Hemp: A New Economy for the Greenbrier Valley

BY SARAH ELKINS

In 2017, the West Virginia Legislature legalized the cultivation of industrial hemp for commercial use. This move opened the door for farmers and entrepreneurs across the state to apply for licensure and pilot their own hemp growing and processing operations. Two short years later, those early trailblazers are getting their feet under them and figuring out where they fit in a quickly evolving market. Right here, in the Greenbrier Valley, hemp business is booming.

Hemp, you ask? You may not be seeing hemp products cropping up around town, but you likely can’t miss the prevalence of CBD products in store windows all over the state. CBD is currently the most in-demand biproduct of the famously versatile plant. For those not sure what’s what, here’s a cannabis primer. Cannabis is a category of plant of which both hemp and marijuana are members. Hemp is a variation of the plant bred to produce high levels of cannabidiol, commonly called CBD. Marijuana is a variation bred to produce high levels of tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. THC is the compound that delivers the “high” marijuana is known for. CBD is a different compound that doesn’t alter the user’s mental state but is believed to offer other health benefits. Of course, THC is also known to possess health benefits, hence the legalization of medical (and recreational) marijuana sweeping the nation. For a plant to be legally classified as hemp, it must contain .3% or less THC. CBD, present in quantities of anywhere between 5% and 19% in hemp, is extracted for use in tinctures, balms, vape cartridges, and a number of other products. Even pet shampoo.

Here’s where the issue gets sticky. The Food and Drug Administration has yet to come to any conclusions about CBD’s categorization or efficacy. Is it a drug? Is it a food supplement? The short answer is nobody knows and that is keeping business owners on edge. In the Greenbrier Valley, several companies are increasing production and selling CBD products to meet growing demand, but they’re anxious for the FDA to weigh in. 

“Anybody can put anything they want on a label right now. Until the FDA comes out with some regulations and incentives to follow the law—or punishments—it’s the wild, wild west out there,” says Darlene Zobrist of Appalachian Extracts in White Sulphur Springs. 

The company sells a line of tinctures, salves, lotions, hard candies, gummies, and bath bombs, but their primary focus is on extraction. This is the process by which CBD oil is extracted from the raw plant material. There are a few different methods by which this process can be achieved. Appalachian Extracts has invested in both a CO2 extractor and an ethanol extractor. 

Kinfolk Farms’ Indoor Grow House

Like Appalachian Extracts, Lynell Braught, PhD, of Dry Creek Farms also located in White Sulphur Springs, is proceeding cautiously with a line of CBD oil tinctures. 

“We have no idea what to do or how to stay legal,” he says of the FDA’s lack of guidance thus far. Braught grows a boutique crop of two strains of hemp. His high tunnel crop are clones, while a second experimental crop currently enjoying the well fertilized ground of his former chicken coop, was grown from seed. 

Braught’s tinctures can be found at the Lewisburg, White Sulphur Springs, and Pence Springs farmers markets. He is afforded the opportunity to sell at the markets because he is growing his own product, taking it from dirt to final application right here in the Greenbrier Valley. But his business isn’t limited to the local markets. 

“I have clients all the way from Seattle to Texas to Southern California to New York to Florida, and it’s all by word of mouth,” he says.  

Braught, who holds a doctorate in bioecological medical research, will be the first to say growing hemp isn’t easy. Because the plant has been hyper-bred to produce high levels of CBD and negligible levels of THC, it has what he calls “weak genetics.” The Ph of the soil and water must be controlled carefully. Further, only female plants can be cultivated. If male plants are introduced into the crop, pollination will occur which will raise the levels of THC and decrease the CBD. If that happens, a farmer’s crop is a loss. Bugs are another serious worry for hemp farmers, but Braught found a solution in his second growing season. 

“Last year I fought bugs on my hemp, big time,” he says. “This year, my tomato plants are being stripped of all their leaves, and my hemp is being left alone.” 

Braught points to the yellow tomatoes growing alongside the hemp in his high tunnel. Companion planting has saved him some worry this season and his wife loves yellow tomatoes. It’s a win-win. 

