Tonia Farman's years working for non-profits prepared her for when she joined her husband to launch their hemp food company. Understanding how to collaborate with the other industry stakeholders has been an essential tool that she's used to establish Queen of Hearts as a premiere hemp food company. Tonia speaks with Joy Beckerman about the challenges they've had to overcoming to get hemp foods accepted for both human and animal consumption. Produced by PodCONX https://podconx.com/guests/tonia-farman
Tonia Farman's years working for non-profits prepared her for when she joined her husband to launch their hemp food company. Understanding how to collaborate with the other industry stakeholders has been an essential tool that she's used to establish Queen of Hearts as a premiere hemp food company. Tonia speaks with Joy Beckerman about the challenges they've had to overcoming to get hemp foods accepted for both human and animal consumption.
https://podconx.com/guests/tonia-farman
Dan Humiston: [00:00:09] Welcome to another episode of Hemp Barons. I'm Dan Humiston in on today's show. This bear in from the Pacific Northwest, along with her husband, are collaborating with Hemp entrepreneurs to advance Hemp food and nutrition for both people and animals. Let's join Joy's conversation with Tonya Fireman from Queen of Hearts.
Joy Beckerman: [00:00:35] Well, welcome, Tanya. Thank you for being on the show with us today. Thank you, Joy. It's a pleasure.
Joy Beckerman: [00:00:42] So I met we're going to get right into it here. I love the story of how I met your family. I was speaking at the province or Alliance Conference and Natural Foods Conference that's taking place. This over 40 years and it takes place every year in Hood River. And I got a call from your husband, Greg Yanco, and he said, I can't believe you're in Hood River.
Joy Beckerman: [00:01:06] I'm just across the river. I was thinking about getting a consultation with you. Can you see me today? And Spirit just moved me normally. I'm like, what? I'm in the middle of a conference. And I was like, come on over, Greg. Let's let's have lunch together. And he told me his vision.
Joy Beckerman: [00:01:20] He he was so inspired by the Hemp plant and had come from really and was and was at the tail end of only because he was ready to move on a really successful career, skateboarding, international distribution, logistics. I was like, we need this man's mind in hands. And I basic all I basically did was I gave him some information about where the where the industry was at, which is in its completely nascent form here in the United States, and said all I can tell you is you're on fire. The plant has you. You've got the vision. Go for it. And, man, with your amazing help and all the skills and talent that you brought to Northwest Hemp and or is it Hemp NW Hemp Northwest?
Joy Beckerman: [00:02:09] Yes.
Joy Beckerman: [00:02:11] Northwest Hemp Northwest, really, I'm excited to talk about. Queen of Hearts and then what became queen of Hearts Hemp. Amazing. You guys are the little oil press that could.
Joy Beckerman: [00:02:20] So tell me about about your mutual journey into Hemp grain. Hemp feed the nutrient dense Hemp seed and turning that into a business. How did how did that come about for you?
Tonia Farman: [00:02:35] Yeah, well, the timing just was so incredible that you just happened to be there at that conference and that you having wind. When do you pass through the tiny little town of Hood River? I mean, we're barely a speck on the map. So it was really that was that was kind of the beginning. And I and I should back us up a little bit. If I was in nonprofit work for 10 years and I worked in cancer survivorship, I started a nonprofit after my brother passed away from cancer to address the challenges of after the after effects of the disease and how it affects young adults. And I was kind of at the tail end of that, really seen a lot of the challenges, that brutal and toxic effects of cancer treatment and combined with dietary challenges of these young survivors was really ready to find a solution and kind of move on in in my career. And I know what that was, but I knew I was inspired by the work that I did in cancer. And meanwhile, Greg was also kind of at the tail end of his life as far as he could go with his work in distribution and sales and in the kite boarding industry. And he also was going through some health issues and he had two herniated discs in his back. Had a toxic job that didn't help. And all all of this was happening at once.
