Summary: In episode 17 of the Ministry of Hemp Podcast, we explore what could be the future of growing hemp for CBD: feminized hemp. What is feminized hemp and why is it so special? Our host Matt learns from Michael Townsend of Hemptown USA. In this episode, Matt talks with Townsend about the benefits of growing feminized hemp for CBD products and what is feminized hemp anyway? We also learn a bit more about CBG, an additional cannabinoid with unique benefits. We want to hear from you too. Send us your questions and you might hear them answered on future shows like this one! Send us your written questions to us on Twitter, Facebook, email matt@ministryofhemp.com, or call us and leave a message at 402-819-6417. Keep in mind, this phone number is for hemp questions only and any other inquiries for the Ministry of Hemp should be sent to info@ministryofhemp.com. Feminized hemp, which produces no seeds, may be the future of CBD and hemp extract. Don’t forget to subscribe to the Ministry of Hemp Podcast on iTunes or your favorite podcast app. If you really want to help us out, we’d love for you to rate or review the show. Thanks again for listening! Contact sales@ministryofhemp.com if you’re interested in sponsoring our podcast or other content on our website. Is feminized hemp the future of CBD? Complete episode transcript Below you’ll find the full written transcript for this episode: Matt: Welcome back to the Ministry of Hemp podcast. My name is Matt Baum, and I am your host. In the last few episodes we’ve been talking to some farmers and some people who know a lot about growing hemp. And today we’re going to talk about a specific kind of hemp, feminized hemp, that is used specifically for CBD. Feminized hemp is a term that I’d heard before, but I didn’t really know what it was. Lucky me, I found somebody who knows all about it. But before we get into that, let’s talk about the part of the hemp plant the CBD specifically comes from. Mainly that is the flower because the flower is what produces trichomes. Trichomes are the resin and sort of hair like follicles that contain the phytocannabinoids that CBD producers are going for. Since the flower of the hemp plant contains the highest density of trichomes, of course, growers want to encourage hemp to flower. And this is done by either getting it out in the sunlight in your fields, or growing indoors with very controlled lighting. The bigger the flowers, the more trichomes there are. And the more trichomes there are, the more CBD you’ll be able to get out of those flowers. The trichomes in the hemp flower start out clear, and then they kind of become a milky white, and later on they’ll even turn amber. Right around then it’s usually time to harvest. Though hemp growers have to be really careful when they harvest because they want to make sure that the level of THC in that plant is below 0.3%. Now as it turns out, some very smart growers have figured out that there are certain types of hemp plants that will have higher levels of CBD, lower levels of THC and produce even more trichomes than normal industrial hemp. And this type of hemp is what they call feminized hemp. And it’s something that’s been popular with marijuana growers for quite some time, but now using feminized plants has moved into hemp growing. And I found just the guy to tell me all about it. Breeding THC out of hemp Michael: Yeah, so my name is Michael Townsend. I’m the president, and co-founder, and director of Hemptown Organics, which is doing business as Hemptown USA. Matt: Michael, one of the things I was interested in talking to you about was specifically feminized hemp. When I looked your website, that seems to be what you guys are pushing. And you’re pushing it because it seems to have more CBG, CBD and CBN involved. Can you talk about that? What is feminized hemp?
