HempTalk - Business Blogs and Press Releases

Organizers of the Balkannabis Expo June 1-3 in Athens say signups for the first-ever event are brisk as the Expo announced it has rounded out the speaker panel for a summit devoted strictly to hemp that is a part of the three-day program.

Belgian natural builder Wolf Jordan, Jordan & Co and Italian hemp entrepreneur Rachele Invernizzi, South Hemp Tecno, a hemp processing operation in southern Italy are among international presenters who have joined the program for the Hemp Summit.

The three-day Expo is set for TECHNOPOLIS City of Athens, a cultural and exhibition space adjacent to the the Athens historic center and the Acropolis. A separate conference is scheduled for “MedCannabis Science.” Balkannabis Expo will feature cannabis culture workshops; a large exhibition area and international trade show; networking spaces; masterclasses; a market area; music and other artistic performances.

Also added to the Hemp Summit speaker lineup are Samuel Brookfield-Dardenne, TechniChanvre, France; Dr. Eleni Tsaliki, Dr. Apostolos Kalyvas and Dr. Eleni Malupa, all of the Hellenic Agricultural Organisation Demeter, Greece; and Robert C. Clarke, BioAgronomics Group Consultants, USA

They join previously announced speakers Rafael Dulon, HANF FARM GmbH, Germany; Daniel Kruse, Hempro Int. GmbH and HempConsult GmbH, Germany; Boris Banas, CBDepot, Slovakia; Morris Beegle, NoCo-Hemp-Expo, USA; Hana Gabrielova, Hempoint, Czech Republic; Paul Benhaim, Hemp Foods Australia and Elixinol (USA); Joscha Krauss, Medical Hemp, Germany, and Kehrt Reyher, Editor & Publisher, HempToday.

When the team at Colorado, USA-based PowerZone Agriculture started to think about farmers and hemp, they put one idea first: ROI – return on investment. That started with the fundamental goal to engineer harvesting and processing technology that could be bolted onto machines and power sources farmers already have.

“Our equipment is designed to maximize yield per acre,” Corbett Hefner, V.P Research, Development and Engineering MG at Colorado, USA-based PowerZone said of the project team’s focus on financial return for the company’s clients. “No capital is tied up in dedicated harvesting machinery that sits idle for the majority of the year,” Hefner added. The entire harvesting platform can be removed in 30 minutes or less so the tractor can be used for other farm operations, Hefner noted.

Focus on flower yield

The system is designed for optimal flower yield for CBD oil and to collect hemp straw; it can crawl through the field at a rate of 12 acres per hour, and features cut options ranging between six inches and 15 feet off the ground. PowerZone’s Fiber Track Genesis decorticating equipment can process up to 10 tons of hemp straw per hour, turning it into hurd for building materials.

The harvesting system, which is fully portable, is designed to harvest clone plants as well as large fields. Primary crop and fiber can be collected in a single pass, reducing hours in the field.

The Fiber Track Genesis decortication line is designed to produce long, strong fiber as well as hurd particles for insulation. The Grasshopper chaff cart is completely self contained, drawing no hydraulic power from the combine.

A draft law to greatly expand medical cannabis regulations in Thailand is expected to be unveiled this week, a move that executives say will open the door to potentially millions of dollars in investments. In the works since last year, the draft narcotics code will permit medical marijuana research on humans. The law will first […]

Thailand set to unveil medical cannabis law is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Speakers from South Africa, Mongolia and Poland are on the program for the Hemp Food, Health & Beauty Summit at HempToday Center May 25-26.

Entrepreneur Arne Verhoef, founder of S.A.-based HempHub Anar Artur, CEO at HempMongolia, and Jan Zytko, JZ Consulting, Warsaw, an expert in brands, marketing and distribution chains, will join an international speaker panel that will address delegates from 12 countries from around the globe who are signed up for the event, hosted at HempToday Center in Poland. Only three places remain open for the two-day summit.

