Frederick Cawthon is leading Tennessee's hemp resurgence. The experience he's gained running his hemp farming company, Hemp Tenn LLC makes him the obvious choice to lead the state's association. He speaks to Joy Beckerman about his new role as President of the Tennessee state chapter of the Hemp Industry Association. Produced by PodCONX https://podconx.com/guests/frederick-cawthon
Frederick Cawthon is leading Tennessee's hemp resurgence. The experience he's gained running his hemp farming company, Hemp Tenn LLC makes him the obvious choice to lead the state's association. He speaks to Joy Beckerman about his new role as President of the Tennessee state chapter of the Hemp Industry Association.
https://podconx.com/guests/frederick-cawthon
Dan Humiston: [00:00:07] Welcome to another episode of Hemp Barons, I'm Dan Humiston. And on today's show, Joy travels to Tennessee to speak to the driving force behind the state's Hemp resurgence. This Hemp Barons is taking time from his thriving Hemp farming enterprise to lead the state as its newly elected president of the Tennessee chapter of the Hemp Industry Association. Let's join Joy's conversation with Frederick Cawthorn from Hemp Tense.
Joy Beckerman: [00:00:39] Well, Fred, thank you so much for being with us on Hemp Barons today.
Fredrick Cawthon: [00:00:43] Thank you, Joy. It's an honor to be here.
Fredrick Cawthon: [00:00:46] You are hailing from the great state of Tennessee, a real leader in the emerging Hemp industry here. And in fact, I've had multiple leadership roles in the reemergence of the crop in Tennessee. Well, Fred, you've created this company, Hemp 10, with the experience and the inspiration and the many, many relationships that you develop. Tell us what PEN is doing. What is the Henton business?
Fredrick Cawthon: [00:01:12] So they Hemp Tenn. Business is a vertically integrated company. We're focused on creating great products, advancing the understanding and knowledge of the plant and creating technology in this space.
Joy Beckerman: [00:01:26] And boy, do you do that in spades. The outreach efforts and frankly, the amount of production that you're doing this year is just so impressive. And Tennessee is so lucky to have you with part of that growing industry really taking the lead. Clearly, you have a vision and an understanding of what this plant can do. The promise and potential of all of the industries that Hemp serves and the people, all of the people that it served. What brought you the Hemp?
Fredrick Cawthon: [00:01:53] So really, to even start that discussion, have to kind of start with my background. So for 20 years, I've been exposed and leading national and international efforts in the product and program management round focused on defining strategy, execution and leading go to market strategy efforts for various consumer products. About six years ago. Well, even before then, my mom is living with dementia, just watching and being frustrated as a family not fully unable to spend in the disease. How to support her because you really don't have a lot of groups or networks to be involved with. So six years ago, I was fortunate enough to watch Sanjay Gupta and the Stanley Brothers talking about a new strain that was happening Charlotte and with her epilepsy. And I'm setting out clearly that night. And Lord, if that can help Charlotte, why can this plant my mother? Because it's all brain related. And so from that point on, I started first just going online, finding whatever information I could find. Fast forward three years later, after being D-PA off into the industry. As far as making connections, I was made aware of the Tennessee Hemp Industry Association. Once I walked in the door, it was like literally often run and volunteer and participate in just whatever I could do to not only I don't call it a movement.
Fredrick Cawthon: [00:03:25] This is a ministry. How can we move the ministry? And so was that said by 2017. I already saw the opportunity and now the expansion was going to be in 2019. That's why I put pen the pad, start developing out the business plan, pulling an awesome team that we have most locally, but also have some guys that relocated from Colorado. Everyone has some level of type of industry experience. I'm the only one that's kind of the oddball who just can't afford the product around. However, I spent last year's season gone with good friend of mine, Jim Douglas, with sticky tomato on the ground getting my hands dirty just so I could be in a position this year for us to pull everyone together. Guys relocate and let's hit our action plan this year. So we're in our first grow season in the midst of hovers right now. Everything is looking well for a startup company. We did take on what some would probably feel was a large amount of acreage. We grew eighty seven acres this year.
Joy Beckerman: [00:04:33] And did you grow four extract at Hemp? Or did you grow for fiber or seed or a communist?
Fredrick Cawthon: [00:04:39] Great question. We are growing for CBB and smokeable. Flowers sell for extraction. We have biomass and then we also will be distributing smokeable, flower and rose.
Joy Beckerman: [00:04:53] And how many people are working for you right now? Do you have a farm manager or are you the farm manager for that 87 acres?