Tonia Farman: [00:04:10] And at the same time, he actually had someone who had given him some CBT that helped his back issues tremendously. He went from not being able to walk for six weeks to being able to not only walk, but mountain bike and be active as he normally was. So that was about six months prior to Greg meeting you, Joy. And that really was kind of the catalyst of a launch pad for us to to give ourselves permission, I guess, to get into Hemp, if you will. And we knew that we wanted to be in the food side first. We're food people. And we had. I mean, I've been eating Hemp hearts and Hemp foods for years. So to me, it was just that. Well, of course, we're gonna get into food. Of course, we didn't really realize the challenges that we would have. But we talk about that later. But that we were. Yeah, that was our start. We said, hey, let's get into food. And it was it was a it was a great start. And things have evolved and changed and moved and shifted. But yeah, that that was our initial inspiration was my work in cancer and and Greg's work in sales. And we didn't realize at the time, but talked about I said, hey, I think we'll be a good team and let's give us a shot.
Joy Beckerman: [00:05:44] It's so exciting. And you started out then with Hemp Northwest at Northwest. That idea came prior to Queen of Hearts. My right or the Queen of Hearts is basically the brand name of what henceforth Hemp Northwest does.
Joy Beckerman: [00:06:00] Yeah, well, we blame the company.
Tonia Farman: [00:06:03] Yeah, we started with Hemp Northwest. And that was really too. We realize we're in this wonderful. The Pacific Northwest is a very health aware and very Cannabis aware region in the country. And it just so happens it is one of the largest producers of wheat as well, not only in the country but in the world. We 98 percent of the wheat grown here is exported. And it's it's the whole eastern Oregon. Eastern Washington is we country and really nice. Naively, we thought that especially in Washington state, because when Washington when the WSJ Hemp program went online, CBT was not allowed to grow. It was only for grain and fiber. And we were really excited about that because we thought, oh my gosh, all these wheat farmers are going to want to throw Hemp to the ground and grow grain for us. And so that was the initial idea is let's let's build and develop the supply chain from from seed, from the farmer to sale and and really get these farmers too connected to the plant and learn about it. And it's a great rotational crop. And that has been much more of a challenge than we thought initially. We thought everyone would just say yes to Hemp. And so we kind of changed our path and said just slightly, not too much, but said he, lets let's go to the consumer side and start a consumer brand. And this will allow us to do market testing, get to know our consumers, get to know what they want, what their what their awareness is of Hemp as a food product. And that was really a great idea for us because we've learned so much from the consumer and retailer side that has impacted how we run Hemp Northwest as a food processing or a seed processor.
Joy Beckerman: [00:08:13] And that information, of course, is is so valuable moving forward as as you develop the brand. And let's talk for a minute about the unique way that that Cannabis policy has shifted in the Pacific Northwest and and specifically in Washington.
Joy Beckerman: [00:08:29] So and we thought twenty five years ago or so we thought, you know what, I bet there's gonna be some states that actually legalize adult or medical use. Cannabis prior to legalizing Hemp or what is that? At the time we referred to as industrial hemp.
Joy Beckerman: [00:08:44] And in fact, Washington did create and I moved to the state of Washington. I'm in New York now, but I moved to the state of Washington in 1998, the year that they did legalize medical use. Cannabis. And then 2012, through an initiative of the people drafted by the ACLU I 5 0 2 initiative, I go to passage which the legalization of adult use.
Joy Beckerman: [00:09:10] And here I was beating down the doors of the legislature then for another four years until March of 2016, when Hemp then was legalized through an act of legislation in Washington.
Joy Beckerman: [00:09:25] But by then the country thought that we had tons of acreage and just fields of Hemp. By that Washington must be covered in Hemp by 2016.
Joy Beckerman: [00:09:33] And I sat there and said we actually haven't planted a single legal seed weed, legalize medical and don't use Cannabis in Washington beforehand.
Joy Beckerman: [00:09:42] And so and it's between the as health conscious as it is, you know, and it's true here there were you know, you could get hemp seed milk in your in your lattes at certain coffee shops, you know, for four years by then, but not so much in the rest of the of the country. And folks here didn't realize when it comes to grain. You know, we're talking about and I have to say that every show, because I don't know who's listening. We want all the listeners to know that the hemp seed is a superfood that requires literally a super taste.
Joy Beckerman: [00:10:17] It is the highest digestible form of protein, the entire plant and animal kingdom.
