What exactly is a CBD farm?
A “CBD farm” is any legal hemp agricultural operation specifically oriented toward the cultivation of Sativa or Indica type cannabis strains, both full of cannabidiol (CBD) and (very) low in THC. It can be a small family farm or a large agricultural estate.
If in the past, CBD farms were limited to outdoor cannabis cultivation, or Outdoor , they are today adopting a hybrid cultivation method, according to market demand. We will find for example indoor cultivation, or Indoor, which consists of growing hemp plants in a controlled environment, where the farmer will be able to control all the variables of the culture such as humidity , (artificial) lighting, temperature, ventilation, etc.
While the resulting plants are generally smaller in size than those grown outdoors, they will generally shine with greater purity, more consistent CBD concentrations from one plant to another, more uniform color and textures and much less waste.
The CBD farm will also be able to grow its cannabis plants in Greenhouse, or in a greenhouse. This technique is a compromise between Indoor and Outdoor, in that the plants are protected from bad weather and pests while being exposed to sunlight and nourishing themselves with nutrients from the CBD farm soil.
What product comes from a CBD farm? And who are the customers?
These are essentially ripe flowers from the hemp plant, of the Cannabis L. Sativa variety (invigorating and energizing properties) or Cannabis Indica (soothing effect and relaxing). After harvesting from the CBD farm, these flowers were carefully dried.
They can be sold to the final consumer, in a short circuit logic, who will use them in vaporization, in hot drinks (herbal tea, infusion, decoction) or in the kitchen to season everyday dishes.
The CBD farm can also sell its legal hemp flowers in bulk to distributors who will then supply them to different points of sale, for example physical stores and online stores like 321CBD, drugstores, wellness product specialists, etc.
The CBD farm can finally sell its CBD flowers to specialized companies which will transform them into other products intended for the general public, in particular:
CBD oils (or other cannabinoids such as CBG, CBN, CBC…);
CBD tinctures;
Capsules or capsules of cannabidiol;
CBD concentrates, in particular from wax and cannabidiol crystals;
From CBD resin;
CBD products for pets (mainly dogs and cats);
Topical products like CBD creams and balms;
Food products containing CBD, including herbal teas, infusions, teas, chocolate, candies, honey and hemp flour.
Typically, the CBD farm will have a hybrid customer portfolio that may include two or more targets, including wholesalers and processing companies (for large legal hemp farms).
Who works on a CBD farm?
In small family farms, the team is often made up of... family members, to which are sometimes added a few local employees. We find in particular:
The owner of the CBD farm, who is also the operator. He generally takes care of all operations, from planning to sales;
The farmers and cultivators, members of his family. They take care of the actual hemp cultivation, including planting, maintenance, hand harvesting and the first stages of processing, including drying the hemp flowers. They also manage stock and can take care of transporting products, if necessary;
Small CBD farms can call on external staff, particularly for the maintenance of irrigation systems (drip drip or sprinkler) and climate control in greenhouses, accounting, agronomic expertise, etc.
In a large CBD farm, you will necessarily find a much larger staff:
The administrators, who take care of the overall management of the CBD farm, including strategic planning, financial management and regulatory compliance of the activity;
Agronomists and horticultural specialists, who oversee crop health, hemp plant nutrition, and disease and pest control;
Farm workers, the beating heart of the CBD farm, who manage the planting, maintenance and mechanized harvesting of crops;
Extraction and processing technicians, found in very large legal hemp farms;
Maintenance and operations personnel, who maintain the equipment, greenhouse facilities and irrigation system;
Sales and marketing teams responsible for product marketing, customer relations (B2B) and, more rarely, direct sales.
Where are the CBD farms in France?
