On December 10th and 11th, the National Hemp Growers Cooperative will host its inaugural conference at the Vicksburg Convention Center.
Compared to hemp growers from states such as Kentucky, Colorado, Tennessee, or Alabama, the producers in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi have told the co-op leadership that they often feel behind the curve. The National Hemp Growers Cooperative is helping to close this gap with information and education that can help everyone from the experienced grower to the land owner looking to explore the hemp industry. “We are especially pleased our Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture Andy Gipson will be attending in person to interact with ag producers and entrepreneurs,” says Nick Walters, Founding Member of the National Hemp Growers Cooperative.
The Growers Conference will cover topics including:
- State of the Union of CBD
- Hemp for Energy
- Regulatory/Legal issues
- Growing, harvesting, & planting
- Business models & proformas
- Use of hemp fiber for paper, graphene, pet bedding, etc.
This year’s speakers include, among others:
- Mark Riedy, Partner, Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton. Riedy’s primary focus in his practice is on U.S. and international project development and finance and private placement representation of renewable and conventional energy, clean technology, environmental and infrastructure clients. He has counseled renewable and conventional energy clients doing business in over 50 countries.
- Hunter Robinson, attorney at Bradley Arant. Hunter’s legal practice includes representing highly-regulated businesses to solve problems for cannabis companies and the vendors that serve them.
- Janel Dena Ralph, CEO & Founder of Palmetto Harmony, the first vertically integrated, organically certified CBD line of products.
- Jonathan Miller, U.S. Hemp Roundtable General Counsel. Jonathan has emerged as one of the nation’s leading advocates for the legalization of hemp through his work with U.S. Hemp Roundtable, the hemp industry’s leading national business advocacy organization.
- Joy Beckerman, an internationally renowned hemp law and policy expert involved in the hemp industries for over a quarter of a century. Joy is the Principal at Hemp Ace International, a consulting, legal support, and expert witness firm serving the global community; as well as Director of Regulatory & Legal Affairs of Zilis, an international leader in superior quality hemp extract and CBD products; Co-Founder and Senior Advisor to Colorado Hemp Works, America’s first post-prohibition hemp grain processing facility; and the host of the popular podcast Hemp Barons.
- Ryan Doherty, Chief Executive Officer of Hemp Ventures, where he leads the sales and marketing activities as well as the development of new hemp-based products and processes for material production.
- John Lupien, Chief Innovation Officer of Hemp Ventures. With over 30 years of experience in hemp related research, businesses, and technology development, John drives innovation and guides strategy at Hemp Ventures.
- Cary Black, Chairman of ASTM D37.06 Personnel, Training, Assessment, and Credentialing.
- Andy Gipson, Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce. As a farmer, lawyer, pastor, and former State Representative, Andy works to promote, market, and strengthen agriculture and commerce in the state.
- Nikki Fried, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Nikki is a lifelong Floridian, attorney, and passionate activist.
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, NHGC has added the option for virtual attendance. While the Convention Center is in full compliance with the state’s COVID meeting mandate, NHGC added this option so that everyone can attend comfortably. Every attendee, whether in-person or virtual, will receive all recordings of the conference. Each presenter will be live, so each attendee can as questions and be fully interactive. The conference schedule is full of valuable information from Alabama Extension’s Hemp Working Group, top industry experts and opinion leaders, insiders on the Biden-Harris administration, legal experts, authorities on the hemp fiber market, and more.
For more information on the inaugural National Hemp Growers Conference, visit nationalhempcoop.us/conference.