Joy Beckerman: [00:10:21] More than soy, more than beef, more than chicken, more than way. And why is this? It has no tricks and inhibitors. Chips and inhibitors are, of course, properties within these food sources that prevent us from observing protein. And the hemp seed is void of those absent of those inhibitors. Also, it has a full profile of amino acids, maybe lacking a little bit of lysine, which we can get in other. Sources easily. Which is a tremendous metabolizing force, amino acids and protein. This is how our body absorbs and uses those properties. Additionally, it is the perfect ratio of omega 3s and fixes these valuable essential fatty acids. And they're essential because our bodies and our brains need them for functioning and we don't make them ourselves. We have to get them from our food sources and these omega 3s and is normally we would need to go into the fish and even particularly a salmon for a real rich oil. And here we have this plant, this fast growing gluten free vegetarian source of the finest protein in the world that is also giving us with in generally speaking, a three tablespoon serving of whole perceive a full day's supply of omega 3s and sixes and 10 grams of digestible protein. And then finally, a new factoid that I have learned about the Hemp seed. And there's so much more to tell with vitamins and minerals and all of this. And even the holes have such value as well for fiber and folic acid. But the Hemp seed is one of only two seeds. The other one being the raw pumpkin seed in the entire seed in that kingdom. That actually leaves an alkaline ash in the bloodstream and promoting then P.H. balance. And so.
Joy Beckerman: [00:12:11] So here you are delivering this this incredible food source. And I love your Stitcher feed the world, period. Hemp period.
Joy Beckerman: [00:12:19] I love them. Queen of Hearts.
Joy Beckerman: [00:12:21] And so first, will you tell me a little bit about the Hemp, the sort of cultural challenges that you face? And then I want to get into your products and how we're not just talking about human consumption, we're talking about animal consumption. And I love this huge offering of products that you have on your site. But tell me a little bit about that challenge of the legalization of other forms of Cannabis before this, this low THC, non intoxicating industrial form.
Tonia Farman: [00:12:49] Yeah. Well, it's it really is ironic because when you look at the map of all of this, well, there's a few that have recreational cannabis, but here in the northwest, it was legal beforehand. And so people think of Hemp Cannabis.
Tonia Farman: [00:13:12] And and the same conversely and and even people that are very health conscious and very Hemp aware or Cannabis aware, there is a confusion. And I'm sure your you have had guests that can speak to the confusion between seed oil and hemp oil. And we're not even talking about that. We're talking at a base level of 0, a Hemp heart or does that come from the marijuana seeds or, you know, the is there THC in there? And we get these questions from consumers today. And it always blows my mind.
Tonia Farman: [00:13:52] And I also make assumptions now about anyone's knowledge when we're at farmers markets.
Tonia Farman: [00:14:01] It's one of the first questions we actually ask people when they approach are our boosters.
Tonia Farman: [00:14:07] Are you familiar with Hemp and are you familiar with Hemp as a food? And sometimes we get some blank stares and such and then people do get occasional people that will make a joke about. Get you high. But even when I brought this to my parents state, they joked that I was selling weed gummies. Or do you know they were they joke that I was in the weed business.
Dan Humiston: [00:14:29] I want to take a quick break to thank you for listening to today's show and to invite you to check out all of our other Cannabis podcast as the industry's number one Cannabis podcast network. We are constantly adding new shows. So go to MJBulls.com to see our new shows and to become part of the Cannabis podcast network.
Tonia Farman: [00:14:50] It really has been a challenge in an area where we thought that it would be very simple and that consumer awareness would actually be pretty high. About the differences of Hemp versus marijuana or Cannabis.
Tonia Farman: [00:15:11] And it was it still is a challenge. And especially with retailers are are learning that you would even think that retailers would mostly know.
Tonia Farman: [00:15:25] And one of the questions they get is, are they ask us, are you sign and dispensaries? And as you know, it is a completely different business model to have your Hemp products go into the path of the dispensaries. Depending on if that is in Washington, Oregon, there are slightly different regulations around that. But we have to get a completely separate permit from the Oregon Liquor Control Bar Board in Oregon, in Washington. It's completely separate as well.
Joy Beckerman: [00:15:58] So it it's a Washington it's not in Washington.
