Illinois Hemp Growers Association
The Hemp Chat
Recently, President and CEO of the Illinois Hemp Growers Association Rachel Berry was invited by Derek Cross to be a guest on The Hemp Chat.
The Hemp Chat, is a podcast dedicated to accelerated learning and helping you become healthier, wealthier, and wiser utilizing agricultural hemp. Empowering you with the knowledge in this industry.
Enjoy!
Hemp in Medical and Adult Use Cannabis Products
Yesterday, the Illinois Department of Agriculture issued a policy memo which will have an impact on the hemp industry in Illinois to some degree. It's the subject of the IHGA's Vibe Check for March 2020!
Licensed cannabis cultivation centers in Illinois are permitted to procure industrial hemp from licensed hemp growers and processors in any State to use for products sold in medical and adult use cannabis dispensaries.
Hemp must be processed into extract before being put into infused products only. No hemp procured this way can be put into smokable products like flower or concentrate.
If the cultivation center procures hemp in its extracted form, it must be distillate or isolate and must be accompanied by a potency test.
Infused products created with the processed hemp must be tested pursuant to the relevant cannabis product laws in Illinois.
Vibe Check
On its face, the policy creates a mutually beneficial arrangement for the hemp and medical/adult use markets. Opening up supply lines for hemp-derived CBD infused products to proliferate in dispensaries in the State will undoubtedly spur some economic activity in the oversupplied hemp market.
Distillate and Isolate
Infused products
Beverages
Breakfast
Brownies
Candy
Capsules
Chocolates
Condiments
Cookies
Cooking
Frozen
Snack foods
Tinctures and sublingual
The exclusion of allowing smokable products to be utilized the same way is disappointing. If the finished product has to pass the cannabis product tests for Illinois anyway what difference does it make?
There is a lot to be critical about if you want to be. Since the policy is operating under the current Illinois industrial hemp program, presumably this policy could have been implemented much sooner.
The price for hemp CBD has dropped to the point where cultivation centers and dispensaries are looking at generous margins by taking advantage of a depressed market.
If a the policy was in place sooner, a lot more hemp would have found a home in 2019. Supply chains would have been established before the adult use rush of January 2020 and product would have flowed consistently, potentially mitigating some of the logjam of oversupply in August of 2019 and the following months.
What this policy means now is for a limited time only, there will be a short period of procurement by cultivation centers in Illinois who will buy up all the CBD distillate and isolate they will ever need at a bargain from any processor in the country who needs to liquidate their inventory.
Criticism aside, this is a progressive and positive movement for the hemp industry. Giving hemp growers a path into dispensaries is a powerful statement and an economically beneficial tool. It's unfortunate that at least for now, it will only be implemented temporarily here in Illinois.
Last Week for Fiber/Dual Seeds
By the end of the week we'll be placing our order for fiber/dual purpose monecious hemp seeds. If you'd like to get in on the order and grow with us we will be sharing videos and taking calls and questions all season as your remote guides. It's a great opportunity to grow a small stand and experience how fiber and grain hemp management scenarios do on your farm.
There are two varieties to choose from and we are growing both, one for fiber and one for grain. Grab your license and a bag of seed, it's time to learn how to grow hemp and make use of it. We'll help you maintain best practices so you can proudly display and utilize your harvest. When the harvest is in, we'll unleash our creativity and work with you to find the perfect project for your hemp.
Email the IHGA or give us a call at 815-348-2211 and we'll get your name on the list before the deadline.
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Aashrafali, here is the relevant section from the rules:
c) The Department shall permit the sale or transfer of stripped stalks, fiber, dried roots, nonviable seeds, seed oils, floral and plant extracts (excluding THC in excess of 0.3%) and other marketable hemp products to members of the general public, both within and outside the State of Illinois.
So you can sell any marketable hemp product to any member of the general public. It's up to you as a producer to secure a buyer.
There is no centralized exchange where you can drop off your hemp and get a check.
You need to build a relationship with a buyer who can retail your product or you need to get a processors…
Hi, all. I would like to know who to sell my plants to and how much is the buying price. If I grow, harvest, and dry, my hemp who can I sell it too?