The hemp market has exploded in Pennsylvania since it became legal, with hundreds of farmers growing the product and hoping to make big money.For many people, however, the payoff wasn’t what they were expecting.Mitch Shellenberger and his family have been growing crops for decades at their farm in Mount Joy, Lancaster County.When he was approached last year to grow hemp, he said, “I was hesitant. Yeah, for sure.”Shellenberger did his homework. When a business partner agreed to cover his costs, he and his family planted 32 acres.The process was grueling.”Was a big undertaking, especially because we didn’t know anything about hemp,” Shellenberger said.From planting and irrigating to weed control and harvest, the work was labor intensive.While Shellenberger was able to sell his product and break even, many others haven’t seen the payoff.”This year was, I think, probably in general a little bit of a disappointment for most people,” he said.Shellenberger said there was a bottleneck of too much hemp and not enough buyers or processors to handle it. Prices that were once promising fell to rock bottom.Some Susquehanna Valley farmers are still stuck with their crop.”Most people that I talk to are still waiting to move it out and also waiting to get paid for it,” Shellenberger said.”There’s been a whipsaw in the marketplace,” said Dr. Steve Groff, one of the leaders in Pennsylvania’s hemp industry. His company, Groff North America, paid 20 farmers to grow 2,000 acres of hemp during the 2019 season.”That was reason for a lot of optimism in this first year, and I think it got a little over exuberant with acreage grown,” he said.Groff said the infrastructure isn’t in place yet to handle it.The hemp Groff paid for is being processed in his company’s 100,000-square-foot facility in Red Lion, York County. The facility features a special machine, the only one of its kind in the world, built specifically to break down hemp.”We’re building this entire new industry with new supply chains and new expectations, new paradigms, so it’s challenging in that regard, but also very exciting,” Groff said.So far, Groff and Shellenberger haven’t committed to growing any additional hemp in the 2020 season. But both men remain optimistic about the possibilities.”I think the future is still incredibly bright for this and for Pennsylvania,” Groff said.
SUSQUEHANNA VALLEY, Pa. —
The hemp market has exploded in Pennsylvania since it became legal, with hundreds of farmers growing the product and hoping to make big money.
For many people, however, the payoff wasn’t what they were expecting.
Some farmers say the hemp business hasn’t been what they expected.
Mitch Shellenberger and his family have been growing crops for decades at their farm in Mount Joy, Lancaster County.
When he was approached last year to grow hemp, he said, “I was hesitant. Yeah, for sure.”
Shellenberger did his homework. When a business partner agreed to cover his costs, he and his family planted 32 acres.
The process was grueling.
“Was a big undertaking, especially because we didn’t know anything about hemp,” Shellenberger said.
From planting and irrigating to weed control and harvest, the work was labor intensive.
Mitch Shellenberger says growing and harvesting hemp was a big undertaking.
While Shellenberger was able to sell his product and break even, many others haven’t seen the payoff.
“This year was, I think, probably in general a little bit of a disappointment for most people,” he said.
Shellenberger said there was a bottleneck of too much hemp and not enough buyers or processors to handle it. Prices that were once promising fell to rock bottom.
Some Susquehanna Valley farmers are still stuck with their crop.
Some farmers are still stuck with their crop.
“Most people that I talk to are still waiting to move it out and also waiting to get paid for it,” Shellenberger said.
“There’s been a whipsaw in the marketplace,” said Dr. Steve Groff, one of the leaders in Pennsylvania’s hemp industry. His company, Groff North America, paid 20 farmers to grow 2,000 acres of hemp during the 2019 season.
“That was reason for a lot of optimism in this first year, and I think it got a little over exuberant with acreage grown,” he said.
Groff said the infrastructure isn’t in place yet to handle it.
The hemp Groff paid for is being processed in his company’s 100,000-square-foot facility in Red Lion, York County. The facility features a special machine, the only one of its kind in the world, built specifically to break down hemp.
The Groff North America facility in Red Lion has a special machine to break down hemp.
“We’re building this entire new industry with new supply chains and new expectations, new paradigms, so it’s challenging in that regard, but also very exciting,” Groff said.
So far, Groff and Shellenberger haven’t committed to growing any additional hemp in the 2020 season. But both men remain optimistic about the possibilities.
“I think the future is still incredibly bright for this and for Pennsylvania,” Groff said.
