U.

S Wholesale Hemp Price Benchmarks

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July 2021
Assessed
U.S. Region Products Units Low High
HEMP BENCHMARKS ® Price

U.S. PRICING CATEGORIES CBD Biomass (Aggregate) $ / % CBD / pound $0.37 $0.05 $1.25
CBD Biomass (0 - 25K pounds) $ / % CBD / pound $0.52 $0.12 $1.25
CBD Biomass (25K - 100K pounds) $ / % CBD / pound $0.40 $0.14 $0.80
• Industrial Seeds CBD Biomass (100K - 1M pounds) $ / % CBD / pound $0.22 $0.10 $0.30
• CBD Clones
• CBD Seeds (Non- CBD Biomass (1M+ pounds) $ / % CBD / pound $0.12 $0.05 $0.20
Feminized) • CBG Seeds CBD Flower (Bulk) $ / pound $249 $60 $800
• CBD Seeds • CBG Clones
(Feminized)
CBD Clones $ / each $2.43 $1.75 $3.00
GENETICS Industrial Seeds $ / pound $3.97 $3.50 $4.40
CBD Seeds (Non-Feminized) $ / pound $255 $85 $450
• CBD Biomass Aggregate Pricing CBD Seeds (Feminized) $ / seed $0.51 $0.10 $1.30
• CBD Biomass Volume Purchase
Breakdown
Crude CBD Hemp Oil $ / kilogram $188 $90 $950
• CBD Flower
Refined Hemp Oil (Aggregate) $ / kilogram $565 $180 $3,300
• CBG Biomass
CBD Distillate - THC Free $ / kilogram $1,068 $400 $3,300
FARMING CBD Distillate - Broad Spectrum $ / kilogram $552 $250 $950
CBD Distillate - Full Spectrum $ / kilogram $403 $180 $765
CBD Isolate $ / kilogram $513 $350 $950
• Crude CBD Hemp Oil CBG Biomass (Aggregate) $ / % CBG / pound $0.58 $0.25 $1.10
CBG Seeds $ / seed $0.87 $0.40 $1.10
CBG Clones $ / each $2.59 $1.80 $3.10
EXTRACTION CBG Distillate $ / kilogram $725 $300 $1,350
• Refined Hemp • CBD Distillate - CBG Isolate $ / kilogram $1,564 $950 $1,825
Oil (Aggregate) THC Free Copyright © 2021 New Leaf Data Services, LLC, All rights reserved.

• CBD Distillate - • CBD Isolate

Hemp Benchmarks® is an independent Price Reporting Agency (PRA). Our goal is to bring price transparency to wholesale
hemp markets in order to allow businesses to operate with confidence and efficiency.
Full Spectrum
• CBG Distillate We do not have physical or financial exposure to the commodities that we assess, and therefore do not profit from
• CBD Distillate - liquidity, volumes or price movement, avoiding the potential for any perception of conflicts of interest that could arise for
Broad Spectrum • CBG Isolate marketplaces and exchanges.
PROCESSING
Commodity market participants benefit from increased price transparency.

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JULY 2021 REPORT CONTENTS

Price Commentary
• Market participants report increased CBD sales on demand for delta-8 THC, but prices continue to slide. Page 3

July Production Update

• Extreme weather and COVID-19 are impacting hemp farmers; others report sitting out the season or downsizing
operations. Page 11

Weather Outlook
• High heat and drought expected to persist in the West as hemp farmers already endure tough conditions. Page 13

Hemp Fiber Market Update

• Interest in fiber hemp is growing; processors take varying routes in hopes of building a functioning supply chain. Page 14

Delta-8 THC Update

• Demand for the synthetic cannabinoid reportedly remains strong as some states look to limit the substance to legal
marijuana markets. Page 17

Federal Regulatory Update

• An insider’s view on the current status of hemp-CBD legislation in Congress. Page 19

State Updates
• Developments in delta-8 THC regulation, licensing and acreage, and growing conditions from 10 states. Page 22

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MoM MoM
U.S. Region Products* Units Jun-21 Jul-21

PRICE COMMENTARY
$Chg %Chg
CBD Biomass (Aggregate) $ / % CBD / pound $0.48 $0.37 ($0.11) -23%
CBD Biomass (0 - 25K pounds) $ / % CBD / pound $0.72 $0.52 ($0.20) -28%
CBD Biomass (25K - 100K pounds) $ / % CBD / pound $0.44 $0.40 ($0.04) -9% This month saw continued erosion in wholesale
hemp cannabinoid product prices for the most part.
CBD Biomass (100K - 1M pounds) $ / % CBD / pound $0.27 $0.22 ($0.05) -19%
Crude CBD Oil and Broad Spectrum CBD Distillate
CBD Biomass (1M+ pounds) $ / % CBD / pound $0.13 $0.12 ($0.01) -8% were the only extracted hemp cannabinoid products
CBD Flower (Bulk) $ / pound $283 $249 ($34) -12% to see price rises in July, but rates for each remain
CBD Clones $ / each $2.13 $2.43 $0.30 14% well below those observed just a few months ago. As
we note below, market participants have reported
Industrial Seeds $ / pound $3.98 $3.97 ($0.01) 0% that sales for CBD Biomass and extracted CBD
CBD Seeds (Non-Feminized) $ / pound $263 $255 ($8) -3% products have picked up lately, largely on demand
CBD Seeds (Feminized) $ / seed $0.55 $0.51 ($0.04) -7% for delta-8 THC, but prices remain stagnant despite
increased demand and transaction volume.
Crude CBD Hemp Oil $ / kilogram $175 $188 $13 7%
Refined Hemp Oil (Aggregate) $ / kilogram $792 $565 ($227) -29% Delta-8 THC Distillate*
CBD Distillate - THC Free $ / kilogram $1,162 $1,068 ($94) -8%
CBD Distillate - Broad Spectrum $ / kilogram $535 $552 $17 3% Observed rates for Delta-8 THC Distillate have also
resumed a downward trend in the face of consistent
CBD Distillate - Full Spectrum $ / kilogram $490 $403 ($87) -18% demand. This month’s observed average per-
CBD Isolate $ / kilogram $538 $513 ($25) -5% kilogram price was $1,065, down 12% from June.
CBG Biomass (Aggregate) $ / % CBG / pound $0.71 $0.58 ($0.13) -18% Individual transactions ranged from $800 to $1,600
per kilogram, with both the low and high ends of the
CBG Seeds $ / seed $0.97 $0.87 ($0.10) -10% range down from last month.
CBG Clones $ / each $2.63 $2.59 ($0.04) -2%
CBG Distillate $ / kilogram $1,001 $725 ($276) -28% Smokable CBD Flower
CBG Isolate $ / kilogram $1,681 $1,564 ($117) -7%
Smokable CBD Flower - another in-demand hemp
Copyright © 2021 New Leaf Data Services, LLC, All rights reserved.
cannabinoid product - has also seen its assessed
price slide in recent months, after cresting above
*Hemp Benchmarks has modified our CBD and CBG Biomass assessment $300 per pound in May. This month, Hemp
methodology. Due to a limited number of reported transactions for such
biomass, and the relatively smaller volumes being traded currently, we are Benchmarks received sufficient transaction data to
temporarily employing historical correlations according to deal size in order report prices for smokable CBD flower by grow type.
to calculate price assessments for the aforementioned product categories.