Fredrick Cawthon: [00:05:01] We have 37 employees and all. Wow. We you know, and I consider it as a pilot year. I know most people consider a 5, 10, 15 acre pilot. But for us to be able to understand what it meant to scale, we had to create a large enough footprint that we could see a lot of variation having over 40000 plants in the field to see the different varieties which we want with seedlings versus clones. So just with that type of path, you're going to see a lot more variation. Plus, it allows us to bring in. This first year came and we overstaffed it from a workforce standpoint to one, be able to our boots on the ground, nail down our processes, but then be able to identify that core team that we can then build with next year's like training count and football. You pull in a whole bunch of people and then you pick out the team that you want to roll with for the next season as a luxury to be able to do that.
Joy Beckerman: [00:06:03] And I'm sure that it's never easy to get funding and a luxury to be able to do the job. Because this is a wise way to sort of call through or weed them out, no pun intended. And eighty seven acres, you have the p_h_d_ practically in Hemp after growing that many acres with the different varieties and with that huge of the labor force. So how are you harvesting like crazy right now?
Fredrick Cawthon: [00:06:26] We are harvesting like crazy right now. We had six strains this year. And so it's a staggered grow and then even two of our varieties are late season varieties. So we will be harvesting through it in October 1st of November.
Joy Beckerman: [00:06:43] Man And do you have contract yet for your beautiful goods or you're going to be looking for those or already are actively looking for those.
Fredrick Cawthon: [00:06:51] So we do have a contract for a majority of the biomass, plus we're looking for other opportunities if the price point is better. We'll definitely talk to you. So definitely hit us up. Also in conversations right now, if a couple of vendors on selling in our smokeable, our pre rose and then we are mid November launching an e-commerce site, we're in the process of actually rebranding the company. We're coming out with a new brand called Virge Agritech. It's V.E. RGV A sheet, our I.T. DCH. So we kind of looked at the marketplace and sand literally. We learned out the gate to the marketplace. We're planning it's a little bit bigger and Hemp 10. So we're rebranding that plus coming out with a whole new product line that will include our product, plus some other products that we'll be branding on the site.
Joy Beckerman: [00:07:51] You're pretty blessed in that in Tennessee there is a green light for smokeable Hemp flower. It's not that case in every state. So really.
Joy Beckerman: [00:08:00] Tennessee Department of AG and the legislature, they're giving farmers real cover. They opening up that market for them and allowing some revenue to be generated. And, of course. Tell us a little bit about why people might prefer smokeable flower over cigarettes or marijuana.
Fredrick Cawthon: [00:08:17] Well, first, you got to cross in ensuring that you don't have the same levels that you have in cigarettes. And then there's the calming effect that you are getting the benefits of having CBD versus what I'll call garbage that you find and cigarettes for sure. And it's just a much cleaner product.
Joy Beckerman: [00:08:36] Did you buy the mchinery to do these pre rolls or are folks doing them by hand? How is that working?
Fredrick Cawthon: [00:08:42] So we are buying pre-Roe machine to do the work force. We may come out with a hand roll on. That would be a premium line, but out the gate we're using machines.
Joy Beckerman: [00:08:54] You have also done some work with the researchers there. Am I correct? With a particular university in Tennessee or another research institution?
Fredrick Cawthon: [00:09:04] You know, it takes a village to start a company. Not only a shout out to awesome investors who have created the space for us to go out and create value in this new industry. But we also have a partnership with Land College, which which is a local HPC college in Jackson, Tennessee. Our company is headquartered in Nashville. However, operations are in Humboldt, in Jackson, Tennessee. The reason I went west is I'm originally from Jackson and wanted to be able to bring something back to my community and help bring jobs to where my family was originally from. One of the colleges that were available for blacks and minorities to attend was playing college. And one of my aunts is an alumni from Lahm, and so we were connected with them early on. They not only wanted to work with us on research activity, but bringing in 30 H-2A workers to be able to support the farm. I was needing a place to house my workers and Elaine stepped up to the plate and offered facilities that were not in use for us to house our workers. So it's been over the top opportunity to partner with the college.
Joy Beckerman: [00:10:28] Now that just gave me goose bumps. That's agricultural revolution in permaculture that social and political and economic. Vermiculture. So your workers then, as part of this project, which is a shared responsibility between the stakeholders, the researcher, the regulators and the lawmakers as we deliver the re-emergence again of this promising prop. They are housing your workers at Lane College that was out the gate.
Fredrick Cawthon: [00:10:56] We've now been able to take over an entire apartment complex. So we just recently moved our workers into the apartment complex, but still have that active relationship with the school. The apartment complex just gave us a long term opportunity to scale up workers if needed as needed versus having to expend additional resources from the school.
