Heartland Unlocks Farming Infrastructure for Industrial Hemp
Most people around the world know that farmers have it rough. They put in the work across the agriculture industry to produce the goods that we consume every day. But, recently, the going has gotten tougher for farmers who are not only trying to put food on the table for their own families but also supply food for the homes of families across America.
Current economic times have pushed commodities like wheat, corn, and soy into extreme price and supply volatility. This is leaving farmers across the country with infinite uncertainty as they don’t know what crops will be able to be sold in the marketplace 12 months from now. Most farmers are looking for a new way forward; a new crop that can provide financial certainty for their families with the equipment that they already have.
2018 Farm Bill: Unlocking Hemp Fiber
After the 2018 Farm Bill, there was a massive transition from the everyday commodities found in supermarkets, to CBD. Hemp farming for CBD has been a major letdown for farmers across the country. They were promised tens of thousands of dollars per acre, with little to no training on how to successfully grow the crop. The specifics required to maintain and harvest a CBD crop are beyond the norms, and no one in the industry was properly educated on how to grow and harvest a crop that was certain to save the day. This has caused a whiplash effect in the industry, where farmers decided to stop focusing on CBD and the empty promises that processors were promising of $50,000+ per acre. This is where the opportunity for industrial hemp farming has come into play.
Industrial farming, for hemp fiber and hurd, not CBD, is almost identical to growing wheat. It requires less time, maintenance, water, and seeds while utilizing the same equipment. Since there are little to no retooling costs, wheat farmers can create certainty for their families and their off-takers that crops will be produced up to standard. Industrial hemp is grown for fibers and hurds is a simple crop that provides farmers the option for a higher-paying harvest.
Traditionally, a commodity like soy, corn, or wheat will pay between $400-750 per acre depending on what part of the country a farmer is in. Industrial hemp farmed by the farming partners of Heartland Industries pays a premium compared to other crops like corn and soy. Heartland will be providing seeds and fertilizer, along with a set of standard operating procedures that use the same equipment as wheat. These procedures will outline a step-by-step process to harvest, store, and ship the stalk of the hemp plant to Heartland Industries. We have a vested interest in the success of our farming partners across the United States, which is why we are promising to pay our farmers 20% of the income up-front before seeds go into the ground. This will create financial certainty for the farmers, and a stable supply chain for Heartland Industries.
This is a level of structure and professionalism that is unseen in this market. Our focus is on unlocking a supply chain that is reliable enough for fortune 500 companies to convert from other products to hemp. These large institutions want to utilize stronger, lighter, cheaper, and more sustainable materials to produce their products. But, the only way this happens is with farming partners who are properly incentivized to grow quality industrial hemp crops at scale.
Heartland Industries is currently in talks with farmers and co-ops across the country who are looking to shift over to industrial hemp. As leaders in agriculture, these farmers see the future of sustainable materials that can provide long-term financial upside while reducing their operating costs.
Industrial hemp is the solution that farmers across the country have been looking for. This is the beginning of an agricultural revolution that will dramatically shift farming and manufacturing across America.
Today, the Whitehouse announced a major initiative to drive local farming supporting local manufacturing via biomanufacturing.