[See the full lineup of speakers]

Verhoef will give an overview of the hemp scene in South Africa and talk about his experiences as a startup. A biologist by training, he is also a horticulturist and developer of health products based on CBD hemp and other healing plants. He also manages The Stokvel Collective, a Community Supported Agriculture project that seeks to spread regenerative agriculture through grassroots action in Africa.

German engineering firm H8 Automation picked up the Innovation Award for Best Industrial Project at Seville-based Expocáñamo, the Spanish cannabis industry event May 11-13.

The award was granted for H8’s hemp bud stripper, a unique technology that carefully strips flowers, rendering them as if picked by hand.

The first-ever competition was part of a much expanded presence for industrial hemp at Expocáñamo this year; it was judged by a jury of hemp experts, professionals and other stakeholders from Seville and Andalusia.

Designed by H8 CEO Heinrich Wieker, the electrically driven machine is intended to give farmers greater independence from weather conditions during the harvest, and facilitate efficient bud production in countries with high labor costs. It can be used in the field or indoors, and can process about 100kg of flowers per hour.

The post German developer’s bud stripper honored at Expocáñamo appeared first on HempToday.

India’s medical marijuana industry will blossom if companies use science to convince regulators that MMJ is an effective medicine. That’s the view of the country’s only licensed medical cannabis cultivator. Avnish Pandya, co-founder of Bombay Hemp Company, said the best way to develop India’s medical marijuana industry is for companies to work with regulators to […]

How India can become a global cannabis leader: Q&A with Bombay Hemp’s Avnish Pandya is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Countries in the Danube Region have put hemp at the center of a roadmap for the EU’s DanuBioValNet project that aims to develop a sustainable growth policy for bio-based value chains.

“Without significant acceleration of the bioeconomy in the Danube Region, the ambitious goals of the European Commission Bioeconomical Strategy will not be met in the foreseeable time horizon,” the group said in a statement. “Hemp has the best prerequisites to become the crop for the future.”

Good climate for hemp

Citing a 400% increase in EU farmland under hemp in recent years led by France, Ukraine, Hungary and Romania, the group noted that the Danube Region’s climate in the southern half of the North Temperate Zone is ideal for hemp cultivation.

The group recommended formation of hemp sector clusters in Slovakia and Czech Republic, increased efforts at education, knowledge sharing and research on hemp across the entire Danube Region, and harmonization of regulations governing the crop.

Addressing EU bio-goals

The recommendations came out of a recent meeting held in Prague to roadmap the DanuBioValNet initiative, which aims to help meet goals of The European Commission Bioeconomical Strategy. Representatives from Austria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Serbia and Slovakia were hosted by the Czech Republic’s National Cluster Association, a partner in DanuBioValNet, a cross-clustering partnership looking at innovative ways to develop a bio-based network for the Danube Region, which stretches from the Black Forest in Germany to Romania, Ukraine and Moldova on the Black Sea. The effort seeks to support regional development by diversifying the local economy through bio-based value chains to replace non-renewable resources, especially crude oil.

So Mitch is in the driver’s seat and Chuck is riding shotgun, leading us down that Great American Hemp Highway. Buddies, you know, like Butch & Sundance; Lefty & Pancho. It’s Mitch & Chuck!

In American political parlance, it’s hemp that’s brought us to “a rare moment of bipartisan harmony” because Mitch (Sen. McConnell, Republican, Kentucky), and Chuck (Sen. Schumer, Democrat, New York) spend most of their time in bitter cat fights and do nothing about the little things that matter in America: The tax system, health care, immigration.

With hemp, they’re on the same page.

True friends

As the main sponsor of The Hemp Farming Act of 2018, McConnell, the Senate Majority Leader, sees hemp as a way to revive the fortunes of farmers in his home state of Kentucky, which has seen massive attrition in the tobacco markets over the past 2 decades.

Schumer has signed onto McConnell’s Act, saying it “makes no sense that the DEA is the primary regulator, and that they stop farmers and investors from growing hemp.” (The Act, by the way, will also be good for New York farmers.)

