Coach Freddie Recites his Hemp Pledge

As 2022 finds a maturing and transitioning hemp industry, longtime hemp advocate and business expert – and co-MC of the Joy of Hemp Stage – Joy Beckerman of Hemp Ace International offers a warm welcome to the industrial hemp community, along with information and tips on how to enjoy a productive, profitable and safe event, and how to best take advantage of the conference and trade show to help you navigate an evolving market.

The folks – and the bees – at Red Belly Honey take a unique approach in developing their hemp-infused honey products: they feed hemp extract directly to the bees via a patented hemp CBD nectar. Research has revealed that hemp is helping bees ward off the negative effects of pesticides, allowing for a longer life span and a stronger bee population, which benefits the food cycle for all, says company partner Joline Rivera. Hear Joline’s – and her bees’ – story of how she partnered with Red Belly Honey, “infused by bees, not humans,” and how her tale can help inspire your entrepreneurial ideas.

This presentation will discuss basic structures of buying and selling a business in two basic forms – asset transactions and equity transactions – along with basic legal issues for joint ventures. The emphasis will be on the stages to a buy-sell transaction and a discussion on terms in service agreements. This presentation will also discuss issues related to operating an effective business and preparation for capital raising while managing the concerns regularly faced between investors and businesses seeking capital injection.

Thinking about investing or opening a hemp or cannabis-based business? How do you avoid being ripped off by bad players or making a bad investment? Holly Bell, former Director of Cannabis for the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and current VP of Regulatory Affairs for Flora Growth – a leading cultivator, manufacturer and distributor of global cannabis products and brands – will give you a checklist and tools to protect yourself and your business.

With unprecedented research funds being awarded in the past year by USDA and others to universities and related research institutions to study hemp, the industry is truly entering a golden age of hemp research. Hear from top researchers including Tyler Mark of the University of Kentucky, Kelly Flynn of Clemson University and others and get the knowledge on cutting-edge innovations and research advancing the hemp plant for industrial use and the benefit of humanity and the environment.

THC federal compliance is one of the most limiting bottlenecks in the hemp industry today. In addition, the majority of varieties and cultivars available in the U.S. market are imported from different parts of the world with different microclimates (latitude, altitudes, soil types, and agricultural practices). Gene expression is driven by the interaction of the plant genotype with the environment and a slight difference might trigger an epigenetic response that conventional breeding won’t be able to detect leading to the loss of interesting genotypes not meeting the vigor requirement for selection. Want to know more? Hear from leading hemp geneticist Oussama Badad from Trilogene Seeds about why it all starts and ends with genetics.

A 12-story building with 50 apartments just completed in Cape Town, South Africa, was recently declared the world’s tallest structure using hempcrete blocks. Hemp composites are beginning to compete with other carbon fibers for high performance use in everything from automobiles to laminates. And the development of hemp-based plastics is only beginning. Ana Konapitskaya from CoExist, Greg Wilson from HempWood and Jacob Waddell from U.S. Hemp Building Association will deliver the latest information on innovations in such industrial uses for hemp.

How is the healthcare industry viewing CBD and related cannabinoids in relation to human health and medicine? Dr. Bridget Williams, M.D., author of Courage in Cannabis, joins a dynamic panel with Franny Tacy, founder and CEO of Franny’s Farmacy, Janel Ralph, CEO of RE: Botanicals and Harmony, and Jason Pickle of Volunteer Botanicals to cover the latest findings and product development as it relates to cannabinoids, functional nutrition, botanical medicine, and human health.

A perspective from industry experts of the Canna Consortium into improved operational profitability in this ever-changing regulatory and challenging supply chain climate. High lead times, lack of raw materials, and staffing issues have created a new hurdle that many of us were blissfully unaware of until now. Knowing the ins and outs of the supply chain and utilizing multiple vendors, we have firsthand experience in creating a supply chain less susceptible to the continuing issues many are dealing with. A great topic of discussion for those starting a business or those who have been hit hard by the issues of the pandemic, and anything in between.