Joy Beckerman: [00:11:21] Wow. While the relationships that you are developing and the dots that you are connecting, we are so lucky to have you in the movement here.
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Joy Beckerman: [00:12:51] Well, as you know, Fred, and the president of the National Hemp Industries Association founded in 1994.
Joy Beckerman: [00:12:58] Truly the nation's premier Hemp Trade Association, having also sued the DEA four times, arguably one, three and a half times, and the nation's brain trust for Hemp. You have recently come the president of the Tennessee chapter of the Hemp Industry Association, is that correct?
Fredrick Cawthon: [00:13:16] That is correct. I officially take over in November 1st. It goes without say that we would not be where we are without the leadership of Joe Kirkpatrick, who has done an excellent job building up the base and establishing a market here in Tennessee. It's also worth noting that the Tennessee chapter was started by our very own Colling Kuzey NERA, the executive director.
Joy Beckerman: [00:13:42] They try our MVP.
Fredrick Cawthon: [00:13:44] Yeah, exactly. Well, it all started here in Tennessee. I love it. I love her. And also my vice president, which is Clint Palmer here in Karl-Heinz, were the first two members who partnered together to actually establish the Tennessee Hemp Industry Association. We have a lot of very thought leaders in the states.
Joy Beckerman: [00:14:08] You most certainly do. And I remember ground zero when that happened, because I had met Colleen at a Hemp Industries Association annual conference. And we're about to have our twenty sixth annual Hemp Industries Association conference in Charlotte, North Carolina this year. But I met her at 1:00 in Washington, D.C. She took the HIV by storm and we her as a capital the very next day, talking with her legislators and making moves there. And then I was able to meet Clint at a Hemp Creek workshop taking place in Berthaud, Colorado, in, I believe two thousand and fourteen, the fall of 2014. And Pauline with there also and there was much talk at that time about starting the Tennessee chapter of the CIA. And they really did an amazing job getting that going. And it's actually one of the most active chapters that we have. My understanding is that your monthly meetings sometimes run three hours. They have over 100 people. Is that correct?
Fredrick Cawthon: [00:15:10] That is correct. And we get as high as 300 people.
Joy Beckerman: [00:15:14] I mean, brother, you are chopping the wood and carrying the water and continuing on that vision and that work in such a huge way. And now it's just exponential. So there weren't so many licensed farmers and so much activity. And certainly the 2018 farm bill hadn't passed. Originally when the chapter was formed. So there was all of that work to establish it, to get it together. Joe Kirkpatrick then comes in and Clint stays, of course, call me and then moves on to national leadership and gets married. Joe continues to connect those dots, put farmers in touch with manufacturers, and the education events and outreach is just tremendously impressive. And again, with Clint and also Cody Fields and I consider, by the way, Clint Palmer and Cody Fields of Tennessee to be really our nation's foremost leaders, integrated pest management and the understanding of pest specific to the Hemp crops of so much valuable information. They're absolutely thrilled that you now are taking the reins. They're being passed on to you to drive us into the sunshine. And now the pressure's really on because now, boom, we're an agricultural commodity. And once we can finally get the USDA to finalize some regulations here. And the state of Tennessee submits its new plan next year will be a whole nother situation. We'll be out of agricultural research, pilot programs and into agricultural commodities with federal crop insurance. What are you thinking about for next year, Fred?
Fredrick Cawthon: [00:16:45] We're actually already in the midst of planning. We're very closely tied in and working to progressively move the state by working with Tennessee Department of Agriculture, our state legislators. And also, I have to mention the Tennessee Growers Coalition, because Joe is not going anywhere. He will be leading the Political Action Committee PAC that we have here in a state which is to Tennessee grows coalition. And so we've had our first task force at the State Legislative Plaza this past Tuesday, where we're already meeting with the representatives to define one. What are the items that we already have on the table that we want to pursue, such as in 2020, we want to have a drug testing protections for him and CBD products that would prevent employers from just outright firing someone because there was THC in their analysis. Also working with the TBI. Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. They're coming out with ISO certified test kit that will be available that can distinguish between what levels of THC that you have. So one of the opportunities for the 20 20 session is to actually define what is the limit that we're considering legal within those tests. We're also pursuing one percent on the THC level in the state of this coming year.