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July 2021
Indoor-Grown CBD Flower (Bulk) Month-on-Month % Price Change
• Average: $539 per pound
• Low - High: $450 - $800 per pound

Greenhouse-Grown CBD Flower (Bulk)

• Average: $416 per pound
• Low - High: $200 - $800 per pound

Outdoor-Grown CBD Flower (Bulk)

• Average: $184 per pound
• Low - High: $60 - $450 per pound

The reported price for Smokable CBG Flower* also declined in

July, but again settled above that for CBD flower, as it did in June.
This month, smokable CBG Flower saw its price average $307 per
pound, down 6% month-over-month, with individual transactions
ranging between $80 and $625 per pound.

[*Editor’s Note: The prices quoted above for Smokable CBG Flower and
Delta-8 THC Distillate are raw transaction data and do not constitute
official Hemp Benchmarks price assessments. Transaction data for
such products is currently being vetted to meet Hemp Benchmarks
methodology requirements, which include, but are not limited to,
several months of statistically significant data and consistent or
increasing transaction volume.] Become a Member of our Price Contributor Network

Members of our Price Contributor Network are our partners, and together
we bring transparency and efficiencies to the U.S. and international hemp
markets. Our partners provide Hemp Benchmarks with wholesale market
data and receive discounted subscriptions, complimentary special reports,
and exclusive wholesale market analysis in return.

LEARN MORE

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July 2021

Prices
Prices%%Change
Changefrom
fromMarch
July 2021
2020

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July 2021

CBD Biomass Volume Purchase Discounts

(% off of a 1,000-pound transaction)

CBD Biomass Volume Discount

Pricing

Volume discount pricing is a strategy

that provides a financial incentive
for purchasing a product or service
64%
in large amounts. In simple terms,
customers purchasing more
Estimated Discount

generally receive a lower price per

53% unit.

Based on the data we have collected

over the past six months, we have
calculated the volume discounts
that biomass purchasers received
each month when doing deals larger
than 1,000 pounds. Each month
has shown a drastically different
discount curve (as represented
100,000

250,000

in the grey area) dictated by the

Transaction Volume Size (pounds)
absolute price level, season, and
transactions collected. The black
dotted line shows the average of the
past six monthly discount curves and
represents a good proxy that buyers
and sellers can use to settle trades of
various sizes.

Ask us how our pricing can help

negotiate your next transaction

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July 2021

Wholesale Prices - Correlation Matrix:

April 2019 to July 2021 Data

What does this mean?

This wholesale price correlation matrix was

generated from historical Hemp Benchmarks
price assessments. It shows which product
prices move together, move in opposite
directions, or have no relationship at all.
Correlations range from 1 to -1. If two products
have a perfect positive correlation coefficient
of 1, then the prices for each have been
observed to move in the same direction, either
up or down, by the same magnitude. A perfect
negative correlation of -1 means that prices for
two products move in opposite directions. A
correlation of 0 indicates no relationship at all.

Interpretation

The assessed price for smokable CBD Flower

has seen its previous upward trend reversed
in recent months. As a result, its positive
correlations with other hemp-CBD products
shown in the matrix strengthened in July.
Example:
The correlation between Refined Hemp Oil and CBD
Biomass is 0.99. This means that, based on current-
ly available data, the prices of these two products
have almost always moved in the same direction by
nearly the same magnitude month-to-month.

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July 2021

Refined Hemp Oil Pricing Trends:

($ / kilo)

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July 2021

CBD Biomass Pricing Trends:

($ / %CBD / pound)

