BY MIKEL WEISSER
Hemp Inc. one of the world’s largest hemp/CBD companies is joining in AZ’s new hemp-driven green rush and will host a “hempathon” in Mohave County to generate public interest in the possibilities of hemp.
The multi-national company founded in 2008 has been a leader in both hemp production and CBD sales, but also serves as a key player in educating the public to the potential of hemp. Hemp Inc. hopes the Mohave County event will capture national attention and is billing the competition as the “first Great American Hempathon ever to be held in the modern-day history of Hemp.” The company has been filming the event docuseries called “The Modern Day History of Hemp.” Some cameras are streaming 24/7, which literally gives new meaning to “watching the grass grow.”
The event is being held at Veterans Village Kins Community in the Golden Valley area of Mohave County, between Bullhead City and Kingman. The 500 acre “ecovillage” will have 300 acres set up for hemp farming. Contestants will be assigned five-acre plots to grow CBD yielding hemp.
Farmers had to start from scratch and even design their own irrigation systems. The entry fee is $10,000, plus farmers will have to provide their own seeds (estimated to run $18,000 per acre). Growers are also required to donate a portion of their profits to a veterans’ group.
But the ROI should be significant for farmers wanting to take the chance. “We have seen farmers make from $50,000 – $300,000 per acre” the website boasts. Hemp Inc. has already been posting the progress of the competition.
“After talking to many growers and potential participants, we’ve reduced the entry fee to $10,000 from the original $50,000 cost previously reported and the revenue split will be 60% for the grower and 40% to Hemp, Inc. (originally a 50/50 split). This makes it easier for more people to participate. Our goal is to help the small family farms and those who don’t necessarily have a big budget. This takes away the barriers to entry,” says Hemp, Inc. CEO, Bruce Perlowin.
Perlowin sees the project as part of the unfinished business of the “Hippie Generation.” “What we didn’t do in the ’60s, we’ll do in our 60s,” Perlowin says. The entrepreneur once spent nine years in prison for cannabis smuggling.
Proceeds from the eventual hemp sales with be split between Hemp Inc and the Golden Valley vet group that started the Veterans Village. To visit the remote location, Arizonans need to drive north out of Kingman on Highway 93 towards Vegas. At mile marker 45 (Cottonwood Road) turn west in 2 1/2 miles onto Amana Street and go south exactly 5 miles.