Fredrick Cawthon: [00:18:19] That's just a few items on the legislative side as far as the community and all our stakeholders. Number one, we want to make sure that we're empowering, activating and expanding on our base. We've done a great job with bringing in farmers and we have a few processes, ancillary services and then retail. But we really want to bring more of those entities into the fold, have them more financial people, not only membership, but, Catherine, to those communities for advisers, the legal community, having those type professionals disciplines as part of our trade organization. Then on the education side, we want to be able to put in place additional sub chapters within the state. Right now, we're I have 300 people that will come mostly from across the state to Nashville, Tennessee. And I'm a southern boy raised in the church. I know from a church perspective, people feed a locally. And then there's the state organization. So we want to expand the footprint that we have across the state. So we have 300 coming on a Friday in Nashville. We're going to have 15, 18 hundreds if we had satellite sites across the state where people can get that same level of information. Plus, that's a part of empowering our base.
Joy Beckerman: [00:19:45] Absolutely, Fred. And on the founding president of both the Washington and the New York chapters of the ACA. And so we use Zut so that we can a people can join remotely from across the huge state of New York. I live in New York now and so started that chapter. And we do move our monthly meetings around so that we can have an opportunity to be in the physical space. Obviously, developing those relationships and nurturing those relationships on the local level, as you so articulately described it for folks is so important. Those are definitely ways in sub chapters are, of course, another way to do that when you have so much membership. The Tennessee chapter is far more established than New York. So you've got all these members and could actually move into that regional sort of sub chapter, whereas we as a board move our physical bodies around so that we can physically be in different locations and for different educational events.
Joy Beckerman: [00:20:41] I love that that's your thinking and that that's what you want to do. And the vision for the chapter. You certainly have the membership to implement that as soon as part of a season's over, as it were. Brother and I also just wanted to mention to the listeners to get a movement going, which is why Joe is doing the growers organization. We need both Bible when Seasick Freight Association.
Joy Beckerman: [00:21:05] These are categorizations within the Internal Revenue Service of the Department of the Treasury for the Hemp Industries Association, and its chapters are five or one sixth trade associations, but advocacy organizations are five on one C4. And because they have different role, different limitations and restrictions and permissions so they can focus almost entirely on advocacy and lobbying and so on and so forth. Whereas a five on one trade association has limitations in terms of how much lobbying it can do and it certainly cannot endorse a candidate and so on and so forth. So the five twenty six thousand five twenty fourth work together. So that's happening on state levels as it is in Tennessee. It happens on the national level for years though. Hemp with the HIV AIDS advocacy partner. And then within the last year and a half or so, we now have the U.S. Hemp roundtable and Hemp supporter dot org as our advocacy partner. And I also want to make sure the listeners know that we need you to join this growing group. We serve over eighteen hundred members nationally. Obviously, hundreds of them are coming from the great state of Tennessee under that tremendous leadership.
Joy Beckerman: [00:22:20] And all you need to do is go to join him dot org to join the Hemp Industries Association. So tell me also, how about a vision for the company next year? Is there anything you can share? I hear you're going through a rebrand in your. You're brilliant guy, so you may not be able to share everything you're thinking, but any changes for next year for Hemp 10?
Fredrick Cawthon: [00:22:41] So there are quite a few deals that we're looking at and talking through with various venture partners. Space. But as far as what I can share, we do plan on scaling from that 80 acres plus approximately 300 acres next year. Also, a big focus for us will be how to scale without losing the quality of the product. And so we want to be able to be a commercial size grow, but still have the attention to detail that you see in a 14 acre row. Also, we will be expanding into the indoor grow, not only for flower, but what we see forthcoming in the next three years is the fiber market really taken hold and sell. Some of that research that we're really wanted to spend capital on is related to how do we get the right genetics in place, not only for flower, but definitely for fiber, because most of our genetics right now are primarily coming from the West Coast, which is a totally different climate. Out to all of those variables with different a lot of our research dollars initially will be focused on how do we create plants back in Spain, the different type of pest humidity etc that we encounter in our region.
Joy Beckerman: [00:24:09] Absolutely. That's the real work that is being done here. So, so important. Well, Fred, as always, it is a huge pleasure to talk to you. I learned something new. Several things new. Every time I do speak with you and I know you have a huge message and a huge knowledge base. Is there anything that you would like the listeners to know before we part today?
Fredrick Cawthon: [00:24:31] I would just like to say thank you for having our company on the show today. That's Hemp Chin, LLC. And we will be launching on their Web website, On the Verge Agritech as the R.G. A G R ITC dot com. Thank you.
Joy Beckerman: [00:24:48] We are going to be watching Hemp tenn and we are absolutely going to be watching Virge Agritech and I can't wait till our next encounter. So thank you for everything you do for him everyday.
Fredrick Cawthon: [00:24:57] Brother, thank you for the decades of service to the ends. We would not be here without you.
Joy Beckerman: [00:25:02] Joy takes an army. And thank you again, brother. We'll see you soon in Tennessee.
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