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July 2021

Hemp Pricing vs. Other Commodities

July 2020 to July 2021

Soy

Wheat

Corn
Soybean Meal

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July Production
Article - Open SansUpdate
Bold; 12pt; Color - 8a3033
Standard Body Hemp
July is National Text - Open Sans
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an annual 11pt;that
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began two
in 2020.
column
According to the National Day Calendar, the holiday celebrates the
“roaring comeback of one of the world’s most useful and versatile
plants.” While that description likely appeared apt at the time of
the boom in hemp farming in 2019, the years since have seen
consecutive contractions in hemp production in the United States.
In the CBD / cannabinoid sector, challenges include the continued
oversupply of hemp flower and biomass from the “green rush” that
followed legalization in 2018, lingering supply chain disruptions
from the COVID-19 pandemic, plateauing demand for CBD, and
extreme weather conditions across numerous parts of the country.
As a result, many veteran growers and processors are sitting out
2021 or radically downsizing their production.
Meanwhile, the fiber and grain sectors have found footholds in
certain parts of the country, but remain small. We previously
estimated grain hemp production encompassed not more than
30,000 acres nationwide. The amount of acreage devoted to fiber
hemp in the U.S. is likely smaller. Operators in both markets
continue to forge ahead with the understanding that their efforts to
build industries from the ground up will likely take several years.
CBD Hemp Market Continues to See Production Contract
on Oversupply, Low Prices
“The market has dried up,” said Mike Lewis, Sustainable Agriculture
Specialist at the National Center for Appropriate Technology in
Kentucky, where he works to educate farmers on sustainable
production systems, risk management, and other best practices.
He is also a long-time farmer and Board President for the Hemp
Industries Association (HIA).
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“A lot of the companies I was working with two years ago were
producing thousands of acres,” he told Hemp Benchmarks, “and
are now producing 10, 15 acres. The market situation from a year-
and-a-half, two years ago certainly reduced the number of people
interested in producing. Traditional farmers are fairly risk averse.
Once that risk starts creeping in, [you can expect] to see a decrease
in production levels.”
Lewis said the current “glut on the market, or oversupply, or
hiccups in growth - whatever folks in the sector want to call it” is at
least part of the issue this season. “But I also think that reality … set
in for producers, too,” he added. “I still occasionally have farmers
call with expectations that aren’t realistic. But I think now people
have had an opportunity to see what the real expectation is. For
10 years we heard this was a crop that doesn’t have pests, doesn’t
need fertilizer, there’s no diseases; but we’re starting to see it’s not
a panacea, so it’s [like] any other crop.”
“There’s just been a huge amount of oversupply, and that’s just
for CBD,” Jason Peterson, founder and CEO of the Woodstock
Hemp Company in Oregon, told Hemp Benchmarks. “There are
other cannabinoids, pulp and fiber, and seed. The flower market is
different, there are a lot of other uses for it. But there’s still going to
be a gross oversupply of hemp biomass, in general, this year, and
well into 2022.”
Peterson’s company is vertically integrated. He owns and
operates several farms in Oregon’s Willamette Valley and provides
consulting, as well as sales and marketing services, for farms across
the state. Along with a retail brand, the Woodstock Hemp Company
is also involved with white labeling and product development
for other hemp businesses. Last year, according to Peterson, his
operation grew 41 acres of hemp; this year it is only cultivating two
acres.
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towards delta-8 [THC] production, so we’re starting to see those
Article - Open Sans Bold; 12pt; Color - 8a3033
stockpiles decreasing. It hasn’t really driven an increase in price but
… the number of sales and the sales volume has increased. We’re
StandardtoBody
starting Text -consistent
see more Open Sansorders
Regular; 11pt;through.”
coming Color - 514d5a; two
column
Pennsylvania-based Andy Follett, a cultivator and retailer who
advises hemp companies on supply chain issues, had a short,
blunt assessment of this season. “It sucks,” he laughed. “As far
as this year versus last year, there’s less growers,” he told Hemp
Benchmarks. “Material is moving better. The biomass is moving at
a ridiculously low price. It’s helping the bigger guys that can buy a
couple of million pounds at a time. It’s not helping anybody else.”
“The hemp market is bad right now,” said Ryan Patterson, a
fourth-generation farmer who is the owner and operator of Ryes
Greenhouses in North Carolina, and who was one of the first hemp
growing licensees in the state. Patterson told Hemp Benchmarks
his operation went from growing 300,000 plants in 2018 to well
over a million in 2019. However, he said, “2020 was very minimal
and this year has been nothing. I got several hundred pounds of
trimmed flower on hand that I can’t move for a reasonable price. I
got 30,000 pounds of biomass.”
COVID-19 Still an Issue
According to Jason Peterson in Oregon, the COVID-19 pandemic
is still contributing to the hemp sector’s current uncertainties.
Demand for CBD tapered off in 2020, at the height of the outbreak,
as well as earlier this year, he noted, “when the covid restrictions
were coming off, and we started to see the covid numbers come
down, it coincided with the planting season. So a lot of farmers
were sitting on the sidelines for a long time, to figure out well, does
it make sense for me to plant? What’s the market going to do? Is
there going to be a shortage of material this year?”
Whether CBD sales will bounce back as COVID-related restrictions
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are lifted in much of the U.S. remains to be seen. Financial
disclosures for Q2 2021, when most states began reopening in
earnest, have not yet been released by publicly traded companies
as of this writing. Q1 2021 financial results from Charlotte’s Web,
cbdMD, and CV Sciences all showed quarter-over-quarter declines
in gross revenue from Q4 2020, after the former two companies
saw a boost in sales to close last year.
Operational disruptions related to the coronavirus crisis are
persisting as well, according to sources. “As far as our business
in general, it took a heck of a hit from the pandemic,” said Ryan
Patterson in North Carolina. “Something just as simple as getting
parts, just to keep the farm and the greenhouse going. Stuff that I
could normally get in a day or two, sometimes it’s taking a week to
10 days or longer.”
In Pennsylvania, Andy Follett said his business is also still dealing
with pandemic-related supply chain disruptions. “We’re still having
problems with packaging, with imports, jars, labels, bottles,” he
said. “It was the first issue I had [during the pandemic]. We’re still
having trouble getting materials from overseas.”
Heatwave Taking a Toll
Climate change continues to take its toll on hemp growers and
other agriculture this season. This has in many cases manifested as
excessive heat and drought, but other forms of extreme weather
have impacted hemp farmers, as we note below in the Weather
Updates and State Updates sections.
Jason Peterson in Oregon mentioned a recent set of conversations
he had with two different hemp farming groups. “One of them
reported about 15% plant loss, a 15% mortality rate, due to the
recent heatwave,” he said of the record-breaking temperatures
that scorched parts of the Pacific Northwest. “Another farm group
reported upwards of a 30% mortality rate.”
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According to Peterson, anyone who planted relatively late this
year discovered their plants did not have a chance to put down
roots. He added that the plants that did survive, “are doing really
well; especially ones in hoop houses.” Peterson explained: “Hoop
houses, you would think that they are going to amplify the heat, but
what they actually do is help modulate the extreme highs and lows.
So that creates a kind of shade barrier which helps keep the plants
and soil levels a little cooler.”
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• 2021 drought conditions
• Impending 2021 wildfire season
• Updates on delta-8 THC regulations
• Specific regional updates
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July 2021
WEATHER OUTLOOK
While the deepening drought, extreme heat, and wildfires in the
Western U.S. have made headlines, there was a wide range of other
weather conditions across the country in July. According to a July
13 report from the U.S. Drought Monitor, monsoon rains brought
much-need moisture, but also flash-flood warnings, to parts of
the Southwest. Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Elsa, the fifth named
storm of the 2021 Atlantic Hurricane Season, made landfall in
the southeastern U.S. The storm’s heavy rainfall ended moderate
drought conditions along the Virginia / North Carolina border as it
moved up the East Coast. It also caused flooding in New York City
and other parts of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast.
As the Drought Monitor noted, extreme, record-breaking heat
in the West has worsened drought conditions across the Pacific
Northwest, as well as the northern Great Basin and the northern
Rockies. Fires remain a major concern in the region. There have
been nearly 40 new wildfires reported since July 10, and 89 as of
July 14.
According to a July 15 update from the National Weather Service’s
Climate Prediction Center, the August-September-October
(ASO) outlook projects above-normal temperatures for most
of the western Continental U.S. and the Midwest, with higher
temperatures also expected over parts of the Great Basin, the
Central Rockies, and the Northeast. As for the ASO precipitation
outlook, below-normal precipitation is expected across much of
the West - although there is a chance of some moisture during that
time period in parts of the Pacific Northwest, the Northern Plains,
and the western Great Lakes region. Above-normal precipitation,
meanwhile, is expected for the central and eastern Gulf region, as
well as from the Appalachians to the Atlantic Coast.
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HEMP FIBER
MARKET UPDATE
Alabama Processor Sees Major Opportunity, Details
Hurdles that Need to be Cleared
Tough sledding in the hemp-CBD market in the wake of the 2019
harvest has resulted in many looking to pivot to new opportunities.
While some are remaining in the cannabinoid hemp space by
focusing on smokable flower or delta-8 THC, market participants
and state officials from across the country have reported increased
interest in fiber hemp from farmers this year.
Some businesses have focused on fiber from the beginning and are
working to build the processing infrastructure necessary to support
expanded acreage. Hemp Benchmarks spoke to Austin Bryant,
Managing Director of Corporate Development and Partnerships,
and Coleman Beale, founder and CEO, of BastCore, a hemp fiber
processor located in Montgomery, Alabama. Using proprietary,
patent-pending technology and methods developed in-house,
BastCore produces textile grade and composite fibers from the
bast fibers on the outer portion of hemp stalks, as well as chipped
core wood and micronized wood from the hurd, or inner core of
