Colorado Hemp Solutions: 2020 Farmers Summit
Originally published in the Spring 2020 issue of SPOKE+BLOSSOM.
While the overzealous and inexperienced speed in and fail fast, Tanner Willis & Wacey Clarke continue to lead a group of old school, Western Slope farmers into “The Green Rush” of industrial hemp farming at a sensible and sustainable pace.
Willis and Clarke partnered in exploration of the hemp industry after they had each seen CBD improve quality of life for people and pets they cared about. They founded Colorado Hemp Solutions in 2016. Knowing that the purest extracts provide the maximum health benefit, they naturally agreed that quality control from seed to salve had to be their company’s guiding principle.
With Willis’s cannabis industry expertise in growing, breeding and product development and Clarke’s agribusiness and farming expertise, they had a hard time finding an “industrial hemp consultant” with a knowledge base exceeding their own.
Wacey Clarke, Founding Partner of Colorado Hemp Solutions
“That’s where the ‘solutions’ part of our name came from. We had to be, and find, our own solutions. It’s been a constant trial and error,” Willis says. “As the years went on, we grew into this nice, big network of farmers and breeders who can talk freely amongst each other, and we have a lot of things happening now that we just dreamed about in year one.”
Tanner Willis, Founding Partner of Colorado Hemp Solutions
Seeing the enormous potential for success, they started looking for the right partners to grow with — people already accustomed to and equipped for a farming lifestyle, who know their land and weather patterns like the back of their hand, and still keep meticulous farm records; people who are adventurous enough to find (and share) their own solutions when necessary. Many of their partners are fourth and fifth generation family farms. Collectively, they met their 2019 harvest goals in terms of volume, but the list of challenges to overcome in future seasons is long.
Willis and Clarke are in constant communication with the other farmers throughout the year, and, in the winter months, they gather them all to reflect on the previous season and plan for the next. Clarke opened the 2020 Colorado Hemp Solutions Farmers Summit in January saying, “We’ve developed relationships with people that give us a clear path to having a place in the hemp industry, for as long as there is a hemp industry. I know it’s hard for farmers to tell everybody their super secrets, but if we all understand that we can spend just as much time talking about our failures as we can our successes, then maybe we can have a humble attitude and come together to compare specific notes.”
Many specific notes were compared, indeed — first, on how to best battle their most obvious adversaries (pollination and THC). Next, how each farmer’s prior experience, independent research and advice from CHS shaped their method, and the results. Variables in things like plant genetics, soil preparation, field layout, planting method, weed and pest management, nutrient delivery and use of heavy equipment occurred in many different combinations across plots spread out over the Grand Valley and eastern Utah.
“Genetics is the name of the game. We’re not gonna make a racehorse out of a mule,” jokes Brian Gold of Pinae Greenhouses, Inc. in Ogden, Utah. “The tomato and corn guys are getting it figured out, but they’ve got 50 years of breeding there.” Gold, who breeds plants for Colorado Hemp Solutions, emphasized more than once that the nurture of the plant is equally, if not more important, even with strains well-suited to the soil and climate. “Everybody thinks it’s a weed, but it’s tricky to grow! You have to be a good farmer.”
The data collected and shared between the 26 partner farms will be analyzed and organized into a master schedule for the 2020 season. Timing, in various stages of the process, is crucial to keeping product compliant with regulations, and therefore valuable. The data will also guide wise investments in equipment, infrastructure, nutrients and labor.
Often less predictable, and more nerve-wracking, than the wild fluctuations in the Western Slope’s weather are the economic, regulatory and political climates surrounding this controversial industry. Clarke predicts hemp is still a decade away from trading on a commodity futures exchange, and the federal government hasn’t been clear about the “what” or the “when” in terms of updated regulations.
“In the meantime, it’s hard to rationalize high input farming when the market price is unclear. We’re not looking for giant expansion, just better execution,” Clarke said to the group.
Wacey Clarke in the Colorado Hemp Solutions greenhouse
The overall tone at the Farmers Summit was one of cautious optimism, but ultimately, trust in the leadership. “We’ve known Wacey since he was a kid. He was on football and wrestling teams with my kids and my nephews,” says Joe Bernal. “So, the groundwork is already laid to be a part of a community. The trust factor is there and the latitude to be frank and open is also there, which makes it comfortable.” Bernal attended the summit with his son and nephew, representing the fourth and fifth generations of Bernal Farms in Loma, Colorado. This was their first year growing hemp, dedicated 40 of their family’s 950 acres to it.
“We don’t use traditional methods for row crops. With any crop you have to be able to evolve and constantly be looking for new ways to improve. Hemp is just another avenue for us to learn and grow,” says Bryce Atchley, representing the fifth generation of Atchley Farms in Delta. “We’re stepping out of our shell a bit here. Farmers don’t usually share their secrets. I mean, you don’t want to cut your own throat. But Wacey has a plan, and we believe in Wacey. If everybody can work together, we can become more accomplished. I’m sitting in a room full of successful growers, and it’s good to bounce these ideas off of each other.”