Joy Beckerman: [00:16:02] It's not even allowed. A marijuana dispensary in Washington must sell marijuana. So the product must contain at least some amount of above point three THC in order to legally be sold in a dispensary in Washington. So you're unless you put a little marijuana up in there, girl, you're not eligible.
Joy Beckerman: [00:16:20] Even your product seeks to be sold. Marijuana dispensaries can actually, you know, and this terminology to it.
Joy Beckerman: [00:16:28] And it's so sad that that we're in this part of the revolution of where we're having to sort of separate the types of different law. We have different legislation. We have different industries and purposes, and we need to educate. And yet here we are. It is all one plant. It is all Cannabis coming from the plant, family, Cannabis, DEA and its selective breeding and human intervention over thousands of years that we've really created. These two types of Cannabis, right? We've got this industrial low THC. We used to call it low resin, but that's not even true anymore. We breed these high resin, high cannabinoid extract varieties of Hemp where we have to continually tame of course, the THC in the resin. But but anyway, these industrial low THC varying resin types of cannabis that we call Hemp generally we refer to them as varieties and cultivars, although in these extract types we also call them chemo bars. And and generally these types of Hemp are planted with machines mechanically cultivated, mechanically harvested in huge industrial scales. You know, and also we have some craft farmers, but we're talking about, you know, Hemp, nutrition, bio plastics, cosmetics, cuticles, body care, pharmaceuticals, bio design, building materials, industrial sequencing coatings, energy and fuel, nanotechnology. So with these huge scale and then we have these other types of Cannabis medical adult use, Sacramento Cannabis and they're generally high resin, intoxicating forms, although of course topical applications that don't have any uptake agents or break the blood brain barrier, those wouldn't be intoxicating. And also THC may you know the acidic form, the non decoder box related form of Tetra Hydro Cannabis, Nile Delta 9, that that would not be intoxicating either.
Joy Beckerman: [00:18:24] And we call those different types of medical and don't use Cannabis streams or team or bars and generally planted by hand and and cultivated harvested by hand. Although of course with the legal markets we're seeing some fabulously interesting equipment. But. So there were those two types and yet sort of the medical and adult use community has adopted the word Cannabis and we're using the word Hemp, but we are all Cannabis. So it's confusing. And I notice even on your website, as we as we move into the product, there is some confusion there as well. And I know it's it's difficult for all everyone to navigate, but I see that you have a Hemp seed oil product and then you have a Hemp oil product. And the Hemp oil product is your CBD product, but you chose to call it Hemp oil as opposed to Hemp extract. And that is a very helpful Norman Norman clatter a moniker to help people realize they're looking at different things. So we generally and and again, much of the Hemp extract and CBD industry is calling it Hemp oil. But it is a great way if you ever do relabeling that you've bought Hemp seed oil, oil press from the seed and then you have Hemp extract which are oils properties extracted from the, you know, the resonance parts of the plant, the leaves and the flowering tops.
Joy Beckerman: [00:19:43] But let's talk about some of these exciting products you have because you have three pages of products at Queen of Hearts.
Tonia Farman: [00:19:50] Well, yeah. And you know, just about our Web site and just consumer education wise, I agree to it.
Tonia Farman: [00:19:59] The language really needs to be better understood and we really need to clarify what everything means. And we're really learning also as we're doing our own market testing and figuring out what consumers are expecting or what their challenges or confusion is and how we can kind of reshape that a little bit. We do a ton of consumer education. And I feel like sometimes that's what our main role is in a lot of these events and markets, which is great because it's so it's so needed on our website because of the challenges with credit card processing. We are on a platform that and we're we have a new Web site that's about to launch. We've had to change the language, unfortunately, to fit with in some of this credit card processing, these models that don't want you to say CBD or Cannabis. And so right now, it's just it's just really unfortunate about that. That's why we actually don't have some specific language on the website.
Joy Beckerman: [00:21:14] Hopefully that won't change when we're navigating, you know, navigating all of it.
Joy Beckerman: [00:21:20] It's so difficult. It's so difficult that you manage to have a merchant account. You've got a merchant account.