the stalk.
Bryant and Beale see major opportunities for a domestic hemp
fiber industry in the U.S. and have been working to make that a
reality since 2014, when BastCore was founded. Despite being one
of the longest-standing hemp businesses in the country, Bryant
described the company as “still young in terms of capacity and
output,” a situation that BastCore intends to change with the help
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of a recently-completed Series A investment round that will be used
to expand the firm. While specific figures on current processing
capacity and output were not provided, the company plans to
double in size each year for the next five years, according to Beale.
However, there are significant hurdles to clear if the U.S. hemp
fiber industry is to truly take off. Beginning at the farming level,
Bryant detailed several fronts where work needs to be done “to
put farmers in a better position to be successful.” He identified
genetics as an area with a “tremendous amount of opportunity” for
innovation. Bryant noted that cultivars better suited to the various
growing regions in the U.S. are needed to produce higher yields,
which translates into more revenue for farmers. He pointed out
that “you want to get to four to five tons [per acre]; for farmers
that’s where the economics make sense.”
Bryant also said that more regulatory uniformity between states,
as well as coordinated efforts between states and the federal
government, are required to foster a thriving market. For example,
he noted that in Kentucky BastCore purchases seed for farmers,
but Alabama’s rules require farmers to purchase seed themselves.
These discrepancies are in addition to making sure that all parties
involved, from the seed dealers to the farmers, have the proper
licenses in order for the states in which they are operating.
According to Bryant, BastCore has been confronted with a
challenge that faced other hemp processors in the grain and
cannabinoid sectors this year. Namely, farmers being lured away
from hemp due to relatively high prices for traditional row crops.
While he declined to share specifics of contract terms, Bryant said
he had experienced farmers attempting to negotiate for higher
prices this year. However, he noted that BastCore has partnered
with several farmers in Alabama and Kentucky for multiple years
at this point, developing strong relationships that have resulted
in farmers committed to keeping hemp in their rotations. Bryant
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Article - Open
also stated Sans Bold;
that BastCore 12pt; Color
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with farmers to grow hemp
specifically for fiber and does not make spot purchases of stalks
from grainBody
Standard or cannabinoid
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At the processing level, Bryant emphasized that more education on
how to produce high quality, clean, consistent products is needed.
He noted that the offshoring of the U.S. textile industry in previous
decades has resulted in a knowledge and skills gap in this country,
making “re-shoring” easier said than done. Beale noted that, with
the company’s ambitious expansion plans, they are looking to hire
quality employees, but that in itself can be a challenge given that
few Americans have deep experience in the textile, fiber, or hemp
industries.
Fiber processing equipment is another example of the knowledge
gap, according to Bryant. “There’s more to [fiber] processing
than decortication,” he stated. Bryant said that many other fiber
processing companies are combining decortication and other
equipment from Europe and other parts of the world in building
their facilities. On the other hand, BastCore has developed
proprietary processes and technology to meet the specifications
of customers, such as apparel brands and the textile mills and
weavers that those brands work with. Bryant emphasized that
fibers for woven and non-woven textiles must be clean and free of
any hurd, and vice-versa.
One realm where Beale and Bryant do not see any difficulties is in
ginning up demand for their products. “Demand is there” and the
pipeline of potential customers is robust, Bryant said, while noting
that BastCore has fielded inquiries from around the world. For U.S.
companies in particular, he pointed out that incorporating hemp
into their products allows them to emphasize a domestic supply
chain and the plant’s environmental benefits. They noted that
some garments made using fibers produced by BastCore should be
coming to market by the end of this year. However, for the industry
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as a whole to grow, major brands need higher capacity processors
who can deliver quality products to their specifications consistently.
Investment, Infrastructure, and Retooling Old
Technologies
While BastCore has spent several years developing proprietary
technology to process hemp for various fiber products, other
approaches are also being taken. Alongside reports of more
investment in new facilities are accounts of entrepreneurs adapting
existing equipment and infrastructure to be used for hemp
processing.
Andrew Follett said he already has functional equipment in
place and is just waiting for the industry to catch up. “I have four
decorticators and can run 30 tons [of industrial hemp] every two
hours,” he said. “I’m only running one of them a couple of hours
a day, once a month.” The issue, he said, is linking together the
pieces of the domestic supply chain.
“You ever build Lincoln Logs when you were a kid?” he asked. “It’s
kind of like that. All the pieces are there now, in the U.S., but [we]
just haven’t been able to put them together, haven’t been able
to connect the dots for a steady supply chain for the industrial
[sector].” He believes that while hemp’s place in the national market
is assured by consumer demand, it is still “falling a little short” on
the farming, processing, and shipping sides of the equation. He
also believes that equation will change by next year, as the fiber
and grain sides of the U.S. hemp industry come into their own.
In North Carolina, Ryan Patterson said there is still a lack of
infrastructure in place in many southeastern states for processing
hemp fiber and grain, although that appears to be changing. There
are reports, he said, of some old, unused factories in the region
being retooled for hemp. “Textile has always been big here in
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North Carolina,” he said, “and I think there are some of those textile
industries that have gone out of business, that people are trying to
modify equipment to utilize it for hemp.”
The HIA’s Mike Lewis noted the organization recently launched its
Hemp Fiber Council, as well as a Hemp Grain and Seed Council.
“There’s tons of research coming into fiber and we are starting to
see practical applications for the plant,” he said, “things that we can
attain tomorrow.” As for infrastructure, Lewis observed that there
has been an increase in hemp-focused technologies, as well as
more traditional facilities being retooled for hemp use.
“You’re seeing a lot more efficiencies come into the production,” he
said. “New equipment is being designed to streamline harvesting.
We’re seeing modified tobacco equipment in Kentucky, conveyor
dryers, things that are changing it, so that it’s easier to produce.”
He has also seen that trend in North Carolina, where he said some
cotton gins are being modified for hemp textile manufacturing.
“We’re seeing it with industrial-sized carding machines,” he added,
“being used to card the hemp for linen fibers. We’re seeing a lot of
modification. I mean, most of the scale that I operate on requires
us to modify things from existing equipment.”
Retooling that equipment, however, is not always a simple process
and often depends on what is at hand. Lewis said one group he
has been working with “modified some cotton equipment from the
1940s, changing the rubber belts.”
Opportunities and Risk
Agriculture is a cyclical process and the hemp professionals we
interviewed all agreed the industry is still in its very early stages.
“We haven’t even hit the floor yet,” said Mike Lewis. “This industry
hasn’t even started to leave the ground level yet. There are huge
opportunities and risk. We’ve got nowhere to go but up, and I
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think that we are going up. I believe this plant holds a tremendous
amount of potential for the future of our manufacturing and
agricultural sectors. But we still have a long ways to go, and a lot of
research to do. Research and market research is very important;
they need to be focused on for the next couple of years, while the
industry grows. That’s how we’re going to protect farmers and
investors.”
For his part, Andy Follett believes that everything that might
interest both investors and people looking to get into the hemp
industry, he said, “is still viable and still an opportunity.”
In North Carolina, Ryan Patterson said he is staying involved in
hemp. “Yeah, we’re going to hang on,” he said. “I mean, we’ve gone
deep enough now. We’ve spent a lot of time and money, and we’ve
done a lot of trial and error.” Patterson added that hemp genetics
are getting better and more regionally focused, due to on-site
selections they made, as well as local academic studies. “North
Carolina State [University] has done some great research,” he said.
“They’re doing some research again this year with flower varieties
and some fiber varieties, also.”
Patterson was skeptical regarding concerns that hemp is more
labor intensive than other crops. “Well, I’ve been growing tobacco
all my life; I’m a fourth-generation farmer,” he said, ”it’s not any
worse than what we’ve been doing for years.” His advice for anyone
entering the hemp sector: “Only start out doing what you can
afford to lose.”
In Oregon, Jason Peterson believes that CBD companies have
a distinct advantage over their marijuana counterparts. CBD
businesses, he said, “can create a distribution network nationwide,
so they can get brand exposure on a national level. And then,
when cannabis becomes federally legal, you plant a different seed,
become a CBD and THC company, with the same extraction and
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Article - Open
processing Sans Bold; 12pt; Color - 8a3033
methods.” “States with cannabis markets are against it,” he said, “because
delta-8 is cheaper to manufacture. It’s not taxed, and it’s cheaper
However, Body
Standard he noted,
Text hemp
- Openhas become
Sans more
Regular; complicated
11pt; and two
Color - 514d5a; to produce. [Marijuana industry] stakeholders and lobbyists say ‘it
more
column difficult to enter now, compared to a couple of years ago. undercuts us in every way.’ They see delta-8 as a threat.”
“Margins have shrunk, it’s more competitive,” he said. “People
just jumped into it a couple years ago thinking it was going to be As in previous reports, the State Updates section contains
this gold mine, and it wasn’t. And the ones still remaining have developments in state-level delta-8 THC policy. One trend worthy of
done well, they’ve weathered the storm, understand the market. note is that some states are moving to limit the production and sale
Everyone really needs to think hard and do their research and of delta-8 THC products to their regulated marijuana markets. For
understand why they are getting into it, and what they hope to example, both New York and Connecticut included such provisions
accomplish long-term.” when they recently legalized marijuana for adult-use. Michigan
passed a similar measure into law this month.