The U.S. Small Business Administration bars banks from issuing SBA-backed loans to marijuana- and hemp-related companies, Maine lawmakers override a veto of key adult-use legislation, and Scotts Miracle-Gro consolidates its MJ operations. Here’s a closer look at some notable developments in the cannabis industry over the past week. SBA shuts off the spigot Small businesses […]

Week in Review: SBA says no to cannabis, Maine advances rec MJ & Scotts Miracle-Gro shrinks is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

The U.S. Small Business Administration updated its lending guidelines with new rules that could have a major impact on businesses servicing the marijuana and hemp industries – not just plant-touching companies. The revised guidance, published in early April, prohibits banks from issuing SBA-backed loans to any company that has a direct business relationship with a cannabis or […]

New SBA lending rules could curb loans to marijuana and hemp businesses is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

Hemp pilot programs are coming online in the U.S. states ofKansas, Oklahoma and New Mexico as a result of developments in late April. The expansion of the USA’s federally controlled hemp program brings to 40 the number of states with hemp legislation now on the books, and anticipates a loosening of U.S. laws covering hemp under a bill expected to be voted on next month – and which has strong support among both Democrats and Republicans.

Kansas passed its hemp legislation April 20, with Oklahoma following on April 23. Legalization in New Mexico came only after the state’s Supreme Court overturned a series of vetoes by Gov. Susana Martinez in 2017. Martinez had blocked state hemp bills despite their passage by a Democratic-controlled State Senate and a Republican-controlled State House of Representatives.

Public views sought in Kansas

The program in Kansas – a traditional wheat, corn and soybean-growing state – is under an “Alternative Crop Research Act” that lets the state’s Department of Agriculture coordinate research in cultivation and other aspects of processing and production. The Department is developing rules and regulations for the pilot program. A series of public forums to guide that process are planned this month,

Full support in Oklahoma

In Oklahoma, where wheat is the major state crop, the hemp measure passed the state House of Representatives unanimously, and received only one dissenting vote in the state Senate. The pilot program, to be overseen by the state’s Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry, will allow universities and farmers who contract with universities to grow the crop

Strong interest in New Mexico

Department of Agriculture officials in New Mexico, where the primary agricultural crop is hay, said they are already getting inquiries from both big and small farmers who are interested in growing the crop. Hemp also proved itself to be a bi-partisan issue in that state, with strong support from both Republicans and Democrats.

Industrial hemp could provide a $3 million a year boon to South Australia, Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development Tim Whetstone said as he recently surveyed pilot projects in the state.

“Based on current predictions, it is anticipated that within five years an expanding industrial hemp industry in South Australia could have a farm gate value of $3 million a year,” said Whetstone, who lauded the state government’s recent decision to grant growing licenses to South Australian farmers.

Minister tours pilots

Whetstone toured two industrial hemp projects, one in the Kybybolite municipality, and a second site about three hours north in the town of Loxton, in the Riverland region of South Australia. Researchers are testing factors related to hemp cultivation and harvesting. The pilots are among the first in South Australia.

Similar research is going on at the two sites, which have slightly different conditions, according to Mark Skewes, who is leading the projects with the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI). The research is intended mainly to help farmers understand when to put hemp in the ground for the best possible yield, and to get indicators regarding whole-crop harvesting.

Research under way

A team from the University of Adelaide is studying the nutritional value of the grains, and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is to study the quantity of fibre within the grains.

Hemp entrepreneurs and innovators can earn a free accreditation to HempToday’s upcoming Hemp Food, Health & Beauty Summit May 25-26.

To be held at HempToday Center in the Palace at Nakło, Lelów, Poland, the Summit will gather leading hemp industry veterans, investors and startups for two days of networking and lectures.

The scholarship program aims to connect entrepreneurs with mentors and potential investors, said Kehrt Reyher of HempToday. “There’s still a lot of need out there to connect great ideas with capital and expertise,” Reyher said. “While there are so many things happening in hemp, we still have to work on building up a center of gravity where great companies, people and ideas can connect,” Reyher said of the gatherings held at HempToday Center.

