The\npurpose of this Executive Summary is to outline the possibilities for economic\ndevelopment that are available to the Lower Arkansas Valley Communities that\nhave been created by the current status and reintroduction of Hemp into the\nagricultural arena.  This Summary’s\nintent is not to detail the minutia involved in this unprecedented development\nopportunity, but to paint the Big Picture of what can be possible to those who\nembrace and collaborate on this broad Vision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Since Hemp was removed from the Schedule I list by the Federal government in December of 2018 by the Farm Bill, the interest in growing and processing hemp in Colorado and around the United States has grown exponentially. The vast majority of this growth, however, has been in the CBD sector of the industry because of the lack of whole plant processing facilities.\u00a0 The CBD segment of the industry is currently very profitable, but this profitability will not be sustainable as the exponential growth in this segment has created a situation where the supply will soon outstrip the demand and the prices for processed CBD will take a dramatic downturn.\u00a0 The CBD segment of the Hemp industry requires a high amount of initial financial input.\u00a0 The NRCS in Montrose has estimated that upfront costs are $15,000 per acre to participate in this segment.\u00a0 Most growers in the Lower Arkansas Valley of Colorado do not have the resources or expertise to participate in this segment of the Hemp market. One of the drawbacks in this segment is that the cultivation of\u00a0 CBD market plants requires only female plants grown from clones or feminized seed which usually requires some type of propagation facility like a green house or indoor grow capacity.\u00a0 In addition there is a lot of hand work involved in planting and growing of seedlings, the mitigation of weeds, and labor intense harvesting.\u00a0 In addition,\u00a0 the final processing of the biomass usually just involves the flower of the plant with the rest of the plant going to waste.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nAgriculturally Cultivated segment of Industrial Hemp involves a completely different\nmethodology for growing and processing. \nThis segment is grown as nature intended from seed to seed, is fully\nmechanized from seed to sale, and involves whole plant processing.  CBD Hemp Cultivation is more akin to\ngardening than farming, but Agriculturally Cultivated Hemp is more in tune with\ntraditional farming methodologies.  Last\nyear there were around 90 million acres of corn grown in the USA, more than 80\nmillion acres of soy beans, more than 50 million acres of hay and more than 40\nmillion acres of wheat. The gardening methods of CBD Hemp production are too\nexpensive and labor intensive for Hemp to reach these commodity levels of\ncultivation, whereas Agriculturally Cultivated Hemp can easily be introduced\ninto normal crop rotations and can use existing equipment and\/or slightly\nmodified current equipment to ramp the number of acres up to the commodity\nacreage levels of other major crops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            The Colorado Hemp Processing\nCooperative is focused on whole plant processing.  The four major raw materials that the\nCooperative will produce from the whole plant are the cleaned and sorted Seeds\n(grain), the residual Flower that can be obtained when harvesting the grain,\nand the two components of the Hemp stalk, namely the Bast (outer bark) and Hurd\n(inner pith).  The Bast and Hurd are\nseparated from the stalk in a process called decortication using a machine\ncalled a decorticator.  These four raw\nmaterials are the key components for producing a wide variety of other consumer\nproducts.  It is commonly said that Hemp\ncan be the basis for over 25,000 products. \nThe Seed can be used for various types of food, cosmetics, and also\nconverted into biodiesel.  The Flower can\nbe processed with extraction to produce CBD \nand other Cannabinoids and terpines which are becoming valuable in\ncreating a variety of health and wellness products.  The Bast can be utilized for building\nmaterial, insulation, textiles, rope and twine as well as utilized in still\nexperimental supercapacitors as a substitute for graphene at a much lower\ncost.  The Hurd can be utilized in\nhempcrete and Hemp geopolymers as building materials as well as paper\nproduction and also utilized in the production of ethanol with a higher octane\nrating than ethanol from corn.  Because\nHemp is a Key Component for such a wide variety of products, the future of\nsuccessful Hemp production is  almost\nassured as it will take a lot of Hemp and a lot of time to fully saturate this\nwide range of products.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

            In addition, the CHPC is also\nworking with collaborators to produce Hemp Biochar from the waste stalks of the\nCBD segment as well as the medical and recreation cannabis industry.  These stalks are currently going to waste,\nbut they cannot be decorticated because they are short and bushy unlike the\nAgriculturally Cultivated Hemp stalks which are long and straight and ideal for\ndecortication.  Hemp Biochar can be used\nfor a wide range of practical purposes. \nA big plus is that it can be used to expedite the remediation of soils\nthat have been depleted and damaged by the overuse of chemicals associated with\nthe cultivation of GMO corn.  These\nchemicals have basically killed the microbiome in the soil which is necessary\nfor healthy plants to thrive.  Hemp\nBiochar serves as a home for the aquatic microbiome in the soil and further\nsupplements its growth by retaining moisture in the soil.  Hemp Biochar also makes an excellent water\nfiltration medium which is as good as if not better than activated\ncharcoal.  Additionally, if it is\noxidatively modified, which adds ionization, it can filter out radioactive\nelements like Radium which is a problem in some Arkansas Valley Communities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