Also in a recently-passed law, Oregon legislators tasked the state

DELTA-8 THC UPDATE
Delta-8 THC’s Popularity and Regulatory Uncertainty
Persist
As we have reported over the past several months, rising consumer
demand for delta-8 THC, the popular, intoxicating cannabinoid
that is currently being manufactured from hemp-derived CBD and
sold nationwide, continues to boost the revenues of many hemp
growers and processors.
In Oregon, Jason Peterson said he is seeing a steady and increasing
demand for CBD this season, which is being driven by delta-8 THC.
“Delta-8 is a big thing,” he observed, describing it as a “primary
driver” for parts of the hemp market. He also expects the hemp
sector to take part in delta-8 THC production until more restrictions
are imposed, either by states or the federal governments.
Liquor Control Commission, which already regulates the state’s
legal marijuana market, with oversight of delta-8 THC and similar
compounds. However, the law does not limit the production and
sale of delta-8 THC to licensed marijuana businesses. On the other
hand, current rules in place in Colorado and Washington do not
allow hemp-derived THC products to be sold within those states’
legal marijuana markets.
The above summation is just a glimpse of the patchwork of
approaches to delta-8 THC being taken by state governments
across the country. Mike Lewis with HIA believes regulatory
ambiguity, especially on the part of the federal government, is
stifling the hemp industry’s capacity for growth. “There’s still a lot of
questions,” he said. “We’re seeing it now with delta-8 and delta-10.
We’re seeing that need for definitive answers sooner or later. That’s
certainly what we want and what our membership wants. We want
clarification, so that when we go to a market or we go to raise
capital to expand our business, we know that we’re not going to get
shut down in six to nine months.”

However, he noted, some states are “embracing” delta-8 THC.

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TRANSPORTATION UPDATE

*Data from FIDE FREIGHT June 2021 Copyright © 2021 New Leaf Data Services, LLC, All rights reserved.

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Article - Open Sans Bold; 12pt; Color - 8a3033
FEDERAL UPDATES
Standard Body Text - Open Sans Regular; 11pt; Color - 514d5a; two
column
Congress
Hemp Benchmarks spoke with Jonathan Miller earlier this month
to discuss the status of hemp-related legislation in Congress.
Miller is Member-in-Charge of the Washington, D.C. office of the
law firm Frost Brown Todd and also serves as General Counsel to
the U.S. Hemp Roundtable (USHRT), an industry advocacy group.
In a July 13 phone interview, Miller stated that he was “bullish” on
H.R. 841 passing into law this year. The measure would allow CBD
to be marketed as a dietary supplement, something that the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) prohibits currently. Miller
emphasized that getting the bill passed is primarily about “making
it a priority” for lawmakers and that the legislation “is not running
into substantial opposition.”
Miller noted that a bill introduced in the U.S. Senate - S.R.
1698 - would also permit CBD to be marketed as a dietary
supplement, but goes further than the House measure in allowing
the cannabinoid to be added to foods and beverages as well.
He pointed out that the legislation has only three cosponsors
currently, however, and that USHRT is meeting with other senators
in an attempt to bring attention to the bill.
Hemp industry advocates saw another potential avenue by which
CBD could be permitted to be marketed as a dietary supplement
open up this month. On July 14, three senators unveiled a
“discussion draft” of the so-called Cannabis Administration and
Opportunity Act. According to its text, the measure is meant to
decriminalize and deschedule cannabis, while expunging certain
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cannabis-related offences and providing for “reinvestment
in certain persons adversely impacted by the War on Drugs.”
Additionally, one part of the draft legislation, Section 505, would
establish a legal pathway for the marketing of hemp-derived CBD
as a dietary supplement.
Analysts and observers have been skeptical of the chances of the
Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act passing the Senate,
where it has yet to even be formally introduced. With President Joe
Biden and some Senate Democrats apparently intent on preserving
the filibuster, the legislation would need 60 votes to clear the
chamber, necessitating that all 50 Democratic senators and at least
10 Republicans support it, a highly unlikely scenario. Miller told
Hemp Benchmarks that if the broader cannabis legalization bill
does not gain traction, then the USHRT will throw its weight behind
getting H.R. 841 passed into law.
Hemp Benchmarks also asked Miller about whether amendments
addressing delta-8 THC and similar compounds have been added
to the hemp and cannabis legislation pending in Congress, a
possibility raised when we last spoke in March. Miller said that
such amendments had not yet been proposed, but that they could
be added in the future. He noted that H.R. 841 is scheduled to
have a hearing in the House Energy and Commerce committee in
September, which is when a mark-up of the bill would occur and
amendments could be introduced.
FDA
Hemp industry advocates are taking issue with a communique
published In late June by the FDA. Specifically, the guidance
document does not mention anything regarding the current lack of
movement by federal regulators on hemp-derived CBD. “FDA has
not devoted very much attention to this issue since the last Farm
Bill in 2018,’’ Jonathan Miller told FoodNavigator-USA in early July,
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“If we wait on the FDA we will be waiting a long time.”
In a statement this past January, the FDA acknowledged “the
potential opportunities that cannabis or cannabis-derived
compounds may offer and acknowledges the significant interest in
these possibilities.” However, it added, companies marketing CBD
products may be violating the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic
Act “and that may put the health and safety of consumers at risk.”
Steve Hoffman of Compass Natural Marketing, a Colorado-
based firm that works on lifestyle marketing and branding, told
FoodNavigator-USA that legislation is needed to prompt the
FDA to act on the CBD issue. “Constituents in the hemp industry
have come to the conclusion that it is going to take a literal act of
Congress to get FDA to move off the dot,” he said.
INDUSTRY UPDATES
CBD Industry Consolidating
New data from the Brightfield Group, a cannabis market research
firm that tracks CBD sales, suggests that the CBD product market
has consolidated dramatically, compared to just 18 months ago.
In early July, Bethany Gomez, the firm’s Managing Director, told
Natural Products Insider that the CBD industry has gone from a
peak of around 3,500 brands at the end of 2019 to about 2,000
brands currently.
Due in part to the COVID-19-related disruptions that began in
2020, many of the smaller CBD brands have dropped out of the
sector, she said, while some startups and entrepreneurs never
made it “out of first gear.” It also appears that more mergers
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and acquisitions could take place within the CBD space in the
coming months. According to Gomez, many CBD companies are
“cash-starved,” creating a scenario where “it’s a good time to go
shopping.”
Hemp House Kits Sold Out
Coexist, a Pennsylvania-based architecture and manufacturing
company, reported that its $26,000, do-it-yourself tiny home
kits made partially from hemp have sold out for 2021, and
that it is already accepting orders for next year. According to
Business Insider, the kit, which uses hempcrete and hemp / lime
insulation, creates a 140-square-foot home or office. While the
company reportedly attempts to source most of its materials
from Pennsylvania, “due to supply chain bottlenecks in the hemp
industry, the raw hemp needed for the homes’ insulation still has to
be imported from Europe, mostly France.”
Drones and Hemp
AgEagle, a Kansas-based commercial drone company that provides
services to the agriculture sector, has developed technologies
specific for the hemp industry. According to a mid-July report from
DroneLife, the company has offered its HempOverview software
since late 2019, which allows hemp cultivators to manage online
applications and registrations for their farm. This past June,
meanwhile, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer
Services announced it was expanding its licensing of AgEagle’s
programs.
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July 2021
conducting further tests to determine production requirements

