Illinois Hemp Growers Association
On January 8th, 2020, Rachel spoke at the Illinois Specialty Crop Conference. Thanks to everyone who attended. The feedback form is now available on the Illinois Specialty Growers Association website. For those who didn't attend, check out this amazing lineup of local speakers! You will be able to find them all individually at more upcoming hemp events this year throughout the State.
Speaking of amazing lineups, there is an upcoming hemp symposium hosted by SIU! View the agenda here. The event will be the first of its kind in the region. Vendor tables, advertising deals, and general admission tickets are a bargain and they're all available now. Event page will be launching soon. For more information please contact Nathan Guinzy at nathaneguinzy@gmail.com
And if you're in that region in Illinois, it may be helpful for you to know that Kaycha Labs in Kentucky is a DEA certified testing lab nearby and ready to serve your needs for the 2020 season. You can learn more by contacting:
Mick Tarullo
President and CEO Kentucky
P: 502-444-2044
C: 502-645-2763
On January 10th and 11th, 2020, Rachel went to the Midwest iHemp Expo in Lansing, Michigan. She brought her hempcrete demonstration workshop to the Expo Hall and had a great response from the crowd. The feedback form is now available on the Expo's website
We debuted our 1/12 scale model of a hempcrete building at the event. There was a lot of excitement surrounding the Illinois Hemp Growers Association booth as more than 1,000 people over two days discussed potential business opportunities involving hemp fiber after seeing the demonstration.
Rachel also got to meet representatives from the USHBA, the Midwest Hemp Council, and iHemp Michigan. The IHGA is making strides to promote the hemp industry along with these organizations. More details to come.
On Thursday February 13th at 6:30pm, the IHGA will host its first membership meeting in Princeton, IL. Chris, Rachel, and all Dues-paying members in attendance will gather to discuss new business and vote on the future priorities of the IHGA. The meeting is open to all dues-paying members. We will be announcing the winner of the $100 gift basket of 100% hemp goods at the meeting. If you want to attend the meeting and be entered into the drawing for the gift basket, you can pay your dues here.
The Illinois Hemp Growers Association is proud to announce it's first sponsor, PathogenDX. Recently we were featured in a press release to help create awareness of the need for product purity standards in the hemp industry. PathogenDX offers new tech to make it easier, less expensive and much faster to test for microbials.
Phillip Alberti from the University of Illinois Extension has created a needs assessment that you can fill out to aid the progress and focus of industrial hemp education and research in the State. Fill out the form here. Tools like these that enable people to make their voices heard are why hemp in Illinois is great - thanks Phillip!
Did you know that now is the best time to get your seed? There's a thread going on the forum about getting a seed buying co-op together. Read more here.
We have had a number of seed suppliers reach out to us recently with the latest stocks of new seed for 2020 and will be adding their information to our collection over the coming weeks. If you're ready to start browsing, here's a couple catalogs to get you started. If you're a seed supplier and have a catalog or flyer you'd like to add to the collection please send it our way and we'll update our members about the addition.
Yesterday, IDOA Director John Sullivan resigned over an email scandal dating back to 2012. Gov. Pritzker requested and received the resignation. Although this means a change in leadership at the Illinois Department of Agriculture, the dedicated staff who helped make Illinois hemp great in 2019 are still going to be there each day working to serve you.
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