Hello from the WAFBA headquarters here in Fort Collins, Colorado, remote, virtual, quasi-quarantined and in front of a screen like all of you.We were fully geared up heading into the 7th annual NoCo Hemp Expo originally scheduled for March 26-28 up until two weeks ago when the cascading effect of the Coronavirus started to hit the United States. It began for us at the Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim, California on March 2nd when the show got postponed right as we were standing in the hotel lobby as the event was about to begin.
Then SXSW canceled on Friday March 6th after holding out against the coming wave of pressure to call it off. Those two events in particular, along with a growing list of other factors, pushed us into a reorganizational and frenzied weekend followed by a late Monday morning announcement that we were rescheduling NoCo Hemp Expo and moving the date to August 6-8, 2020.
Since that announcement it has been nothing but more announcements of event cancellations, school closures, concert tours and festivals postponed, bars and restaurants shutting down, or only offering pick up and delivery, and life as we knew it, is rapidly changing for our entire society. Oh, and the economy is tanking faster than anything we’ve seen in our recent history. It has been a lot for all of us to believe and digest the last several weeks here in the U.S. and throughout the world.
Where will we go from here? That’s a good question and one that has a variety of answers based on a multitude of variables. Without getting long and drawn out on all the possibilities, we plan on fighting through this with like-minded friends, colleagues and partners, knowing that life and society will go on after the dust settles from this global pandemic.
For the hemp industry, which we’ll focus on here, still in its infancy, barely legal, with infrastructure and supply chain issues, over supply and pricing issues, regulatory and legislative issues, and on and on…it is important that we all still communicate, collaborate, and work towards the common goal of building a legitimate and functioning hemp industry. This legitimate and functioning hemp industry needs to be based on the principles of the amazing benefits this plant provides and that all of the advocates and activists have preached for years. That hemp can feed us, clothe us, house us, fuel us, heal us and help restore some balance to the planet.
More, now than ever, with the state we’re in today, it is proof that we all need local resources if our world shuts down. No other agricultural crop on earth can provide the amount of beneficial ingredients for food and supplements and high quality eco-friendly materials for industrial applications. For society today, there is no better time than now to look at correcting our deficiencies in relationship with the earth and we can start with this plant we call hemp.
Here at WAFBA, we are for better alternatives, and one of those is choosing optimism over pessimism. We hope you will do the same.
Thanks,
Morris Beegle, Elizzy Knight, Lori Buderus
We Are for Better Alternatives – WAFBA – is the parent company of the NoCo Hemp Expo, Let’s Talk Hemp Media and more. Cofounders Morris Beegle and Elizabeth Knight and CFO Lori Buderus, along with the entire WAFBA team, are excited to continue to inform and unite the hemp community. They’re also working hard on upcoming innovations including a Virtual Conference & Trade Show during Earth Week (beginning April 22); the Let’s Talk Hemp @ NoCo Hemp Expo Spring 2020 Digital Magazine, powered by Honeysuckle Magazine (due out on March 26); a new Let’s Talk Hemp Podcast premiering next week; a redesigned website; e-newsletter and more. In addition, the 7th annual NoCo Hemp Expo has been rescheduled to August 6-8, 2020, at the National Western Complex in Denver, CO.