RESEARCH UPDATES such as plant spacing, fertility, and planting dates.

Hemp Field Day

U.S. Spot Price Comparison - Hemp Flower vs.
Researchers at the Southwest Purdue Agriculture Center in Indiana Marijuana Flower ($/pound)
held a virtual grain and fiber hemp field day in early July, where
they spoke about their work studying hemp. “Hemp research is in
its infancy,” Josh Kraft, a Ph.D. student at Purdue University, told
Agrinews. “Most research is from Europe or Asia. These countries
use genotypes that may not perform the same here in the Midwest.
So, it’s hard for us to tell how these results translate. There’s also
little information available for organic farmers.”

Kraft said researchers at the university are currently involved with

a crop rotation experiment, as well as looking at hemp’s effect on
weed seedbanks. There are also efforts underway for publications
detailing the plant’s effect on soil characteristics.

Hurricane Hemp

According to the Clemson News, researchers at Clemson University

are focusing on ways to apply best management practices in
the region’s hemp sector to raise quality and increase profits. In
early July, during a recent field day, researchers discussed a new
hemp variety called “Hurricane Hemp - Florence.” The variety was
developed after Hurricane Florence leveled a significant portion of
the state’s hemp crop in 2018, with farmers losing about 15% to North American Marijuana Benchmarks
20% of their yields due to the storm.

The new cultivar has a massive stalk and root systems, the Clemson
News reports, giving it more stability and allowing it to stand up www.cannabisbenchmarks.com

better to storms and high winds. The Hurricane Hemp - Florence

line has been tested for two years. Clemson researchers are also

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STATE UPDATES

2018 Farm Bill Plan

Continuing 2014 Pilot
Under Review/Pending Resubmission/
Drafting Plan
USDA Hemp Producer License
State Production Plan Pending

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2020 State Hemp Licensing and Acreage Data

Permitted Permitted Permitted Permitted Permitted Permitted
# of # of # of
STATE Outdoor Greenhouse STATE Outdoor Greenhouse STATE Outdoor Greenhouse
Licenses Licenses Licenses
Acres Sq Ft Acres Sq Ft Acres Sq Ft

Alabama 422 15,160 1,209,988 Louisiana 162 2,600 Ohio 195 2,067 565,788

Alaska 70 9,000 Maine 111 363 Oklahoma 127 3,891 244,934

Arizona 165 34,000 Maryland 95 1,400 Oregon 1,635 25,273 1,100,188

Arkansas 210 2,294 369,972 Massachusetts 99 505 215,352 Pennsylvania 506 3,200 1,579,000

California 476 42,287 12,069 Michigan 952 14,338 11,736,475 Rhode Island 20

Colorado 1,254 36,225 11,400,000 Minnesota 444 8,544 4,640,000 South Carolina 267 5,352

Connecticut 170 500 117,899 Mississippi South Dakota

Delaware 13 75 34,000 Missouri 207 3,561 Tennessee 1,918 15,721 13,285,800

Georgia 132 1,446 1,259 Montana 94 12,675 240,000 Texas 861 5,000

Florida 611 22,078 Nebraska 91 1,675 465,807 Utah 187 687 312,042

Hawaii 45 440 Nevada 116 3,875 789,623 Vermont 557* 1,532 9,045

Idaho New Hampshire Virginia 1,272 9,113 9,405,000

Illinois 802 25,069 New Jersey 59 449 2,526,480 Washington 3,738

Indiana 283 8,951 1,760,000 New Mexico 276 2,037 3,845,160 West Virginia 303 3,917

Iowa 86 733 2,106,067 New York 546 31,059 9,862,857 Wisconsin 3,484 957,757

Kansas 207 9,925 North Carolina 1,503 16,421 7,459,060 Wyoming 28 1,058 18,150

Kentucky 960 30,000 4,600,000 North Dakota 79 TOTAL 19,799 429,300 90,878,772
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2021 State Hemp Licensing and Acreage Data

Permitted Permitted Permitted Permitted Permitted Permitted
# of # of # of
STATE Outdoor Greenhouse STATE Outdoor Greenhouse STATE Outdoor Greenhouse
Licenses Licenses Licenses
Acres Sq Ft Acres Sq Ft Acres Sq Ft

