- Hybridized oil-seed plant specimens, Oct 2020 -
The 2018 Farm Bill put into motion pioneering to find pathways to an increase in sustainable practices of regenerative agriculture by the permission for the United States to cultivate, process and manufacture products with industrial hemp.
To explore industrial hemp viability as an alternative to soybean oil production in Southern Minnesota, I assisted '507 Growers L.L.C.' in partnering with geneticists to isolate proprietary stains and cultivate seed stock for research and operations the follow on year. As volunteers, we worked with non-profits and regional development councils to donate biomass and grain yields. These products were used as research materials to aide local engineering students in an exercise of applied design and development of specialty crop sorting and handling equipment. Our team's efforts in 2020 led to recognition among industry leaders and earned us a privilege to represent southern Minnesota as first generation hemp farmers to investors and manufactures.
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That foundational experience gained us notoriety and established our group as pioneers of modern MN hemp cultivation and research. In 2021, while attending the US Hemp Growers Southern Conference, our team was asked to represent Southern Minnesota as part of a variety trial of 9 cultivars for their production of fiber relative to 10 other regions throughout the greater Midwest. Over the next 6 months we would go on to demonstrate the potential of an estimated 2100 lbs of hemp grain per acre, or to 6 tons of fiber per acre in optimally selected cultivars.
Since that time, others in our working group have gone on to maintain CBD retail operations while also preparing for legal, adult only THC products (not directly affiliated with, or represented by '507 Growers').
- Variety of cultivars in fiber production trials, Aug 2021 -