state government involvement, and educational efforts to promote sustainable growth in the hemp sector.

Here’s a summary of the news nuggets, calendar items, and sponsors mentioned in the podcast episode:

News Nuggets:

Volkswagen and Hemp Leather: Volkswagen is developing a biobased leather alternative made from industrial hemp, which could be used in their car interiors starting in 2028.

Calendar Items:

Lower Sioux Hemp Field Day (September 5, 2024): Eric Hurlock will be attending a field day at the Lower Sioux Indian Community in Morton, Minnesota. The event will feature attendees from around the country and celebrates the opening of the tribes processing facility.

Cornell Hemp Events in Geneva, NY (September 11-13, 2024):

USDA Germplasm Tour (September 11)

Fiber and Grain Field Day (September 12)

Cannabinoid Field Day (September 13)

Hempcrete Workshop in Manahawkin, NJ (September 20-22, 2024): Hosted by Right Coast Hemp, featuring a hempcrete building workshop.

Sponsors:

IND Hemp (Fort Benton, Montana): A family-owned, mission-driven industrial hemp feed, food, and fiber company. INDHEMP.com

Forever Green, Distributors of the KP-4 Hemp Cutter, a revolutionary hemp harvesting machine designed for speed, efficiency and durability. Available at HempCutter.com.

Mpactful Ventures: A Massachusetts-based organization focusing on supporting sustainable ventures. 

These segments provide a mix of industry updates, upcoming events, and product promotions relevant to the hemp community.

The music in this podcast is courtesy of Tin Bird Shadow, a band or musical group whose work is featured throughout the show. The music serves as background during transitions between segments and interviews, contributing to the overall tone and feel of the podcast. It's likely used to create a relaxed, engaging atmosphere that complements the conversational and informative style of the podcast.

This week on the Hemp Podcast we bring you Part One of our coverage of the Lancaster County Hemp Circuit, a two-day, four-farm hemp event that shone a bright light on hemp in Pennsylvania and attracted attendees from all over the U.S. and a few foreign countries.

On Part One of our Hemp Circuit coverage on the podcast, we hear from a handful of out-of-state attendees.

We’ll hear a few impressions of the county.

“It’s beautiful farmland,” said Larry Smart, a plant breeder and head of the hemp program at Cornell University. “I’ll just say the roads here are twisty and turny. We’re used to straighter roads in the Finger Lakes, but the landscape is just spectacular.”

We’ll hear how Pennsylvania fits into the national hemp industry landscape.

Bert James, a North Carolina farmer and co-founder of hemp seed distributor KonopiUS, called Pennsylvania a “hemp playground, in the way that they have access to so many different varieties. There’s a good latitude. They’ve got good soil.”

“So there’s a lot of potential here, but we’re going to obviously need to get some processing online to serve this opportunity,” he said.

And we’ll hear why Pennsylvania might just be the perfect place for the intersection of business, innovation and opportunity.

Larry Serbin, from Hemp Traders in California, is impressed with the farmers and Amish machine shops in Lancaster County.

He said he is working with some folks in Pennsylvania to develop “green decorticating” techniques.

“The hemp would be decorticated in the field, which would result in farmers earning a lot more money for the crop and the cost of the hemp raw materials, like the hurd and bast fiber, to be about half what they are now,” Serbin said.

On this episode, we will hear from: Morris Beegle, WAFBA;  Eric Singular, International Hemp; Larry Smart, Cornell University; Wendy Mosher, New West Genetics; Larry Serbin, Hemp Traders; Laura Sullivan, University of Vermont; Bert James, KonopiUS; Rusty Peterson, IND HEMP; David Suchoff, NC State;  Keith Harvey, UGP Global Energy

Upcoming Hemp Events: Sept. 11 Kifcure Hemp Harvest Open House https://kifcure.com/event/kifcure-hemp-harvest-open-house/

Sept. 12 Cornell University Fiber & Grain Field Day https://rchemp.com/2024-hempcrete-workshop/ Sept. 20-22 Right Coast Hemp Hempcrete Workshop https://rchemp.com/2024-hempcrete-workshop/ Thanks to our Sponsors! IND HEMP

National Hemp Association

Forever Green