Alabama 200 Louisiana Ohio 54 1,472 531,697

Alaska Maine Oklahoma 18 120 17,022

Arizona 75 Maryland Oregon 3,800

Arkansas 49 586 114,424 Massachusetts 65 407 95,041 Pennsylvania

California 17,321 13,386 Michigan 158 2,830 1,301,779 Rhode Island

Colorado 977 28,700 10,656,097 Minnesota 342 5,241 2,950,000 South Carolina

Connecticut 22 20 128,402 Mississippi South Dakota 18 2,200

Delaware 14 23 59,320 Missouri Tennessee 2,015

Georgia 134 902 1,184,975 Montana 37 5,000 Texas 760 1,430 139,973,605

Florida 501 14,448 Nebraska Utah

Hawaii Nevada 49 2,784 451,322 Vermont 328 725

Idaho New Hampshire Virginia 862 7,860

Illinois 647 22,962 103,847,040 New Jersey 49 270 1,960,200 Washington

Indiana 125 1,173 675,000 New Mexico 108 414 10,081,814 West Virginia

Iowa 50 268 New York Wisconsin 322 3,353

Kansas 81 North Carolina 1,499 13,958 6,886,625 Wyoming

Kentucky 445 12,000 North Dakota 45 TOTAL 10,049 150,267 280,927,749

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Arkansas
Caleb Allen, Hemp Program Manager with the Arkansas
Department of Agriculture, provided Hemp Benchmarks with an
update on the state’s crop this month. In addition to the licensed
growers and acreage contained in the table above, Allen reported
that 78% of Arkansas’ lots are planned for floral, or cannabinoid
production, with grain / seed and fiber production each accounting
for 11% of the lots registered in the state. He added that he has
heard reports “that it has been another very wet planting season
here in Arkansas.”
Colorado
A new set of regulations for Colorado’s hemp industry, established
by the state’s Department of Public Health and Environment
(CDPHE) went into effect as of July 1. According to Nathalie
Bougenies, an attorney and chair of the hemp CBD practice group
at the Harris Bricken law firm, the regulations “now constitute one
of the most comprehensive [hemp] regulatory frameworks in the
country.” Bougenies believes these new rules suggest that “state
regulators are anticipating upcoming federal regulations and
proactively aligning their requirements with those already imposed
by federal law.”
Florida
The University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural
Sciences has concluded its two-year hemp pilot program. According
to the program’s report summary, the project suggests that hemp
cultivation “could lead to a viable agricultural commodity for Florida
stakeholders,” but it also noted that more research and funding for
such efforts are needed.
Georgia
Former Georgia legislators and an African-American-owned
investment firm are reportedly partnering to ensure more people
of color can enter the state’s hemp sector. In a late July report,
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The Atlanta Voice noted that Hemp Real Estate Investments, Inc.
is working to be an investment vehicle with a mission of acquiring
commercial real estate properties for entrepreneurs in the hemp
industry.
Company founder Tariq Khan is reportedly working with legislators
such as former U.S. Congressman Kwanza Hall and former Georgia
State Senator Zahara Karinskak “to create laws that will be in favor
of cannabis usage and easing charges for first-time drug offenders
in the state of Georgia.” He has also been meeting with the
Georgia Department of Agriculture and the National Black Farmers
Association, to discuss having hemp grown and processed in the
state.
Kentucky
The Kentucky Hemp Association (KYHA) is seeking an injunction
against the state’s law enforcement and Department of Agriculture
to bring a halt to what it claims are improper raids against hemp
businesses. According to the complaint, law enforcement has
recently been targeting local businesses that are selling hemp
products containing delta-8 THC. The complaint suggests the raids
“have dealt a crippling blow to the industry and a potential billion-
dollar impact to Kentucky’s economy, hemp growers, producers,
and retail store owners.”
According to WTVQ, Kentucky State Police recently raided two legal
hemp retail stores in the state and seized delta-8 THC products.
Along with confiscating money, products, and cameras, they also
charged store employees with marijuana trafficking. The news
station also quotes Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Ryan
Quarles, who said hemp advocates previously assured lawmakers
that hemp was different from marijuana and not intoxicating.
“Now,” he told WTVQ, “some want to argue that lawmakers
accidentally legalized an intoxicating synthetic substance called
Delta-8 THC. This position is outside the mainstream, so much
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so that even Colorado - a state known for legalizing recreational
marijuana - has banned Delta-8 THC products.”
Michigan
On July 13, Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed legislation to
regulate hemp-derived delta-8 THC and similar compounds.
Starting on October 11, 2021, delta-8 THC products in Michigan
will be covered by state law and regulated by the state’s Marijuana
Regulatory Agency, which oversees the legal adult-use and medical
marijuana markets in Michigan. According to a press release, all
intoxicating cannabis substances will be subject to required testing
and tracked through Michigan’s marijuana plant and inventory
tracking program.
Meanwhile, a July 19 update from Molly Mott, of the Michigan
Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, shows a steep
decline in hemp production in the state this year. According to
Mott, acres permitted for outdoor cultivation - shown in the table
above - are down 81% from 2020, while planned indoor and
greenhouse square footage is down 89%.
Mott added some comments on growing conditions in the state:
“Some farmers reported that dry periods early in the year resulted
in poor germination rates, allowing weeds to quickly outcompete
fiber hemp. In some areas, periods of drought were immediately
followed by excessive rainfall. Some areas have had practically non-
stop rainfall in the past few weeks … . Governor Whitmer has filed
a disaster designation request with the USDA for Michigan counties
impacted by severe weather.”
Montana
Mikayla Moore, Hemp Program Technician with the Montana
Department of Agriculture, told Hemp Benchmarks in a July 19
email: “17 out of 37 growers have completed planting reports
confirming [approximately] 600 acres planted.” About 5,000 acres
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were permitted in the state for hemp production this year. Moore
added that MDA is “still seeing more grain and fiber being grown
than CBD,” continuing a trend from 2020, when about 85% of the
state’s crop was reportedly grain and fiber varieties.
North Carolina
In a July 16 email to Hemp Benchmarks, Paul Adams, Industrial
Hemp Program Manager with the state Department of Agriculture
& Consumer Services, wrote, “A common complaint here is still the
inability to get hemp sold, especially hemp biomass.” He also stated
that “ultimately our program numbers have gone down,” in terms
of licensed farmers and permitted acreage. However, Adams noted,
“we have seen a slight resurgence in fiber acreage.”
Oregon
In prior reports, we noted the progress of House Bill 3000 through
Oregon’s legislature. This month, the measure was signed into law
by Governor Kate Brown. The new law gives the Oregon Liquor
Control Commission (OLCC) the authority to regulate delta-8 THC
and similar compounds. An OLCC bulletin on HB 3000’s passage
states, “Under the new law, sales of adult-use cannabis items to
minors are immediately prohibited.” The bulletin also states that
in January 2022, OLCC and other state regulatory bodies “will set
new potency and concentration limits for THC and other cannabis
intoxicants in hemp products intended for sale to adults.”
Another bulletin issued jointly by the OLCC, Oregon Department of
Agriculture (ODA), and Oregon Department of Health specifies what
hemp products constitute “adult-use cannabis items.” Delta-8 THC,
by virtue of the fact that it is intoxicating, qualifies as an adult-use
cannabis item.
The first OLCC bulletin cited above also notes that the agency
approved temporary rules allowing it to work with the ODA to
test hemp fields in order to determine if they are legitimate or
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if they are legitimate or illegal, noting concern that registered hemp
farms may be growing marijuana under the guise that it is hemp.
“Our objective through the remainder of the summer and into
the fall is to make sure that every field gets these tests done,” the
bulletin quotes OLCC Executive Director Steve Marks as stating.
Texas
There were hopes that industrial hemp would take off as a
business in Texas soon after legalization in 2018. However,
according to a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service expert, the
crop still faces many challenges before it can become a profitable
commodity in the state. During an early July interview with Texas
A&M AgriLife Today, Calvin Trostle, an Extension Agronomist
and hemp specialist, noted that all the post-legalization hype
surrounding hemp has since given way to the realities of growing a
challenging plant.
“As an alternative crop, the hemp industry in Texas is still in its
infancy,” Trostle said. “There is a massive amount of education
going on, but we’re still trying to determine what varieties are
adaptive so that we can help producers avoid headaches.” He
also noted that it does not take many acres of hemp to produce
enough CBD to meet current consumer demand. “Around 25 acres
producing average yields can fill [one] million bottles that contain
about [one] gram of CBD,” he said.
While hemp fiber might be a viable option in Texas, Trostle said
more research is needed to produce hemp seeds compatible with
the Lone Star State’s climate. “There are some seeds we are looking
at, including some from China, Australia, and Italy, that are showing
some promise,” he said, “but until they are produced here in the
states and available at much lower costs, it will be difficult for Texas
to be a big player in the fiber game.”
Hemp Benchmarks​®​is a division of New Leaf Data Services, LLC
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U.S Wholesale Hemp Price Benchmarks
July 2021
INTERNATIONAL
UPDATES
China
As we mentioned in last month’s report, China has tightened its
crackdown on hemp-derived CBD in cosmetics production, an
action that began in late March, by banning CBD and several other
cannabis plant derivatives. That crackdown, however, does not
appear to be affecting the country’s industrial hemp market. Hemp
Today reports that the Chinese conglomerate Shenzhen Datong
unveiled a line of diapers made from hemp paper at the 21st
Child-Baby-Maternity Expo in Shanghai in mid-July. According to
the website, the products were developed at Shenzhen Datong’s
research institute, “where applications for hemp textiles, CBD, and
other hemp-based products are being studied.”
European Union (E.U.)
An E.U. Commission committee has reportedly decided to delay
its decision regarding the revision of hemp entries in the E.U.
Catalogue of Feed Materials. FeedNavigator.com reports the
Standing Committee on Plants, Animals, Food & Feed opted to
delay its decision until “further scientific data is available on the
potential health risks associated with CBD.”
27 HEMPBENCHMARKS.COMTM
July 28, 2021
 U.S Wholesale Hemp Price Benchmarks
Complimentary Media Copy - Do Not Disseminate
July 2021

