The majority of hemp farmers grow their plants outdoors. However, unlike other plants, cannabis is known to absorb the toxins from the soil. At the same time, growing outdoors means that plants are particularly susceptible to uncontrollable environmental conditions, and to pest pressure. These are just some of the reasons why some cannabis operators have complained about hemp batches which were contaminated, or did not comply with regulations. One way to avoid this would be to grow hemp indoors. White Buffalo Hemp Company has a little over two dozen hemp farms nationwide, but most interestingly, they also have a 40,000 sq.ft. indoor facility where they grow hemp.
“As of now, there are so many acres of licensed production,” Chad M. Black, Founder and CEO of White Buffalo, says. “I have seen that a lot of people in this sector lack the knowledge on the plant, on how to grow it properly, especially for the medical market, how to harvest it, and so on. Thing is, cannabis is not like a traditional commodity.”
White Buffalo team on a farm in Montrose, CO
Not a traditional commodity
Chad is very much aware of what growing cannabis entails, and what needs to be addressed to ensure top quality and consumer confidence. “For instance, we developed a proprietary track-and-trace technology we affectionately call Kilo & Company. This ensures full transparency of the whole supply chain. From seed to sale, that is.” This surely allows White Buffalo’s customers to be guaranteed of the quality of hemp products they are purchasing. “As soon as the 2018 Farm Bill was approved, we knew that many operators were going to jump into this space. Thus, we wanted to differentiate ourselves from the get-go, and one of the things we addressed is exactly the need of transparency for the supply chain. It's much more than track-and-trace...we're more about being market leaders in what we call Transparent Tracking. Because when you are an honest broker you care about all ripples and their effects.”
Kilo and Company's QR based tracking framework
Growing hemp indoors
Chad continues to explain that White Buffalo grows hemp also in an indoor facility to produce seed and extraction materials. “The difference between cannabis and hemp is just political,” he points out. “Therefore, whether it be hemp or cannabis, it doesn’t matter when it comes to growing indoors. The things that need to be taken into consideration are exactly the same.”
White Buffalo indoor grow, CO
For instance, Chad highlights the importance of big data: “When you are dealing with such large-scale cultivation, data is of the utmost importance. This is because you need to create a sort of ecosphere within the grow room, and you need to monitor everything at scale. This is also why automation is key. For instance, we use it for plant nutrients and water delivery, to calibrate the ‘sunlight’, and to set up the light deprivation. When dealing with such large operations, you want to reduce labor and prioritize efficiency.” The end result being top quality compliant production.
Kilo and Company's mobile first app screenshots
The future of the hemp side of the industry
According to Chad, the future of hemp will be slightly different compared to that of high THC cannabis. “I think that hemp, as a whole, is going to move down to a true nutraceutical classification,” he observes. “We are about to start clinical trials as well, with an operational analytical lab inside a hospital system where we’ll have access to real-time patient data and outcomes-based data for those consuming. We have always wanted to be at the cutting edge of this space, that’s what has been driving us all along - to be impactful. That is why we think that with all the current issues about contaminated, or ‘hot’, hemp, we are going to focus on purification and formulation.”
White Buffalo's back end tracking super sacks; powered by Kilo
“We are finalizing some tech to get a truly pure product. At the same time, the whole plant experience will be paramount for consumption and treatment. Hemp will be widespread in many market sectors, and we, a hemp company at heart, will always lead the way.”
For more information:
White Buffalo
385 S. Pierce Ave Suite G
Louisville, CO 80027
+1 888-510-2392
whitebuffalohemp.com