Tonia Farman: [00:21:28] Well, we we do, but we're it's not a good one at all. We are treated we're treated like a lot of the other more than Cannabis that as a marijuana. And a lot of the, you know, anything above point, three percent THC levels, that's got one of these.
Joy Beckerman: [00:21:49] So they've got you in one of these high risk merchant account plans.
Tonia Farman: [00:21:54] Yeah, we're in a high risk.
Tonia Farman: [00:21:56] Exactly. Well, and so what's in it?
Joy Beckerman: [00:21:59] What's amazing is that you have it at all. So keep in mind that it's difficult. It's a barrier to entry right now in the HIPAA.
Joy Beckerman: [00:22:07] You know, Senator Ron Widen and Mitch McConnell, you know, two gentlemen from opposite sides of the country and opposite sides of the aisle, but that have really been championing. And as we often say about Mitch McConnell, you may have 99 problems with Mitch McConnell, but Hemp being one championing the health of those men.
Joy Beckerman: [00:22:28] And they wrote in April letters, the two of them co-sign letters to the four big federal banking institutions from the FDIC to the U.S. Treasury and on down and and were basically ignored, which is which is interesting, saying, listen, Hemp is legal. We have legalized every part of it is legal. The cannabinoids, the whole bit. Please serve these services accounts. We did this for. This is a reenergized ation of the American farmer and the American consumer and the American manufacturer. And these accounts need to be served. And they in fact, we still have problems. And then the CIA commandeered the Times Square digital boards and went on a campaign which we're still on right now. So the Times Square billboard plays 30 seconds every hour for 20 hours a day. It's been going on since May 24th and we thought it until January. Now we were doing Facebook, stop censoring Hemp and we were able to move the needle with Facebook policy around certain CBD sales and their ability to advertise. And then we just recently switched to the banking industry. Banks stop denying him and it's just a fascinating problem and a huge barrier to entry. So I'm just thrilled that you've even got your merchant account because there are many folks who can't even get it. And the fact that we have to sit here and be thankful that you're being exploited and treated like a controlled substance for your eight point ninety nine percent transaction fee or whatever you're having.
Joy Beckerman: [00:24:00] Yeah. Just to be able to deliver these products to the American consumer. It just it's just wild. So let's get back to those products because I love them. Your Hemp and how online? I mean, tell us tell us about how this product line developed and and let's get into that after a couple of minutes.
Tonia Farman: [00:24:20] Well, so with Hemp, Northwest's are our processing company and our processing side of the business. We quickly realize as many of CE processors do, that when you press for the wonderful nutritional seed oil, you get this cold product or as I like to say, partner product of the seed, which is a seed cake. It comes out in the stick pellet form the fiber and the protein that is bound together by the.
Tonia Farman: [00:24:50] You'll seed oil, and that is then further milled and concentrated into protein powder, which is a food product that we sell as queen of hearts.
Tonia Farman: [00:25:01] We had a lot of this meal and we didn't realize the amount that it would it would pile up just so quickly. And at the same time, we had an equine nutrition company reach out to us.
Tonia Farman: [00:25:18] We have quite a bit of a equine industry and performance and barrel racing horses, a lot of quite a community here in the Pacific Northwest. And we had a couple of them reach out to us and and inquire about Hemp as an ingredient and a protein source for their horses.
Tonia Farman: [00:25:36] And we sent some samples out of seed cake.
Tonia Farman: [00:25:41] And the seed oil already was gaining traction in the equine industry as a wonderful source of JLA and many other minerals and vitamins as well. But the seed cake was a bit of a mystery and we had nutritional tests done on the C cake and it has a wonderful protein and fiber content at 28 percent protein, 28 percent fiber. And we realize that there is a lot of value in that. And so we started making it into other products. We put it in to a dog treat. We put it into a horse treat.
Tonia Farman: [00:26:21] And dogs absolutely love it just by itself as the seed cake. The horses eat it just all day long as a supplement. It's not an approved feed yet, but it is a wonderful added supplement of protein in those residual oils.
Tonia Farman: [00:26:42] And then also just recently, and this is something that we were connected with through the farmers market that we're a part of here in Hood River is we have a lot of small regional ranches in the area, pig ranches, small cattle ranches, grass fed, everything from chickens, goats, you name it.