@morrisbeegle @LetsTalkHemp @NoCoHempExpo @WAFBAofficial
News Briefs
Coronavirus Is Reducing Pollution Levels Around the World
By USA Today
USDA Secretary Calls Interim Rule a “Draft,” Sparking Industry Optimism
By Hemp Industry Daily
CBD Recommended to Support Immune Health
By New Hope Network
FDA Continues Public Comment Period on CBD “Indefinitely”
By CBD Today
HEADLINE NEWS
Associations Highlight Five Key Issues with FDA’s CBD Report
By Natural Products Insider
Florida Lawmakers Spar Over Who Can Sell Hemp Seeds
By The Miami Herald
Kentucky Based Atalo Holdings Blames “Confounding Regulatory Guidelines” in Filing for Bankruptcy
By Forbes
Idaho House Committee Kills State Hemp Legalization Bill
By The Idaho Press
Texas Hemp Law Creates Maze of Confusion: “It Changed the Definition of Marijuana”
By CBS Channel 11 News, Dallas-Fort Worth
Trade Show COVID-19 Disruptions Highlight Value of In-person Connections
By Natural Products Insider
FOOD, BEVERAGE & SUPPLEMENTS
Despite 4Q Decline, CV Sciences Posts 11% Rise in Sales to $53.7 Million in 2019
By Nutra ingredients-USA
Charlotte’s Web Launches New R&D Division
By Hemp Grower
Fiancé of Real Housewives of Atlanta Star to Open Hemp & CBD Store in Atlanta
By Bravo TV
FASHION, FIBER AND CONSTRUCTION
Levi’s Paul Dillinger Explains How Hemp Can Make Denim More Sustainable
By The Sourcing Journal
By Medium
By Hemp Grower
FARMING AND AGRICULTURE
Why Hemp Producers Should Use Biocontrols to Promote Sustainable Production
By Hemp Industry Daily
City of Medford, OR, Considers Ban on Growing Hemp Outdoors
By The Mail Tribune
Utah Greenhouse Hemp Grow Draws Nighttime Light Pollution Complaints
By St. George News
Hemp Supply Chain Dynamics Bring Opportunities and Challenges
By Natural Products Insider
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
New German Cannabis Association Embraces Hemp
By HempToday
Western Australia’s Hemp Industry Grows with First Seed Processing Facility
By The Hemp Gazette
Manufacturer Mirreco Plans to Change Future of Australian Housing with Hemp
By Jamie Durie’s Groundswell
CBD Stores a Fashionable Business in the U.K.
By The Brighton Journal
EVENTS
9th International Hemp Building Symposium, March 31 – April 1, 2020, York, U.K.
NoCo Hemp Expo EARTH WEEK Virtual Conference & Trade Show, Beginning April 22, 2020
Pet CBD & Wellness Expo Midwest, April 24-26, 2020, St. Louis, MO
NoCo Hemp Expo Expands 2020 Show at National Western Complex in Denver, August 6-8, 2020
Diversify Hemp Meetup at NoCo Hemp Expo, August 6-8, 2020
Pre-Order Your Copy of Doug Fine’s New Book, American Hemp Farmer
American Hemp Farmer, the sixth book from author Doug Fine, follows the rigors and pleasures of an entire hemp season from soil preparation and genetics acquisition through harvest and regenerative marketing. It’s immersive. It’s wildly funny. The follow up to Doug Fine’s bestselling Hemp Bound, American Hemp Farmer pulls no punches, and because it is written by an actual hemp farmer and entrepreneur, it tells you what you need to know if you want to join the hemp renaissance.
Pre-Order American Hemp Farmer Here
https://www.tatteredcover.com/
Subscribe to the Let’s Talk Hemp YouTube Channel
#LetsTalkHemp is the ultimate platform that focuses on “Changing the Cannabis Conversation”. We provide news, education, and information about Hemp and Cannabis to our viewers so that they can learn more about the industry and get tips and tricks on the latest technologies. Subscribe to our channel and learn about everything from legal updates, farming, production, and new products entering the Hemp & Cannabis space.
Mother Earth Gets a Breather As Society Shuts Down – Season 3, Episode 1
As the world comes suddenly to a halt there is some upside in the midst of all the chaos. As travel and industry decrease dramatically, carbon emissions slow down, the skies look better, and our Mother Earth gets a needed breather.
Join hosts Morris Beegle and Rick Trojan as they kick off Season 3, Episode 1, with special guest Paul Benhaim, cofounder of Hemp Plastic Company and Elixinol, to discuss the world of hemp plastics, the impact of coronavirus pandemonium, and some positive things happening in the world today.
Come find out why Forbes touted Let’s Talk Hemp and the 422 as “Top 8 Cannabis podcasts you need in your Life.”
Tune In Next Week
