10th Annual NoCo Hemp Expo Gathers Many Voices

Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast

04/17/24 • 59 min

This week’s hemp podcast is a recap of the 10th annual NoCo Hemp Expo in Estes Park, Colorado, April 11-13, where industry stakeholders gathered to collaborate, commiserate and celebrate the state of hemp in 2024.

The episode features voices from many attendees, including Colorado Gov. Jared Polis.

“We’re really all hands on deck to make sure Colorado continues to be an ag powerhouse, and hemp is a big part of that,” Polis said.

State Ag Commissioner Kate Greenberg agreed with the governor and said the “conversation is really just diversified in what hemp is capable of.”

Hemp researcher Przemyslaw Baraniecki came all the way from the Institute of Natural Fibres and Medicinal Plants in Poland, where hemp was never prohibited yet still carries a stigma.

“In Europe, when you when you say to someone on the street ‘hemp,’ they will smile and treat it as something, let’s say, spicy,” Baraniecki said.

Karll Lecher from Dakota Hemp Co. in South Dakota echoed those sentiments and the industry is being held back by conflicting messaging.

“We just need one unifying voice to enlighten the public about hemp and maybe get rid of some of those stigmas,” he said.

The Hemp Twins — Abigail and Noemy Cuevas — from Los Angeles have been hosting workshops and events back home for years to educate the public and spread the message of hemp.

For Noemy, hempcrete construction is one of the bright spots in the hemp industry.

“Living in Los Angeles, California, we have a lot of wildfires, so if we would have hemp building, then we will be able to save people’s homes, people’s lives,” she said.

Andrew Bish from Hemp Harvest Works, an equipment manufacturer from Nebraska, was showcasing a recent research-scale decorticator.

“We produced this for universities around the country, as well as processors that want to work to ultimately grade their herd and fiber products,” he said.

You will hear many voices from all over the world on this week’s show, plus you’ll hear about the time spent with Danny DesJarlais and the crew from the Lower Sioux from Minnesota.

Thank you to the following voices featured in this week's episode:

Aaron Appleby

Andrew Bish, Hemp Harvest works

Caroline Matthews, Tatham

Colorado Department of Ag

Colorado Office of the Governor

Abigail and Noemy Cuevas, The Hemp Twins, Hemp Traders

Bethany Niebauer, Industrial Hemp Research Foundation

Raven Faber, EngErotics

Nianyi Gan, Kanda Hemp

Patrick Atagi, NIHC

Przemyslaw Baraniecki, Institute of Natural Fibres and Medicinal Plants