Tonia Farman: [00:27:03] And they started showing interest in feeding the Hemp seed cake to their animals. And that was both as a finishing supplement for possibly for taste as well as a protein source. So a lot of times they can't find a afford an affordable protein source in a feed for their animals. And we have a lot of the C cake.
Tonia Farman: [00:27:31] And it was a it was a perfect connection and a great mutual collaboration to be able to offer these small farms and ranches seed cake to feed their animals. And so that's kind of how we got into the animal market. And it is a great mutual benefit for everyone involved. So it helps us offload a lot of the cake while providing a lot of nutritional, great nutritional profile for these animals. And it offers a great solution to the ranchers as well that are looking for a supplement to feed their animals.
Joy Beckerman: [00:28:06] So much so, and we're working very hard. I know the ad coalition through Friends of Hemp is, you know, raising money because we need to get all of these. It's wonderful that we're able to these animal owners and particularly the equestrian community, wants the best for their animals. And so, of course, they understand the nutritional profile and they can't get enough of it. And meanwhile, ASCO, the FDA, it is not approved as an ad feed or animal feed in a huge market at large. And it requires actually an application per specie per ingredient to become approved one at a time. And it's a very expensive process. You've got to get it right. So and the only species that they combine together are cats and dogs because we don't use those for human consumption. So they'll let you do one application for approval of an ingredient for cats and dogs. But other than that, it's another application separate for horses. Another application separate for all forms of livestock. Each one down the line is individual. And then the Hemp feed is an ingredient. Hemp seed oil is an ingredient. You know the cake is an ingredient. It's just amazing how how much of a process it is. So thank you for making this more widely available so that while we're going through this revolution to create a legal and regulatory framework to deliver the world's most nutritious, versatile, valuable plant, you know, you're making this stuff available.
Joy Beckerman: [00:29:37] And part of that and I think this is a wonderful way to conclude our interview here is through cooperation. A Cannabis in all of its forms is here to make the world a better place to make things work together. And people were together even on an industrial scale. We see that when we add hemp seed oil to these volatile chemicals and properties that we've been using and industrial purposes for years and decades are better living through chemistry experiment. We had Hemp seed oil and all of the sudden even these volatile chemicals start working better together. It's a synthesizer and it breeds cooperation and we have to do as we were building this infrastructure together where we're asking the farmers to grow a crop for which there's very little infrastructure and we're asking investors to invest in an infrastructure for which there is growing biomass. You know, we're we're working with each other, putting one foot in front of the other and working in tandem. So how are some of the ways that Queen of Hearts Hemp this sort of work cooperatively?
Tonia Farman: [00:30:42] Yes. So.
Tonia Farman: [00:30:44] Well, one thing that you mentioned, the Feet coalition, we're actively involved with Hunter's work as part of the Hemp coalition and her work with ASCO and trying to get this approved as an animal feed. We're submitting samples to them and we're both on the E Ingredient subcommittee and the E. Klein Nutrition Subcommittee to get this approved. And that really is not just about getting it approved as an animal feed. It's as much as an important factor of moving the supply chain along, because right now that seed cake that coal products from pressing the seed oil is piling up the seed oil itself. If we can sell seed oil all day long, whether it's to equine or sheep for human consumption, a lot of it is going to CBD companies as a carrier, oil and that seed oil, there's a ton of value. And companies know about that. That's not difficult.
Joy Beckerman: [00:31:53] And we've you know, we've touched upon that, of course. And as you as you know, I'm co-founder and senior advisor to Colorado Hemp Works, which is. Yeah. Which is another great first post prohibition Hemp grain processing facility in the United States based in Colorado.
Joy Beckerman: [00:32:10] And so and I've, of course, interviewed Matt and and and thank you for reminding listeners that, of course, the presses can run 24 hours a day, seven days a week week. We just can barely keep up with it with the demand for Hemp seed oil. But that seed cake continues to collect. And of course, we need very much. It's part of the supply chain, indeed. And clearly that would expand these markets for our valuable products. But let's get into the cooperation for a sec.
Joy Beckerman: [00:32:37] Can you talk about. Thank you. Let's get into that for a moment, if we could answer that question.