CBD BIOMASS
Dried hemp plant materials including the stalks
and leaves that may include flowers/buds and/or
seeds that have been harvested. Free of mold, grit,
minimal (< 0.1%) non-hemp organic matter, and at
least 80% dry. An industry-wide acceptable moisture
content is necessary to establish uniform pricing for
hemp biomass. Any hemp biomass material that
is above the standard moisture content will result
in decreased value and an adjusted sale price to
reflect a lower volume of the end product to account
for further water evaporation. Biomass can also be
milled, ground or pressed into pellets.
CBG BIOMASS
Dried hemp plant materials from cultivars that
primarily produce cannabigerol (CBG) with the same
specifications described above in regard to CBD
Biomass.
DRIED CBD FLOWER
Dry flower is the dried flower and bud fraction of a
hemp plant that has been removed from the stalks
and contains minimal stems. Flower is suitable for
smoking and for use in pre-rolled joints.
CBD/CBG CLONES
A clone refers to a plant that is an exact reproduction
of an original parent plant, known as a mother
plant, through asexual propagation. A clone is made
by taking a stem cutting (or tissue culture) from a
mother plant and placing the cutting into media to
facilitate root growth. Once the roots begin to grow,
the clone is transplanted into a field or cultivation
facility. Hemp clones are genetically predisposed to
high CBD and/or high CBG content and are sold as
such.
PRODUCT DEFINITIONS
INDUSTRIAL SEEDS
Industrial hemp seeds comprise a broad range of hemp
cultivars used to grow hemp biomass, hemp seed and
grain for food oils and food products, and fiber for
woven and non-woven applications.
CBD SEEDS (Non-Feminized)
Hemp plants that are pollinated naturally or with
traditional breeding techniques produce both male or
female seeds. These are known as regular, or non-
feminized, seeds and generally result in an even split
between the two sexes.
CBD/CBG SEEDS (Feminized)
Feminized seeds are seeds that have been modified to
produce almost 100% female plants. There are a few
techniques that can produce reliably feminized seeds.
Feminized hemp seeds can be genetically modified
to produce only female plants by eliminating the Y
chromosome. A non-genetic technique is to stress a
healthy female plant by interrupting its light cycle during
flowering. Another common and controlled method is
to spray female plants with a colloidal silver or silver
thiosulphate solution.
CRUDE HEMP OIL
Crude hemp oil is extracted from the hemp plant and
contains all of the cannabinoids, terpenes and other
plant compounds found in the biomass. Processors
use a number of different methods to extract crude
oil from hemp. Supercritical CO2 extraction uses
pressurized carbon dioxide (CO2) to pull CBD (and other
phytochemicals) from the plant. Solvent extraction uses
ethanol or hydrocarbons, such as butane or propane, to
process hemp biomass into crude oil. Other processes
use olive oil or water as a solvent. Crude hemp oil is
often “winterized.” Crude oil is winterized to remove
organic plant compounds, such as lipids, waxes and
chlorophyll, that increases the potency of the oil and
creates a more transparent distillate.
REFINED HEMP OIL
Crude hemp oil is further refined through distillation
to produce refined hemp oil, which includes full
spectrum oil, broad spectrum oil, and THC Free
Distillate.
CBD full spectrum oil distillate is refined hemp
oil extract that contains all the compounds found
naturally occurring in the plant, including all the
cannabinoids, terpenes and essential oils.
CBD broad spectrum oil distillate is refined hemp
oil extract with various plant material, cannabinoids
or terpenes that have been partially or fully
removed.
CBG distillate is refined hemp oil extract with
various plant material, cannabinoids or terpenes that
have been partially or fully removed.
THC Free Distillate is a broad spectrum oil distillate
that has had all THC components removed using
advanced techniques such as chromatography.
CBD/CBG ISOLATE
Isolate is the purest form of a cannabinoid, which is
produced by removing all other compounds found
in the plant including terpene, flavonoids, plant parts
and other cannabinoids. Isolate comes in a granular
or powder form and is odorless and tasteless. The
end product contains 0% THC and is made up of 96%
to 99.9% CBD or CBG, respectively.

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