Hemp Farm Expenses to Consider Now

Hemp farm expenses that are unexpected can easily leave you on the edge of despair. Unforeseen money pits along the way can quickly end your hempire dreams from the first harvest. Unfortunately, though crop insurance is finally more readily available for hemp farmers, there are other big expenses beyond an Act of God that could effectively put any hemp farmer deep in the red.

Here are a few tips to ensure your hemp farm expenses remain under budget every time.

Tip 1: Sell Your Crop Before it Grows

Ensuring your hemp harvest is sold before planting the first seed is crucial for ensuring a profitable hemp farming endeavor. Find biomass buyers before growing season to help you plan several things. To begin, determine which kind of hemp crop you will plant. THC thresholds differ between locations. As such, you must know these limits as you track hemp plant development.

However, pre-sales, if you can obtain them, are also handy for another reason. Specifically, it provides farmers with clearer expectations come harvest season. In doing, every step that follows can follow a more precise budget.

Tip 2: Pre-Plan the Distribution Chain

Another way to maintain a strong-hold on your hemp farm expenses is to plan your entire supply chain distribution map before harvesting any crops. Understand the timing and expenses involved in getting your newly harvested hemp to the end client, and ink a deal as soon as possible. This process should also shed light on problem areas and gaps along the way, not to mention any unforeseen hemp farm expenses that may arise. Additionally, it also means farmers have a good understanding of risks like crop degradation (and as a result price), along the entire distribution route from farm to sale.

Tip 3: Plan Irrigation Carefully

Irrigation expenses are often one of the biggest, earliest, unforced errors hemp farmers commonly overlook. Moreover, this outbound cash flow can easily ruin a business in its first grow season. Understand your property’s grow rights and infrastructure plus the price for water via municipal sources before you begin your first cultivation.

Tip 4: Test Your Hemp as it Grows

Do not rely solely on lab reports from seed brokers. According to Eco-Farming Daily, this is one of the easiest ways to get in deep water fast. Consider asking for at least three separate, independent analyses each time you buy hemp seeds.

Do not skimp on this first, basic test! Moreover, do not skimp on seeds at all, and be sure to retain the certifications for every hemp crop. Failure to do so will almost certainly cost you a fortune with at least one crop you cannot legally sell.

Tip 5: Create a Certification Strategy.

The industry is still legalizing, and state regulations are still, literally, all over the map. However, this is no excuse for any hemp farmer not to get certified from the beginning.

To begin, growers must procure hemp licensing within their state or tribal territory. Other hemp certifications are mandatory, as well, though. Gaining these licenses will create a vibrant hemp market for those who can meet the required standards. For example, you may decide that a medical market strategy is the safest route to go. Though this can be a lucrative option, this route mandates higher certification requirements (and expenses) including federal medical and organic certification. However, those who meet these requirements and hemp farm expenses can sell their products easier to both customers and investors.

Tip 6: Don’t Romanticize Your crop

If you cannot sell your hemp flower to a direct buyer, you can always repurpose and sell plant biomass for extract purposes. Remember, this is a business. If your facility cannot produce high-quality hemp flower regularly, it may be time to reshape a basic business model.

Tip 7: Ask For Help

Most hemp farmers in the modern cannabis industry do not hail from generations of farming families. Indeed, most are learning about how to cultivate hemp as they go. But such does not need to be the case. Whether you’re just starting out or you hit an unexpected snag along the way, there is always help right around the corner. When necessary, always ask for help from a reputable hemp farming consultant.

Final Thoughts About Hemp Farm Expenses

Still unsure about hemp farm expenses and how to address them promptly? Contact our team of hemp farming experts. We’d love to help you find success in your next hemp farming endeavor.