by Mark Frieder

From the Hudson Valley to Erie County to the Bronx and well into Long Island, more than 560 New York growers have planted nearly 14,000 acres of hemp for CBD production. Two years ago, there were barely 100 state-licensed growers.

New York State has been working hard to come up with laws and guidelines for the hemp industry, which includes CBD products. Soon manufacturers, growers and sellers of hemp in New York will be subject to licensing to ensure that their products are labeled correctly and adhere to rigorous standards.

The state also has been working closely with researchers at New York universities, who in turn have been working with New York hemp farms, which are scattered throughout the state (including Westchester and Dutchess counties). Some growers do their own hemp processing and produce CBD products.

 

A State Snapshot

My company, CBD Source NY, has working relationships with many hemp growers and processors in New York. Here are a few:

1) Empire Hemp Company, in Batavia, creates quality, handcrafted CBD oils and topicals.  

2) Farther north is Castetter Sustainability Group, which works with small farms in the Binghamton area to produce high-quality hemp products. CSG is lead consultant for the industry and helps New York State create sensible hemp legislation.

3) Naturae, in Hoosick Falls, has been leading the way as one of the first hemp growers to have a C02 processing facility. It creates a variety of CBD products. 

4) Minard’s Family Farm, an apple farm in Clintondale, is now growing hemp. Jason Minard is also heavily involved in the hemp industry from a legal standpoint.

5) Hemp Productions Inc. has a farm adjacent to the Taconic Parkway in La Grangeville.

6) The Leaf did a small grow this year in Newburgh, for use in their own products. They have a nice shop in Beacon where they sell their products. 

7) Urban Xtracts, in Warwick, is currently building a state-of-the-art processing facility.

8) High Falls Hemp, another local grower, makes wonderful products that they sell through retailers in the area.

There are countless high-quality growers and manufacturers of CBD products in New York—so many that we really don’t have to buy out-of-state products. By patronizing these businesses, we are helping our neighbors who work in the industry. 

 

Poised for Growth

With the popularity of CBD products and last year’s federal farm bill legalizing industrial hemp sales, New York is well positioned to take advantage of the burgeoning market.  

In fact, CBD has the potential to be a billion-dollar industry in New York State, generating countless jobs and meaningful economic development. There are hemp crops in 56 of our 62 counties. (Dutchess County alone has 20 growers.) More than 100 state-licensed hemp processors now operate in New York.

New York also has become a seat of cutting-edge hemp science. Cornell’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, for example, is one of the nation’s foremost hemp researchers, and Binghamton University’s School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences is studying the use of CBD in prescription medicines.  

Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo, of Broome County, has led the state’s efforts to expand legislation promoting the hemp industry.  

“We passed a standalone bill to basically signal to our New York farmers and everyone involved in the supply chain that we mean to establish the highest quality program that protects consumers and gives farmers some surety,” she said.

 

Mark Frieder is president of CBD SOURCE NY. To learn more about CBD and hemp produced in New York State, or any of the growers listed, email [email protected].