Tonia Farman: [00:32:43] Yes. So with Queen of Hearts, it really has required quite a bit of collaboration.
Tonia Farman: [00:32:49] And that's what I love about being in the food side to it is there's a small group of us in the country that are focused on foods specifically. And that's where you mentioned Matt from Clara Hemp works.
Tonia Farman: [00:33:03] We source our hearts from from. From Matt and we've purchased seed oil from Roger, from healthy oil seeds.
Tonia Farman: [00:33:14] When we don't have enough oil to press some or seed suppress, rather. And really, it's we're very transparent and open about that and having it be an open conversation because we all need to help each other and we all need to be a part of moving this forward. And really, as you said, the little oil or oil seed or oil price, it could.
Tonia Farman: [00:33:36] That's kind of how we sometimes feel.
Tonia Farman: [00:33:38] But really collaborating with the other people in the space is so important to us. And coming from nonprofit work, that's all I know. I mean, collaborating with other organizations and business and government entities was the only way that I knew. And so that that's how we move forward with Queen of Hearts is whether it is with local businesses and doing education programs or whether it's working with other processors like healthy oil seeds or with Mad at Colorado Hemp works. And we actually just got out of that western U.S. Hemp Growers conference and had talked to the organizer about putting together a seed and rather a grain.
Tonia Farman: [00:34:31] Are that Hemp seed panel and topic for the next event? And I want to get everyone that is in the seed side, that grain side of Hemp to contribute to that. And so for Queen of Hearts, that's just that's just kind of been our M.O. We that's that's it probably hasn't propelled us to the top of the food chain, if you will.
Tonia Farman: [00:34:55] But we're we're not trying to be a large brand. We really believe that, especially on the food side, that this is going to be a there is gonna be a regional solution for the food brand. So we know the evil Hemp is is doing what they're doing.
Tonia Farman: [00:35:13] And we've got oh, gosh, over on the East Coast.
Tonia Farman: [00:35:20] I'm having a blank room.
Joy Beckerman: [00:35:21] Graham Blight and dairy and food. How are you? Thank you. You said you're not. Yeah.
Tonia Farman: [00:35:29] So either I really believe there's a place for all of us. There's room for us all.
Tonia Farman: [00:35:34] And I I think that collaboration is key to make that happen and for all of us to understand that. So, yeah, that's that's that's just I am very transparent about that. And I invite people to collaborate with us. And and we're still in learning phases. I mean, I every day I joke that that we could be making our mortgage or we could just barely or we could be crushing it. And so it's really it's it's really a learning process and and learning from everybody else who's been in this in the food game for a long time, because really when it comes to Hemp foods, food products and ingredients, it is just like any other seed or food. And so that's kind of how we look at the food side CBD and obviously the Fido cannabinoid side adds another layer of complexity, but I'm still along the same lines as collaboration. I know there are a lot of people in the CBD side that are pretty closed off to that. But everyone is new to this. And that's the beautiful thing about the space is really we're all still learning and we're all still figuring it out.
Joy Beckerman: [00:36:55] Indeed. No. On many levels that that's very true. And and also, I want to thank you and and Greg for your leadership in the Pacific Northwest. Hemp Industries Association, which is a tri state regional chapter of the Hemp Industries Association. Thank you so much for everything you do for for your advocacy with the AD Seed Coalition and to serve on those committees for your service in building the Hemp community in the Pacific Northwest and for the tremendous role that you're playing in building the supply chain for this densely nutritious vegetarian, gluten free source of protein and omegas and vitamins and minerals. Basically, thank you for everything that you and your incredible husband, Greg Yanco do. Tiny farming. It's been such a pleasure to have you on the show and we'll have you on again. Thank you so much.
Tonia Farman: [00:37:47] Toy thank you so much for all of your work and really for inspiring us to move forward in this cast. It's been a wild adventure and a great ride. So thank you for all your work.
Joy Beckerman: [00:38:03] I love being able to play that role, your husband. You were both so already there. It was so great that you needed to hear me say, go. And you went. You were there anyway. Wonderful.
Joy Beckerman: [00:38:13] Wonderful. Thank you.
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