Within the glitz and glamour of hemp legalization in Texas, rural areas such as Lubbock and West Texas can often be overlooked for the big cities as vital locations for hemp cultivation, production and business opportunities. Yet in the same vein as Texas Cannabis Business Alliance’s Hemp Supply Chain and several other hemp-centric events, a passionate group of individuals are ensuring that West Texas is included as an ideal location for hemp production. At the same time, they are making sure potential farmers and businesses are informed and receive quality, experience-based education. Enter “West Texas Processing- A Real Conversation”.
I have a mission to protect the farmers of Texas,” said Farm to Market Hemp COO and event organizer Kristie Mallow. “Texas farmers are only worried about two things, that being “who will buy this” and “can they stay out of jail if they grow the crop.”
In 2015, with cannabis/hemp legalization still many legislative miles away, Mallow moved to Colorado, and later California, to gain as much knowledge as possible on these plants. When HB 1325’s passing seemed a strong likelihood this past spring, Mallow began the process of returning to Texas. She came fresh with hemp knowledge not well-known outside of the state. Besides providing this knowledge, Mallow also wanted to ensure there was a strong and supportive network of farmers in West Texas.
The more hemp becomes a commodity for Texan farmers, the higher the demand for experience-based education in the crop. With passion, the organizers of “West Texas Hemp Processing- A Real Conversation” hope to provide that education. Mallow mentioned that the event will certainly discuss the proper ways to innovate and adapt farmers’ operations when hemp-based plastics, fabrics and other commodities become the norm.
Part information session and part panel discussion, Mallow and Farm to Market Hemp has assembled a great team of educated hemp professionals to partake in the event. A notable individual speaking and the sponsor of the event is longtime hemp farmer/owner of BW Farms and mayor of Milliken, Colorado Beau Woodcock. The young mayor has been greatly involved in hemp cultivation and production, with a hemp processing facility and a partnership with RuBi Hemp Solutions to his name.
“These guys are coming down to have a real conversation with Texas farmers from a hemp farmer perspective. And what Beau Woodcock is great about is instead of killing people with PowerPoint slides, he’s able to have a conversation from the stage and allow people to ask him tough questions and what they’re most curious to know what being a hemp processor is like.” Mallow said.
Another lesson that Mallow hopes that the participants take away from “West Texas Hemp Processing” is a similar lesson that Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller preached when HB 1325 was in transit to Governor Abbott’s desk. The lesson being that a signed contract and ensuring that the farmer has the resources needed to feasibly produce the agreed upon amount are of utmost importance. Don’t over plant hemp crops just to attempt to cash in on the CBD craze or else one may risk a back stock of unsold hemp.
“I truly believe they will leave with several opportunities to mull over and consider, because we’ll have people in the room looking to secure contracts, to discuss requirements for genetics. I think that in addition to having potential buyers that they can connect with, participants will know who within their community is on board with hemp, and who could they locally partner with to have a bigger presence in the hemp community.”
