Thanks for helping us make this the best year ever for the Illinois Hemp Growers Association! Even with all the challenges and new ways of working we had to learn, we've pulled through and continued to have a positive impact on the hemp industry in Illinois.
With all of our member's help and an outpouring of support from our sponsors, our latest efforts related to hemp fiber and grain, and increasing level of interaction with the Illinois Department of Agriculture and other statewide organizations, the IHGA has a positive outlook and promising potential going into 2021.
Our mission is clear: we must continue to represent the Illinois hemp industry's best interests and continue generating public benefit for the hemp community!
IHGA Year in review 2020
Here's a list of over 50 things we've accomplished in the past 12 months:
We’ve published 26 blog posts this year (this one is 27)
We started our Dues-paying Membership and Sponsorship programs and now have 116 Dues-paying members and 17 Sponsors
Chris did a presentation at Sulcanna in Hanover, IL
Chris toured Hemp Foundry in Monee, IL
We toured Marquis Extraction Technology’s facility in Hennepin, IL
We submitted official comments on the USDA hemp rules
Rachel was a guest on the Mike Nowak Show
Rachel did a presentation at the Illinois Specialty Crop Conference
Rachel ran a booth at the iHemp Michigan Expo
We did a presentation for the Shelby County Farm Bureau
We added a Buyers/Sellers Listings page to our website
We held our first Quarterly Membership Meeting in Princeton, IL and State Representative Dan Swanson (R-74th District) was in attendance.
We were guests on the Midwest Hemp Council Podcast
Chris attended and spoke at a screening of “Billion Dollar Crop” in Decatur, IL
We toured Red White and Bloom’s facility in Granville, IL
We did our first AMA on Reddit
We added a File Sharing page to our website
Chris consulted with the City Colleges of Chicago on their cannabis program
We were guests on the Chillinois Podcast
We learned about HB3906
We added a genetics catalog section to our File Sharing page
We learned about HB5216
Rachel ran a booth at the Annual Chicago Food Policy Summit
Rachel changed her license plate to read “HEMP”
We learned about HR5587
Rachel and Chris attended a meeting of the Central IL Young Farmers Coalition
Rachel was a panelist at Live Local in Peoria, IL
Rachel was a guest on the Hemp Chat Podcast
We learned about Illinois Hemp in Adult-use and Medical Cannabis
We analyzed Illinois’ first hemp harvest numbers
We learned about the USDA’s Agriculture Innovation Agenda
We started a YouTube channel
We participated in Grow Greater Englewood’s Grow Your Own Series on Facebook Live
Rachel was featured in an NPR news article
We learned about the definition of the word Hemp
Rachel was featured in an article in Hemp Grower Magazine
We learned about unjust drug policy and why cannabis is still a schedule 1 substance
Rachel was elected Secretary of the U.S. Hemp Building Association
We learned about the M.O.R.E. Act
Rachel did a presentation on hemp at the Rotary Club in Princeton, IL
Rachel was a guest on the Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast
Chris spoke to an Introduction to Cannabis Production class about hemp for Illinois Valley Community College students
We went hunting for and found feral hemp around the state of Illinois
We harvested hemp for fiber and grain
We purchased large round bales of hemp fiber
We were guests on the Hemp Empowerment Podcast
We learned about Δ8-THC and the DEA’s Interim Final Rule on hemp
We met with the Illinois Department of Agriculture's Cannabis Division and are exploring ways to collaborate
We’ve spent hundreds of hours over the phone and writing emails answering questions for our members!
We've held all of our regular quarterly membership meetings ( 4th one coming up on the 29th of December!)
So if you're a member or sponsor of the IHGA, we want to thank you for your support. Because of your contributions, your stories, your phone calls, emails, and messages, we know we are providing you with a valuable service! If you've had a positive experience with us this year, please leave us a review on Google
Remember, if you have been a member or sponsor for the past 12 months, it will soon be time to start renewing your yearly dues. We will be sending reminder emails at the end of this month to those who have membership or sponsorship dues that lapse in January.
Click here to renew your yearly membership or sponsorship now.
Four New Sponsors!
MINIMIZE RISK.
MAXIMIZE PROFIT.
Whitefield is your turnkey solution for entering the hemp market with an experienced partner.
Our dedicated staff is here to assist you in securing an insurance policy to protect you and your loved ones for years to come. Our job is to help you navigate through the sea of policy options and clarify any questions or concerns you may have along the way.
Show-Me Hemp Association LLC exists to create networking and communication opportunities for growers, businesses, and stakeholders in the hemp industry to help them navigate the hemp highway. We want to you how to minimize risk and maximize opportunities within the hemp industry.
Offering comprehensive risk management tools focused on sustainable, socially conscious products. GSCG's aim is to spearhead the evolution of commodities trading by leveraging emerging technologies to provide best-in-class transparency and price discovery mechanisms at every stage of the supply chain.
New Hemp Industry Documentary
HEMP IS BACK A new video documentary now available for rent on Amazon Prime Video. With the 2018 legalization of Hemp nationwide growers jumped in to "Green Rush" dreaming of endless riches. This is story of Central and Southern Oregon's 2019 Hemp season. While our story is local to Oregon, it delves into the successes, failures, and learning curves of a new agricultural commodity that has brought promises of wealth for farmers and entrepreneurs nation wide. Rent now for $2.99.
4th Quarter Membership Meeting
Coming very soon to a zoom call on your device! The Illinois Hemp Growers Association is hosting its 4th quarter membership meeting for all dues-paying members and sponsors.
The meeting will be held on December 29th from 6pm to 8pm. All dues-paying members and sponsors have already received an invitation via email with the link for the meeting. This meeting will begin with our President and Vice President delivering their reports, our sponsors making statements, and as always, we open the floor to our members to discuss any new business!
This time around, we will have some special guests in attendance from the Illinois Department of Agriculture's Cannabis Division: Joe Kienzeler and David Lakeman!
We look forward to seeing you there. Let's bring in the new year with hemp!
USDA, NIFA, AFRI, SAS Hemp Supply Chain Grants
If you're looking for some exciting news regarding government support of the hemp industry, look no further. This grant opportunity from the USDA now contains industrial hemp projects as a specific area of interest!
We are open to collaborating with other industry stakeholders regarding this grant, the scope of work that this grant requires will take a large team of participants to plan and execute a qualifying multi-year project. Letters of intent to submit proposals to the USDA for consideration are due on January 7th, 2021!
Value-added Innovation
Rural Agriculture-based Economy – Foster economic development and prosperity in rural America by catalyzing production of high-value biobased chemicals, food and feed ingredients, and other products using agricultural feedstock, enhancing local human capital, and attracting supportive infrastructure.
The continued development of a rural agriculture-based economy encompasses development of biobased products and biomaterials that promote opportunities in agriculture and bioeconomy value chains, renewable energy, and ecosystem services. These high value end products from agricultural byproducts, emerging crops, livestock and forest feedstocks, enable new markets, establish new domestic supply chains and stimulate workforce and rural community development creating jobs and economic opportunities. Of interest in this theme are industrial hemp projects that examine the supply chain as a system, including breeding, cultivation, feedstock logistics, industrial processing of products, and market analysis.
Projects supporting this goal must develop or implement both of the following:
New and/or improved strategies for biobased products that improve food, feed, industrial or other high value-added products; and
Potential economic benefits over existing products and utilities; this includes addressing the full supply chain for high value-added product systems from feedstock through product formulation to end-user market demand.
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