            The First Step of this entire\nprocess and the key element in the production of these raw materials is, of\ncourse, the whole plant processing facility and the growers to grow enough Hemp\nto keep the facility in production. \nCurrent estimates are that 30-50,000 acres of Agriculturally Cultivated\nIndustrial Hemp will be needed.  The CHPC\nwill be contracting with the growers for their crops with one contract for\ntheir seed\/flower, and another contract for their stalks.  As the Cooperative distributes all excess\nrevenues back to the Shareholders, growers will get a third check as\nShareholders.  Because hemp can be\nutilized as a construction material, we would like to make the processing\nfacility a Showcase prototype so growers and potential Shareholders can see the\nimportance of the construction material market to the success of the\nCooperative.  To provide room for expansion,\nit is projected that CHPC will need an 80-100,000  square foot facility or a construction method\nthat provides a mechanism that allows for quick and efficient expansion.  We are working with a company that has the\nexpertise to provide this and will reveal more about them as soon as their Official\nConstruction Certifications are completed sometime in September or October. By\nincorporating a Biochar oven into the plans we will also be able to generate\nsome of the power needed for the facility from the waste biomass as well as\nprovide less dependence on fossil fuels. \nSolar and wind power generation incorporated into the facility will also\nbe seriously considered to put the least amount of dependence on the electrical\ngrid as well as cut down the Cooperative’s expenses for power in order to maximize\nexcess revenue generation.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

            As we are finalizing the exact\nspecifications for the Processing Facility, we will also be recruiting other\ncompanies who wish to utilize the raw materials we will produce for their own\nproduction facilities. This is the Second Step of the Hemp materials and goods\nsupply chain. The goal is to have a number of these companies located within\nthe Business Park or “Hemp Cottage Industry” center to minimize the\ntransportation costs of the raw materials produced by the whole plant\nProcessing Facility.  Transportation\ncosts continue to spiral upwards and the more we can minimize those costs, the\nlower our carbon footprint will be and the higher our generation of excess\nrevenues will be.  In addition, by\nminimizing transportation costs, the Cooperative and all other companies\ninvolved will be able to price their raw materials and finished goods at the\nmost competitively advantageous prices possible.  Having these other companies located in the\nHemp Cottage Industry Business Park will also bring more jobs and an additional\ntax base to Otero County which is one of the Primary Goals of the\nCooperative.  With fully mechanized\nautomation, a good percentage of these employment positions will be on the\nhigher end of the pay scale providing financial security to those\nemployed.  The Economic Development\nDirector will be a key in helping us to draw those 2nd Tier production\nfacilities to the Business park as well as the Local Government’s ability and willingness\nto work with the Cooperative and these other companies to make the\nestablishment and long term viability of their facilities attractive and cost\neffective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            The Third Step of the supply chain\nin the Lower Arkansas Valley will be to provide opportunities to those\ninnovative companies who have chosen to work with us a retail environment for\nthe sale of their finished goods.  The\ndowntown area of La Junta needs more retail, and rather than compete with\nWal-Mart (who decimated it in the first place) in the general goods arena, we\ncan provide a specialty All-Hemp-Goods wholesale and retail environment that\nwill not compete with merchandise that is typically offered by the big box\nstores.  We will need to brand and market\nthis wholesale\/retail environment and make it the first of its kind in the\nnation.  To capitalize on the meaning of\nthe name of La Junta, it is suggested that we Brand it with a moniker like\n“The Hemp Junction Outlet Stores”. \nJust like the outlet stores in Castle Rock and Silverthorne we can\ncreate a destination for those wishing to purchase any type of goods made from\nhemp. Again, this wholesale\/retail environment will create more jobs and\ngenerate more taxes for the community. \nIn addition we can also make this a showcase that will be the first of\nits kind to economically stimulate our rural community in a positive manner. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

            Unfortunately, the Business Park is\nnot in one of Colorado’s Economic Opportunity Zones, but downtown La Junta\nis.  With collaborators that are willing\nto take advantage of the opportunities outlined in this Summary, the fact that\nthey will have an additional presence in the Opportunity Zone will possibly be\nanother positive factor in their investment and dedication to providing and\nsustaining a successful business environment. \nWith the collaboration and willingness to sacrifice short term gains\nwith long term economic stimulus and prosperity, all of the Collaborators in\nthis endeavor need to seriously define what the short and long term goals may\nbe.  The CHPC’s whole plant Processing\nFacility is the necessary first step of this entire process as is the\nrecruitment of Hemp growers. However, the ultimate success of this Vision will\nneed to have all of the parties involved working together toward the greatest\nand highest good for every entity involved. \nThis is the true meaning of Collaboration! Without that All-For-One\nCollaboration and a Spirit of Collective Cooperation this Vision should not\neven be attempted as it will be quickly derailed by pettiness and a lack of\ncreative long-term thinking.  We can and\nshould make this Vision work for the overall good of the La Junta Community. As\nmore people get priced out of the large urban markets, Communities like ours\nwill become increasingly more attractive. \nWith this Project, we can provide opportunities to all those who\ncurrently live here as well as those willing to relocate here. With a\nsuccessful deployment of all of the Three Steps outlined in this Summary, the\nlocal community will be able to offer all Otero County citizens a more adequate\nand stable employment environment so they and their families can enjoy the\nbetter quality of life found in Our Rural Community. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The purpose of this Executive Summary is to outline the possibilities for economic development that are available to the Lower Arkansas Valley Communities that have been created by the current status and reintroduction of Hemp into the agricultural arena.  This Summary’s intent is not to detail the minutia involved in this unprecedented development opportunity, but to paint the Big Picture of what can be possible to those who embrace and collaborate on this broad Vision. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Since Hemp was removed from the Schedule I list by the Federal government in December of 2018 by the Farm Bill, the interest in growing and processing hemp in Colorado and around the United States has grown exponentially. The vast majority of this growth, however, has been in the CBD sector of the industry because of the lack of whole plant processing facilities.\u00a0 The CBD segment of the industry is currently very profitable, but […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cohpc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8093"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cohpc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cohpc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cohpc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cohpc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8093"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cohpc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8093\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8094,"href":"https:\/\/cohpc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8093\/revisions\/8094"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cohpc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8093"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cohpc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8093"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cohpc.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8093"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}