Recap: NIHC Attends Southern Hemp Expo

This past week, NIHC traveled to Raleigh, North Carolina to participate in the third annual Southern Hemp Expo (SHE3). We were delighted to take part in this great event and want to thank our friends at “Let’s Talk Hemp” for organizing three days of informative meetings and networking events.

At the expo, NIHC Chief Economist Beau Whitney spoke on Thursday afternoon about the hemp economy and provided some of his economic forecasts.“I’m very, very bullish on the hemp market,” Whitney told conference attendees. “Hemp is on track to become the fourth largest row crop in the United States after corn, soy and cotton. Opportunities in the areas of fiber and grain are astronomical, dwarfing the CBD market. This is just the beginning, this isn’t the end. If [hemp industry leaders] hang on you’re going to be rewarded later on,” Whitney concluded.

NIHC Senior Vice President of Communications Larry Farnsworth also attended and spoke on Friday afternoon addressing conference attendees on what NIHC is doing at the federal level, and provided valuable insights into international trade promotion programs that NIHC is spearheading. He also offered proactive and helpful tips on how companies can interact the with the media to promote the expansion of hemp in a positive light.

“NIHC continues to grow and engage policy makers across the board,” Farnsworth told attendees. “Whether it’s state lawmakers or state regulators, the federal government or governments overseas, NIHC is at the table working to make our industry more profitable for the farmers, processors and retailers who grow, make and sell our products around the world.”

Taking advantage of being in Raleigh, several leaders from North Carolina’s Department of Agriculture – and one of NIHC’s newest members – came to the conference on Friday afternoon to meet.

Overall, it was great to be able to be out, in person, meeting with our members.

Raleigh was a great host city, and we want to thank them hosting such a great event! To learn more about other regional hemp events put on by our friends at Let’s Talk Hemp, click here.