The entrepreneur scholarship application deadline is May 15.

A truly international event

Representatives from Australia, Czech Republic, Germany, Holland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mongolia, Poland and USA are already signed up for the Summit, which is limited to 25 participants; 8 places remain open for the event as of today.

Montreal, Canada based LGC Capital has canceled its participation in a deal with South African company House of Hemp (HoH). The parties had previously announced plans to develop a medical research, cultivation and commercial production facility at a 424,000 sq. ft. indoor cannabis growing operation in the Dube TradePort AgriZone near Durban’s International Airport. Under the deal, LGC was to partner with SA farm transport firm AfriAg, with both firms taking a 30% interest in HoH.

“The absence of medical cannabis legislation in South Africa unfortunately means that House of Hemp’s business is no longer one that suits LGC’s business objectives of investing in near-term cash-flowing businesses,” LGC CEO John McMullen said in backing his firm out of the deal. “As a result, House of Hemp no longer fits with LGC’s investment objectives.”

Whiff of corruption

But the deal also had been clouded by revelations that some in HoH circles had close connections to former president President Jacob Zuma’s scandal-ridden government. Zuma was charged April 6 with corruption in relation to a 1990s arms deal, and his government was wracked by corruption charges before he left office Feb. 15, 2018. Critics had claimed the venture would benefit only foreign investors and those with close ties to Zuma’s scandal ridden admnistration. Zuma faces 16 counts of corruption, racketeering, fraud and money laundering in the corruption case.

“Anyone who is trying to apply for cannabis commercial licenses knows that the delay lies with the MCC (South Africa’s Medicines Control Council) stringent criterion and its tediously long bureaucratic processes,” House of Hemp owner Dr. Thandeka R. Kunene wrote in a lengthly response to coverage of the LGC pullout by South African by blogger William Wallace of thehighco.za, a frequent HoH critic.

The post Canadian firm backs out of deal in South Africa appeared first on HempToday.

Canadian hemp food producer Manitoba Harvest says it will soon be certified as having a zero carbon footprint after a number of measures it has taken in consultation with Toronto-based Carbonzero, a consultancy that helps companies become more environmentally friendly.

Ryan Bracken, Manitoba Harvest’s VP of Innovation, said the advancement reflects the company’s “triple bottom line” approach that emphasizes profits, people and planet. “We care passionately about the environment and the communities we work in,” Bracken said in a release from Carbonzero. The consultancy is an officially recognized party to Canadian Standards Association Clean Projects.

Investment in wind-power offsets

Manitoba Harvest invested in wind-power carbon offset credits as a first major step in reducing its environmental footprint of 650 tons CO2 emissions per year. The investment is primarily in the sponsorship of Manitoba-based wind farm, the companies said.

In other measures the company’s taking on its path to a zero carbon footprint, Manitoba Hemp also is sponsoring a reforestation project on the Niagara Escarpment, a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve that features the oldest forest ecosystem and trees in eastern North America. The company also reduced its gasoline usage by 20% by figuring out the geometry that let them increase shipping capacity from 24 to 30 pallets per truckload.

Manitoba Harvest and subsidiary Hemp Oil Canada say earlier this year applied for certification under standards governing the Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Political support for reforming federal cannabis laws appears to be snowballing: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, President Donald Trump and former House Speaker John Boehner all recently signaled varying levels of support. In short, a variety of pro-cannabis bills – from hemp legalization and tax reform to granting MJ businesses […]

Despite historic inroads, federal marijuana reform faces uphill climb before midterm elections is a post from: Marijuana Business Daily: Financial, Legal & Cannabusiness news for cannabis entrepreneurs

A growing number of producers are entering the CBD business in China where – as in most other hemp-growing nations – the sector grapples with the thorny issue of THC limits in hemp-based health products. Wang Yu Fu of the Institute of Bast Fiber Crops at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, will give an update on CBD and other hemp sectors in China at this year’s European Industrial Hemp Association’s annual conference in Cologne June 12-13.

