Making industrial hemp a profitable commodity for the West Texas agriculture community is a goal for the Texas Hemp Growers Association, and it’s looking more likely to happen this year as potential partnerships with area grocers and other companies emerge.
Farmers interested in growing hemp in 2020, the first year to legally grow the crop, had to work out a number of logistics, such as finding a seed that would grow in the climate, finding a buyer before investing the acres, and even trying to outguess the weather to figure out when they should plant.
The group encountered several businesses that were interested in partnering, but some of those felt close to scams. Delta Ag, the only full-service manufacturer of hemp raw goods in the country, partnered with the Texas Hemp Growers Association last year to help make the process run smoothly and be a success, including by providing a fully-equipped processing facility in Slaton that was up and running for the inaugural harvest.
“Delta Ag was our first experience with a group that believed in the farmer’s ability to grow hemp without some ‘secret’ knowledge,” said Tillery Sims, executive director for Texas Hemp Growers Association. “Their attitude of respect was clear from the beginning. They were not out pushing a ‘get-rich-quick’ system.”
There was trouble finding a seed that was a good match for the frequent highs and lows of West Texas weather. Bill Tempany, CEO of AeroMechanical Services in Calgary, Alberta, visited the Lubbock area several times to meet with THGA and is interested in the manufacturing side of the business.
Tempany explained that their climate is similar and has the same altitude as Lubbock, and the same heat and drought conditions.
“Farmers here have gone to hemp because of the ability to restore soil and absorb toxic chemicals from insecticides and pesticides,” said Tempany. “It helps that you could get two or three revenue sources from a single crop.”
One revenue source could be from providing a sustainable way of producing building materials – Hempcrete. The substitute for concrete absorbs CO2 as it’s being used, controls humidity in a building, and is essentially fireproof, which has created a whole new market on the left coast where wildfires are increasingly more dangerous.
Tempany said that like Alberta, Texas is a good place for hemp to thrive, and the idea of buying or selling hemp products grown right in West Texas has been appealing for retailers and their customers alike.
Tony Crumpton, chief merchandising officer for United Supermarkets, confirmed recently that the supermarket chain is working with THGA on a deal to get their products on United shelves.
“I believe there’s a strong interest in our markets, especially being Texas produced,” said Crumpton. “We have West Texas roots, so we take a lot of pride in [those products]. And sometimes it’s tough getting into other stores and retailers, so we want to give them that opportunity.”
Sims said that as more opportunities come up to help the local hemp industry flourish, THGA is working to keep the power in the hands of the West Texas farmers and their community, which is shown in their partnership with Delta Ag.
“If farmers don’t have ownership equity and management representation all the way through the value chain – even to the end market – we will be spending our rural resources on yet another break-even commodity,” said Sims.