From transportation specialist and founder of 357 Hemp Logistics, Kevin Schultz, comes this timely panel as the cost of fuel and shipping have gone through the roof for businesses not just in the hemp supply chain but across literally all industries. Now more than ever, logistics count, and Kevin will provide tips to keep in mind to save costs, operate and scale efficiently, and remain legally compliant shipping hemp-derived products domestically and internationally.

The future of blockchain is here. In this session, Stephen Cutter of the World Hemp Alliance discusses the essentials of blockchain, DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization) and the Hemp Token. Learn how a DAO – a fully autonomous and transparent community-led entity with no central authority – smart contracts, blockchain and other groundbreaking digital tools can serve your business and the hemp industry now and in the future.

Coach Freddie Recited his Hemp Pledge

Former Air Force officer and flight engineer James Johnson turned his attention to advocating for hemp and cannabis farmers and producers after retiring from the military, founding Texas-based JJGRO Enterprises, and also serving as CEO of Veterans Scientific Laboratories. Please join James for a high level overview of the hemp space. This discussion is specifically for those who are getting started in hemp. We will chat briefly on the federal rules, CBD, industrial, and testing.

Realm of Caring (RoC) is an independent 501c3 non-profit organization that serves anyone in need of more information about cannabinoid therapies. Through research, education, and grant-making, RoC seeks to facilitate and encourage the mainstream acceptance of transformative, plant-powered therapies, including CBD and other cannabinoids, to benefit individuals and families and serve healthcare providers as well as the hemp and cannabis industries. Learn more about this important organization, presented by Adam Young, Development Officer of RoC.

A passionate foodie and classically trained Chef, Mary Adams has been a longtime proponent of alternative medicine and whole foods. CBD came into Mary's life when she was looking for natural dietary supplements to help with PTSD, depression, pain and anxiety. Prescriptions were not the answer, she knew, although they were the only answer given by doctors at the time. Take a culinary journey with Chef Mary and learn how to make delicious CBD-infused recipes...and explore the healthy, tasty side of cannabis!

Georgia is becoming a hemp powerhouse in the South, and the Georgia Hemp Association has been a leading advocate for farmers in the state since 2016. The nonprofit organization is dedicated to changing the dialogue and the stigma of hemp. GHA is advocating for state and federal laws to be changed so hemp farmers can thrive in Georgia's agricultural industry. Learn how the past, present and future align in Georgia hemp agriculture, from Michael “Coach” Harris, President of the Georgia Hemp Association, Alexis Harris, COO of Harris & Associates, a leading hemp and cannabis consulting firm based in Atlanta, and Dr. Terel Newton of Terel Newton MD LLC.

Cannabis hemp! Its flower produces a resin with profoundly effective bioactive molecules, the study of which has yielded a new scientific understanding of our own human biology. Its vascular system forms bast fibers that are among the strongest known, supported by a rigid core of highly useful natural material (how useful, really?). Its grain is remarkably nutritious (but is it safe?). Its extensive root system aerates the soil and may replenish it with carbon better than other crops (but does it?)

Given this extraordinary biology and phenotypic diversity of the Cannabis genus, it is no wonder that hemp has been so historically important to human societies. Hemp is one of the most useful of crops but also most misunderstood. The mystique of cannabis and its psychoactive properties contribute to fear and mistrust by some, and hyperbolic proselytizing by others, both of which lead to myopic thinking that can impede rational progress.

In this talk, Dr Gerdeman will impart inspiring thoughts as to how modern science has helped us rethink cannabis in recent decades, but will also challenge us to rethink some beliefs that are emerging as new potential traps. Hemp is poised to have revolutionary value in contemporary industrial value chains, but it is not inevitable. It is vital that stakeholders have the knowledge base and flexibility to rethink our own assumptions about hemp, such as the idea that there is a singular hemp industry with common goals, or that hemp is not cannabis, or that any drug molecules synthesized from hemp ingredients are inherently natural or safe.