According to Wang, more than 20 Chinese companies are already in the CBD sector or are moving in that direction. He is recommending that Chinese authorities relax THC restrictions particularly for medicinal hemp. Hemp research, farming and production are expanding rapidly in China, where about 50,000 hectares went under the crop in 2017.

More than 350 delegates are expected

More than 350 attendees from 40+ countries are expected to attend this year’s event at Cologne’s Maternushaus hotel.

Wang also will talk about challenges in China regarding seeds, technology and multi-cropping, and offer his views on sustainable development of the industry. His presentatiion is part of a Day 1 session that will survey hemp in different countries. Also presenting country reports will be Tony Budden, Hemporium (South Africa), who’ll talk about the South African and Malawi hemp markets, and Rick Trojan, Hemp Road Trip (USA), who’ll give an update on the United States.

CLV Frontier Brands Pty Ltd says it will begin marketing cannabis-flavored beers and tonics in Europe and Canada this summer, Creso Pharma, a partner in the three-way partnership, has announced.

The new drinks contain terpenes, which carry the aroma and flavor of cannabis without any accompanying THC or cannabinoids.

Creso, UK-based Baltic Beer Company Ltd. and Canadian TSX Venture incorporated LGC Capital are equal one-third partners in CLV.

‘Significant’ sales envisioned

“We see CLV as an exciting business partnership that we believe can add significant sales revenues to Creso Pharma over the coming years,” Dr. Miri Halperin Wernli, Co-Founder and CEO at Creso Pharma, said in a release.

Terpenes, which are derived from cannabis and other plants, have a range of applications in food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology. Those contained in the products under development by CLV are extracted from various plant sources, all of which are food-grade, 100% natural and non-GMO, according to Creso. The terpenes are introduced to beer at the post-fermentation stage in much the same manner as hop extracts are added.

German confectionary maker Alfred Ritter GmbH & Co. KG produced a limited edition “Schoko & Gras” (“Chocolate & Grass”) bar under its Ritter Sport brand timed for this past week’s World Cannabis Day, (“4/20 Day”).

Ritter produced the square chocolates in a “collectors’ edition” promotion, offering them for sale online and in its branded retail outlets in Berlin and Waldenbuch, where the company is headquartered.

“This is a great example of an enlightened major player who understands the potential for hemp in foods,” said Daniel Kruse, CEO at Hempro Int. GmbH & Co. KG, Dusseldorf, which provided the hulled and roasted organic hemp seeds for the “Schoko & Gras” bars.

Aside from promoting hemp seeds in the chocolates as a “superfood,” the effort intends to spark “unbiased discussion on hemp,” according to Elbkind, the Hamburg agency that executed a social media campaign in support of the promotion.

Ritter, which has an online tool through which consumers can submit ideas for new products, said it has received many submissions suggesting the incorporation of hemp seed into its treats.

HempToday has launched a Japanese-language web edition under the direction of entrepreneur Riki Hiroi, owner at Each Japan, a leading Japanese cannabis consultancy.

The Japanese edition is based mainly on translations of global reporting from hemptoday.net, with technology being managed by volunteers from the IT industry in Tokyo.

Support from stakeholders

A group of stakeholders have come together to support reporting and translation services for HempToday Japan to feed local market content back to the hemptoday.net mother site in English, Hiroi said. The stakeholders are the Cannabis Museum in Nasu, Tochigi (Japan’s top hemp producing prefecture), along with the Government Office and the Prefectural Assembly of Hokkaido – all of which are supporting Hokkaido Hemp Net, a newly developed entity that will promote the industry in Japan.

While hemp has a tradition in Japan going back centuries, the country has remained strictly aligned with outdated international norms that conflate hemp with marijuana. HempToday Japan aims to help knock down that barrier, Hiroi said.