ONTARIO — All about hemp will be the focus of the Treasure Valley Hemp Conference set for Friday and Saturday at the Four Rivers Cultural Center.
According to Clint Shock, one of the organizers of the conference, there have been quite a few people who have tried to grow hemp throughout the state as well as in Malheur County, and have encountered a problems.
The purpose of the conference is to provide information about hemp from top to bottom, Shock said, from seed and planting through harvest.
“We’re hoping for quite a few people,” Shock said. “We are excited about it.”
Topics for the professional growers series include Oregon’s Hemp program, past through the future, Oregon’s place in the hemp world. Choice of field for hemp, soils, disease seen in hemp, weed control, irrigation, industrial hemp, and organic production.
Speakers include Shock, co-owner of Medicinal Botanical Seed; Jay Noller, director of Global Hemp Innovation at Oregon State University; Kenneth Frost, Oregon State University; Stuart Reitz, Oregon State University; and Matt Jantz, vice-president of business Global CBD.
The conference is in three parts, Shock said. There will be a trade show with vendors that will be open to the public, and a personal health program on Saturday.
The conference for growers, with a cost of $200, starts at 10 a.m. on Friday and runs through the day, concluding with the a networking mixer.
Saturday’s session starts at 9 a.m., with a presentation by Patrick Atagi, board chairman of the National Industrial Hemp Council, for growers. The health conference runs concurrently through the afternoon.
Catered lunch is available both days on paid admission to the hemp growers classroom series. The trade show and health seminar are open to the public.
Registration for the grower conference is available on the Treasure Valley Hemp Conference website.
