Cool Planet, an agricultural technology company focused on soil health solutions, has partnered with Gray Farm Maple LLC, a progressive farming operation in Denmark, Maine to conduct trials of Cool Terra® Organic on outdoor grown industrial hemp.
"The trial is taking place on farmland in the western lakes region of Maine, and the results will measure changes in plant yield and overall plant Cannabidiol (CBD) content," the team with the company explains. Cool Planet has completed over 125 independent agricultural field trials across a wide variety of crops and this is its first trial on industrial hemp. “Industrial hemp is quickly becoming the next cash crop within the agricultural sector. We’re excited to partner with a company that is helping give farms more tools to take advantage of this tremendous opportunity,” said Cool Planet CEO Jim Loar. “Based on the significant number of independent trials we have conducted, we believe applying Cool Terra® Organic to the root zone of hemp plants has the ability to increase the yield and thus overall CBD content, making the crop even more valuable than it already is today.”
The trial is being conducted as a randomized complete block, replicated design where the acreage is divided into 24 rows to account for any soil variation in the field. The field will use plasticulture and drip tape, with Cool Terra® Organic applied at the root zone. When it’s time to harvest, the control and Cool Terra® yields will be measured in dry weight, and the CBD output will be measured after CO2 extraction.
“We are excited to partner with Cool Planet to better understand how their biochar-based soil amendment may impact the output, and environmental sustainability of industrial hemp farming,” said Gray Farm Maple President Barry Kallander. “Hemp offers a tremendous opportunity for farmers across the country, but due to the crop’s high carbon footprint, we must find ways to make it more sustainable. We think Cool Terra® could be a helpful tool because of its ability to increase yield, reduce water use, sequester carbon, and improve soil health.”
Cool Terra® products are ones of the most studied biochar-based soil amendments on the market today, and the company has developed a best-in-class trial program to understand its benefits and prove its efficacy. They have partnered with over 50 independent third-party university or agricultural researchers, who have conducted more than 125 trials over the past four growing seasons on over 40 different crops. The trials have shown that Cool Terra® products support soil vitality and delivers, on average, a 12.3% improvement in marketable yield when compared to the grower standard while generating a greater than 3:1 grower return on investment.
For more information:
Cool Planet
6400 S. Fiddlers Green Circle
Suite 1300
Greenwood Village, CO 80111
303-221-2029
coolplanet.com