The passage of the 2018 Farm Bill opens the floodgates to opportunity, with a helping of turbulence as rules and regulations take shape.  What is certain is that business owners can have a life-changing year, with the right preparation. This article looks at how changes in seed suppliers will impact your bottom line.

Seed Stock

Where you source your seeds and genetics is an important decision that will affect your whole crop. The highest potency strains that are compliant with your local regs actually depends on your state.  For example, the NC Industrial Hemp Commission does not endorse any seed or clone sources, where Oregon has licensed hemp farmers and handlers for seed stock. As an industry, we know that we will have to navigate these regulations, and while policy and law are settling, a good faith effort and a paper trail showing your due diligence are important.  This is the turbulence we can expect for 2019.

We recommend that all seed stock comes with a compliance package that includes proof of their industrial hemp license, and documentation confirming that the parent plant contains less than .3% THC. This will apply to both seeds and starts.  

To find the best seeds out there and doing a price comparison on themarketplace, expect to pay per seed. Price per pound is also an accepted method but leaves a lot of uncertainty due to the variance in seed size, and weight.  The cost per seed ranges from $0.50 and up depending on genetics. This is a drop in price from last year where feminized seed stock was hovering around $.75 – $1.25 / seed.

This decrease in cost is due to the growth of the seed producers in the USA.  Many of our partners are reporting a 2x-4x increase in production in seed stock, which means tens of millions of more seeds available.

In 2018, we saw feminized seed pricing trends start at $1.25 / feminized seeds and small buyers.  At the time of the high price per seed, the industry didn’t know if there would be enough seed stock to supply farmers. Once we hit February of 2018, the prices started to decrease as there seemed to be a surplus in seed supply, and anyone who didn’t move their seed in 2018 would likely suffer a major loss of potential revenue if they didn’t drop their prices.  This is because of the increase in supply in 2019, the improvement of genetics, and the trend of farmers wanting the next best thing, IE, Cherry Wine Out, Boax in.

Looking at 2019, we expect seeds to hover in the $.50 / seed range for feminized seed stock as automation and scale have allowed seed producers to scale up. We expect there to be a surplus of seed stock this year, so this is good news for farmers getting ready for the planting season.  Please contact us if you have any questions about sourcing seed stock, we are here to help.

My state doesn’t have an industrial hemp program yet, can I still sign up for the marketplace?

Of course! While the marketplace requires all farmers and most processors (depending on the state) to maintain current industrial hemp licenses, the wholesale market is open to any registered business working with hemp and CBD. The marketplace allows you to reach our entire network of businesses with a few simple clicks.  

Please utilize us as a resource, we have specialists on hand for farmers, processors and finished goods manufacturers.  Consider us supply chain experts, and your friend in the industry.