For a CBD farm to have good hemp production, both in quantity and quality, it must be able to count on a favorable environment. Several criteria at play:
Temperature. Hemp thrives in temperate climates, with daytime temperatures between 25 and 30° C. If the region experiences a significant temperature differential between day and night, this is even better, because this criterion promotes the synthesis of good cannabinoids;
Sunshine. Hemp crops need direct and generous sunlight, ideally with more than 12 hours of light per day during the growth phase, which coincides with summer. It lasts between 60 and 90 days;
Precipitation. Hemp needs 25 to 30 centimeters of water during its growth cycle. We will aim for a region with moderate but regular rainfall;
The soil. The best CBD farms are established on soils rich in organic matter, well drained, aerated and endowed with a moderate water retention capacity. Loamy or clay-loamy soils produce excellent hemp plants. The optimal soil pH is between 6 and 7.5, therefore slightly acidic to neutral to promote nutrient absorption by CBD plants.
Given these criteria, French CBD farms are concentrated in the South-West and Midi-Pyrénées regions, among the sunniest in France, and Champagne-Ardenne, main hemp production area in the country.
If you sent a surveillance drone over a CBD farm that was doing its job well (don't do it!), you would see rows of hemp spaced from each other approximately 60 to 100 centimeters, to give each plant enough space to fully grow and develop CBD-rich flowers .
This is, for example, different from hemp farms which produce fibers, where the plants are close together, with a spacing of about fifteen centimeters to encourage the growth of long stems. and straight.
These hemp fibers are used to make ropes, sails, clothing, but also construction materials, paper, biocomposite products, reusable bags, canvas, carpets, etc.
In addition to environmental and technical factors, entrepreneurs who wish to launch a CBD farm in France must ensure the social acceptability of their project among local populations. In our daily monitoring of the French CBD market, we regularly witness controversies on this subject.
Latest case: the PGP Farmer company, which obtained a permit to build 2.2 hectares of greenhouses in Dordogne to produce cannabis intended for The pharmaceutical industry today faces great opposition from the inhabitants of Petit-Bersac, the municipality concerned. “We are not destroying our village,” declared the spokesperson for opponents of the project to the newspaper Sud-Ouest.
CBD farms in Europe: France, Italy and the Netherlands dominate
France is the undisputed European leader in hemp production, and a good number of farms and agricultural operations are now focused on CBD for the general public or therapeutic cannabis, alongside the major experiment launched by the Ministry of Health to assess the potential of cannabis in the treatment of disorders and pathologies defined by the National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products (ANSM).
France produces more than 70% of European hemp thanks to its rather favorable climatic conditions and a long tradition of cannabis cultivation dating back to the 18th century, notably under the leadership of the navy (ropes and sails for ships).
Italy is the other major player in hemp cultivation in Europe, with more than 4,000 hectares. Italian producers are increasingly specializing in hemp flowers rich in CBD and devoid of THC, and offer more advantageous prices without compromising on quality, thanks in particular to more flexible taxation and much more advantageous climatic conditions than in France.
There are also beautiful CBD farms in the Netherlands, where liberal and tolerant legislation on cannabis consumption stimulates production, with around 3,833 hectares of hemp, which is enormous for a small country, 13 times smaller than France.
Finally let us mention Switzerland, which tolerates hemp products containing up to 1% THC, threshold higher than the majority of other European countries. This policy has fostered the emergence of a vibrant market for CBD products and, as a result, a new wave of CBD farms and agricultural operations that produce legal hemp as a main crop or crop. rotation.
CBD farm: how does 321CBD choose its suppliers?
Spotting, laboratory analysis of flowers, on-site audit, reports from independent organizations… the process of choosing our suppliers is the backbone of our activity at 321CBD.
We supply in particular in Italy, from CBD farms located in sunny regions and benefiting from the Mediterranean climate, ideal for hemp cultivation. We are talking in particular about Tuscany and Abruzzo. The Italian farms that supply us use organic growing techniques, ensuring the absence of chemical pesticides and herbicides on the majority of plants.
Of course, all of our suppliers' cultures comply with the standards of the European Union and France, both in terms of concentration THC and hygiene.
We have also chosen to source from the best CBD farms in Switzerland, where the operations are smaller, with a focus on less common strains and varieties. Swiss growers are also more advanced in indoor cultivation, with hyper-concentrated CBD flowers which have simply exceptional organoleptic properties!