The Zobrists also know a thing or two about the struggles of growing hemp. They had been watching entrepreneurs in California and Colorado for a few years, taking notes on how to proceed when the West Virginia legislation passed. They spent time with extractors and growers in CO and decided to try their hand at indoor growing. Their thinking was that the controlled environment of a warehouse would make for an easier process. The opposite proved true. 

  “Frankly, nature takes care of a lot of things. Mother nature takes care of the bugs. She fixes the soil,” Darlene Zobrist says.

“We learned very quickly we’re not farmers. We didn’t want to go through that learning curve. There were plenty of people out there who knew exactly what to do,” she adds. Market demands—which, come to think of it, operate a little like Mother Nature—led the Zobrists into extraction. It was a niche they were able to fill in symbiosis with the farmers across the region. Appalachian Extracts’ goal is to become the main extractor within 500 miles. They’re not there yet, but with recent equipment investments and a solid team of about 15 employees who bring a wealth of knowledge with them, they’re on their way. 

Seedlings are ready to start growing.

(l to r) Adam Craten, Ralph Burns, and Clay Condon of Kinfolk Farms

Just north of White Sulphur Springs in Pocahontas County, Kinfolk Farms is also building momentum. Founded by Ralph Burns, Clay Condon, and Adam Craten, Kinfolk Farms is producing organically grown hemp biomass. Hemp holds enormous economic potential for the area, and Kinfolk Farms is committed to putting people to work. With that mission always at the forefront of their minds, the business partners also help smaller growers plant and harvest their crops.

The guys behind Kinfolk have a few years of trial and error under their belts which speaks to their recent momentum. Condon applied for a license in 2017 as soon as industrial hemp was legalized in the state. That first season was a struggle. 

“I was growing the wrong varieties because of the legal gray area of CBD. The Department of Agriculture wasn’t really advocating or recommending getting seeds from other states and that’s where all the best CBD cultivars have been developed,” Condon says. 

After that learning curve, he made a profit with his next season’s crop. At the same time, Craten was also growing hemp in Pocahontas County and turning a profit. He had spent a few years out west learning about medical-grade marijuana and best farming practices, something that gave him a leg up here in West Virginia where farmers were just beginning to understand how to wrangle the high-maintenance plant. Then, Condon and Craten decided they could do more together than separately. 

“Last winter, we got together with Ralph and talked about scaling it up, influencing a larger area, getting more farmers involved,” Condon says. Thus, Kinfolk Farms was born. 

“We all see the true value of what we have right here in Pocahontas County. We’re the birthplace of rivers. We believe in taking care of the land. We believe in community and doing things right,” Burns says.

They would like to move into the retail end of the industry, but they’re waiting on the FDA to land on a final rule before putting too much energy in that direction. In the meantime, they’re busy enough producing their biomass and contracting with farmers to help them get started. 

While the FDA is keeping businesses across the country—not just here—in limbo, unsure whether to label their products as a drug or a food supplement, these Greenbrier Valley start-ups are moving forward, staying within the lines of regulations as they exist today. They’re not taking a wait-and-see attitude because the market will be flooded by the time anyone knows how the cannabis issue will shake down in West Virginia. It seems everyone agrees it’s better to start and redirect as necessary. 

Both Zobrist and Braught who are navigating the mostly uncharted waters of CBD retail are adamant that consumers educate themselves. They are serious in urging customers to understand what’s in the products they are ingesting or applying. A good start is to ask about the difference between full spectrum CBD oil versus distillate and isolate, the extraction process employed, and what additives are in the product. 

As for room in the marketplace, there seems to be plenty for the time being. Everyone in the state is somewhere on the learning curve figuring out how they fit in the emerging economy. There are many niches on the continuum from growing, harvesting, drying, extracting, and merchandising that haven’t been filled. Zobrist recommends looking to Kentucky to get an idea of where West Virginia is headed. They’re moving a little faster, but the wave is coming this way. 

There’s good evidence hemp could be the answer to some of the state’s most confounding economic and public health woes, but we’ll have to wait and see.