After playing for nine seasons in the NFL, former offensive tackle Kyle Turley faced lingering physical pain, as well as bouts of depression and rage. Once he tried CBD and cannabis and saw rapid improvement in his own health, he became a leading advocate for the benefits of cannabinoids in professional sports. “Everyone knows this game is brutal,” Turley told the Los Angeles Times about football. “Cannabis saved my life, period, and it could help a lot of other players.” Learn how Kyle is advocating among players and sports leagues for allowing the use of these beneficial compounds in athletics.

America currently loses at least 23 Warfighters (22 veterans + 1 active duty) to suicide every single day. This is a number that Warfighter Hemp spokesperson Boone Cutler has made his mission to combat by his creation of "The Spartan Pledge" for fellow Warfighters who promise not to take their own lives and instead vow to find a new mission to help one another. In 2012, Boone was diagnosed with Early-Onset Parkinson's Disease secondary to a blast-injury in Iraq and is currently starting to campaign for more awareness on the issue in the Warfighter Community. In 2014, Boone became the national spokesperson for the Warfighter Rights' Movement whose mission is to end Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder phobia that results in discrimination against Warfighters in employment, housing and the judicial process. In June 2018 Boone formally joined the United States Cannabis Coalition (USCC) Advisory Board along with other big names in media and politics who stand united in the crusade to legalize cannabis. Hear Boone's story and how hemp – and you – can help veterans in need.

President of the Hemp Alliance of Tennessee Frederick Cawthon, who also serves as a member of the U.S. Hemp Roundtable’s Minority Empowerment Committee, leads a panel of entrepreneurs and leaders in hemp, including Joshua Camp of Extract Health, D.W. Cooper of the East Tennessee Hemp Company, and Devin Aracena of Canvast Supply Co., to present a report on the state of the industry in the great state of Tennessee – a leader in hemp production and host to this year’s 4^th Annual Southern Hemp Expo.

No, we’re not talking Skynet, however, artificial intelligence and robotics technology is already reshaping the face of many industries, and hemp and cannabis are not immune. On a purely productive level, AI can be used to collect information on the best conditions for growing high quality hemp plants, and robotics could play a role in sophisticated grow and processing operations. On the science fiction level, of course, we all know AI can also be used for evil. Learn from Robert Ziner of the Canadian Industrial Hemp Corporation, where industrial hemp stands in the infancy of AI, and how we can work together to create technology that works responsibly and effectively for humans, plants, communities and the environment.

CBD often is extracted from hemp using organic solvents such as hexane, butane, propane, chloroform, petroleum ether, and other chemicals that are potentially harmful to humans and the environment. More sustainable, solvent-free extraction technologies exist, however. Here, Matt Broxtermann of Boulder Creek Technologies shares how his company has developed solvent-free, vapor-static extraction technology that produces refined CBD and CBG concentrates at reduced cost and with less environmental impact. In addition, says Broxtermann, the company’s spent biomass becomes a recycled valuable resource as it morphs into clean, solvent-free raw material for future input. Learn more about solvent-free, sustainable technologies in this session.

In this presentation, Jeremy Hale, lifecycle analyst, sustainability specialist and academic liaison for the Drawdown Hemp Project, will discuss the role of life-cycle analysis in Drawdown Hemp and future system integrations of hemp. Jeremey will cover in detail the limitations of agricultural systems, understanding their capacity to sequester carbon, and the future of bioremediation.

Flavonoids are not unique to hemp and cannabis. However, there are some flavonoids that are found only within these plants. Similar to terpenes, flavonoid compounds share a role in how we perceive hemp and cannabis through our senses, but they function in beneficial ways that are only beginning to be discovered. Sharing results from recent clinical trials, Morgan Coffey, Chief Science Officer for Star Manufacturing Extraction in Bowling Green, Kentucky, will discuss HempFlavin, cannaflavins and related flavonoid extracts and how they relate to better health