September 23, 2020

Do You Have What It Takes?

written by Homegrown Essentials

   The beginning of 2021 will mark the start of year five for Homegrown Essentials. These past few years have seemed like a lifetime. HGE has grown tremendously, and faced welcome challenges in a blossoming hemp industry. As such, we have come to know and love the hardships faced by farmers and growers of all types. The behind- the- scenes work is what powers Homegrown Essentials to deliver you the best products possible. Read on to learn a little more about the hemp industry and what it takes to make quality CBD products.

   It is not easy to enter the hemp industry and it sure isn't cheap. The hemp industry is composed firstly of seed breeders. Seed breeders are growers who must know exactly where cannabis seeds are coming from; and have the ability to track that seed as it enters multiple phases of life. Seed breeders concern themselves with data. Breeders research ideal growing conditions, germination rates, time to maturity, dormancy, cannabinoid testing, among other things. Most importantly to the breeder, controlling the environment where the seed grows will help the seed stay uncontaminated. Seed breeders are the start of the industry since it all begins from seed. 

   There are also professional growers and farmers in the hemp industry. It requires a significant amount of effort to grow and maintain a large amount of hemp plants. Growing any plant requires battling weeds, weather elements, dirt, and unforeseen natural events. Growing indoors requires simulating outdoor growing conditions which requires a lot of control over light, water, temperature and humidity. Recently, Cannabis growers have discovered that by placing the plant under stressors, cannabinoid content can be altered, or increased/ decreased. After growing the crop, it must also be harvested, dried and stored. There are many different things you can do with your hemp after you grow it to make CBD, textiles, paper goods, or even alternative fuel sources. Such machinery has not yet been commercialized on an industrial scale. One example of this would be producing common household goods (like paper towels) or other common goods from hemp(cellulose, fibers). 

   After the crop is grown, and assuming the final product is not already in its finished form, the harvest will typically be sent to extraction. Extraction facilities and testing laboratories are very expensive operations. To be regulatorily compliant, labs must invest hundreds of thousands of dollars, sometimes upwards of millions.The time and money that goes into sourcing and operating machinery for CBD extraction is not to be underestimated. There are two types of extraction: Solvent, and Solvent-less. Typically a combination of alcohols, gases, or elements is combined with heat and pressure and are later removed; similar to modern production of foods, oils, and powders.

   After extraction, raw materials will enter a clean room to be formulated into a finished product. Clean rooms are completely sealed environments and must have new, filtered air moving through at all times. These sterile chambers contain machinery for mixing, filling and sealing eventual products. The machinery is what really makes it all possible. Without filling machinery, product fulfillment times would be through the roof.

   We hope you enjoyed learning about the different processes that the hemp plant goes through to become a shelf-ready product. As time goes on, the industry will evolve and new technology will enable producers to efficiently and effectively deliver their goods to market. Here at Homegrown Essentials we pride ourselves in being at the top of that market. Good luck fellow hemperors, and stay engaged.

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