What’s Your Plan? Harvesting Your Industrial Hemp Crop

Now that your hemp seedlings are in the ground, what’s your harvest plan for a high-testing CBD crop?

With a solid, practical harvest plan that fits the scope and size of your planting, you’ll be prepared. But without a plan, you’re in trouble.

What is Hemp CBD Biomass?

Hemp biomass is all the ‘plant material’ that a hemp plant creates. Leaves, stalks and flowers.

Unlike the marijuana plant that concentrates cannabinoids in just the bud or ‘flower’, the hemp plant produces cannabinoids throughout the flowers, leaves and stems of the plant.

And there’s a lot of it. Consider this is a plant that is more vigorous than corn, with much less inputs. Some varieties can easily reach 16 feet in height.

There’s a lot of flux in the industry still in how much biomass one acre of hemp will yield. Much depends on your plant spacing, growing techniques and how well your crop did. But invariably, it’s a lot more than you realized.

Careful Harvest is Key to High Hemp CBD Production

Proper harvest can make a huge difference. John Tucci, vice-president of sales at HempLogic™, has seen big losses in CBD percentages dues to improper harvest techniques.

Crops that were testing at 16 and 18 percent CBD prior to harvest that went all the way down to four or five percent with bad harvest techniques.

Using combines and harvest equipment adapted for other crops that are too rough for hemp, will end up degrading your CBD production.

Tucci says when you are moving, shaking or combining a hemp biomass if you are rough with it, you will see a lot of dust. That’s literally your CBD and you’re losing it. He advises hand-harvesting as much of your crop as you have the crew for, and a ‘kid-glove’ mentality.

“We strongly advise, hand-harvest as much as you can handle, depending on the size of your team,” Tucci says.

Hemp Processing Equipment – Conventional Equipment Doesn’t Do the Job

If you simply have too many acres in production to consider hand-harvesting, and you can afford the specialized equipment, ideally you started looking for it yesterday.

“If you can afford the specialized equipment – it’s new and it’s expensive – but it does the job,” Tucci says. HempLogic partners with Formation AG as our trusted partner when it comes to hemp-specific equipment.

If you can’t afford the new equipment, well farmers are certainly known for their ingenuity. But remember, if it’s a piece of equipment you need to modify, borrow or rent….so does everybody else who planted hemp this year.

Plan your Hemp Harvest Before you Plant your Hemp Seeds

Ideally, you have your harvest plan in place when you start seeding, Tucci says.

In fact, a practical assessment of your access to crew, equipment and drying facilities, should drive how much you plant in the first place.

Because nothing is worse than having a beautiful crop in the field, and no way to get it from there to your drying shed in good shape.

For expert and knowledgeable advice on harvesting your hemp crop, contact the consultants at HempLogic today – john@hemplogic.com.

America’s largest vertically integrated hemp company, we provide ethical, trust-worthy and no-nonsense partnership to committed hemp farmers and industry partners. HempLogic offers certified hemp seeds, hemp farming education, contract, business and legal consulting, testing services, biomass brokering and drying capabilities.

Up next…What’s Your Plan? How to Dry Your Hemp Biomass.