We understand how the upfront cost for vegetative material vs seed seems to be higher but in reality it is not when we consider the cost of the genetics during the whole cultivation cycle. Seed hemp, especially hemp that is anywhere from $0.50 - $1.50/seed is extremely risky for farmers. Most of our customers come to us after having a poor season with seed.
Here some things we want you to be aware of when purchasing hemp seed:
Germination rates are highly variable. If someone is quoting you 95% germination, we have seen many farmers actually have anywhere from ~40-60%. Consider the money thrown away due to this.
If the seeds you receive have come from the same "seed-lot" (meaning from the same parent plant/male plant) every single seed could be a different phenotype - variety. This means that the time to flower, CBD/CBG potency, yield, disease resistance could all be different... talk about inconsistent and inefficient production! The value you need to offer the processor is consistency per lb of biomass sold - if you are harvesting multiple different phenotypes you are far from being an efficient supplier to a processor and the value of your biomass will drop significantly.
With he potential for different phenotypes you could also have hot varieties... what happens if your state decides to test those as a representative sample of your acreage and you potentially lose your crop?
Now let's talk about males, hermaphrodites and female plants. You want 100% female plants. I would be very hesitant to believe any breeder who can guarantee you will not have male plants. If you do choose seed you will have to pay labor costs for walking your fields, checking for males, pulling them out in hopes that they don't pollinate your field or your neighbors. We can share plenty of documentation on lawsuits due to pollen crossing into other fields due to poor genetics selections.
These are just a few concerns we highly recommend you consider. If we wanted to produce seed, we could very easily and with higher net profit margins than with clones. Our margin is smaller than seed producers because seed is incredibly easy to produce. We supply clones from Elite stock that are clean of virus and other pathogens, female, and come rooted and ready to transplant. You will not need to scout your fields for males or herms, you will have consistency in plant to plant growth and potency and you will have short, well branched and high yielding plants with great disease resistance.
Advanced Hemp Genetics produce more uniform, consistent, stable crops. Our team of experts can help ensure your success and priftability.
David Marshall - MorningStar Grower Services