SPRINGFIELD, Tenn. (WTVF) — Farmers can now store their unsold hemp at a storage warehouse in Robertson County.
The facility was created to fill several needs: a dry and temperature controlled space to store the crop and a place where hemp will be insured.
However, it has a third benefit. It will protect the crop against hemp thieves who are looking to cash in on the expensive crop and its even more expensive extract, CBD.
It's ran by JJGenPro, who themselves farm and process hemp.
The hemp can be turned into CBD oil, which is also worth a lot. The mason jar pictured is worth $20,000, though oil is not stored at the warehouse. Some farmers are reporting thieves have stolen the dry flower of the plant or even whole trees in the field.
"We're going to do things in this in this warehouse to try to prevent that We're going to have security cameras everywhere," said Kathy Gunn, chief business officer for the company. "We're going to have 24/7 monitoring. All the main doors, it's going to be difficult to get in. It's also going to be gated so it will difficult to get in. We have a gully around the property that will make it hard to get trailers in."
Farmers across Tennessee are reporting they can't find anyone to buy their crop. The pilot program had many new participants in 2019 and a large increase in the amount of crop has proven to be too much volume for local processors who turn the flower into oil.
Gunn believes the market price will come back up next year.
"Hopefully, it will help our farmers in Robertson County have a place to put their hemp until spring time."
Also, insurance for hemp is important because most farmers can't get their crop insured. This means if something happens to the hemp while in the warehouse, it's covered.
