Hemp Seed Breeding and Production by HFM LLC

 Q. How are your hemp varieties bred?
A. Our Hi-Test varieties are selections of hemp bred for uniformity, high CBD/THC ratios, vigor and disease resistance. Our selections also strive to maintain the rich diversity of terpenes that are an important part of the plant’s usefulness. Our varieties have undergone years of development and two years of rigorous, specific selection and testing. Our varieties have passed independent, third party testing certified by the Oregon Department of Agriculture, demonstrating the requirement of below Delta –9 THC and levels of CBD approaching 17%.
Our Hi-Test varieties are highly developed populations of dioecious plants, meaning these will be both male and female plants in the field. This is the natural way that hemp exists.  While not completely feminized, our selections are selected to demonstrate a higher ratio of female plants than the average population when grown under low stress conditions. This process is acceptable to the organic rules. Q. What is feminized seed.
A. Hemp is a dioecious plant meaning that individual plants will be male or female but, in most cases, not both. In a situation where there is a population of female plants only, usually from cloning, there is a method that uses a chemical compound to treat female plants to produce pollen and when used in an isolated situation of female plants only, will produce seed that will result in female plants only. This process is excluded as one that is acceptable for organic breeding. In other words, chemically feminized seed cannot be used to produce organic plants or product.
Q. Do you offer fully feminized seed?
A. Not at the present. We are working on a breeding plan that can offer feminized seed in the future. We believe that feminized seed can be deleterious to planting large acreages. Hemp, like most dioecious plants, can be selected to move the breeding population towards “femaleness”. This is our breeding approach until we can be assured that no deleterious genes exist in our breeding lines.

Q. Does your seed guarantee that my crop will pass the required tests to be hemp?
A. No company can absolutely guarantee that your crop will test below 0.3% Delta-9 THC, however our closed population has passed the required tests the past two years in a row. The genetic makeup of CBD and THC production are such that a ratio of the two compounds exist in all cannabis plants, including hemp. The higher the CBD levels the more likely it will be that you will have hot plants that may be above the 0.30 THC limit. Proper growing conditions, sampling and time of sampling are critical to good test results.
Q. I have been told that male plants in my crop will ruin it. Is this true.
A. No, absolutely not! This comes from the marijuana industry where seed is not wanted in smokable material. All our testing comes from fully seeded females. Male plants are considerably smaller. They mature first, shed their pollen and die. Male plants do produce cannabinoids and can go thru an extraction process just like the females. Because the male plants are smaller and thinner, they contribute only a small percentage of the total plant mass harvested.
Q. How much seed do I need?
A. The short answer is, it depends and your equipment, your irrigation, your soil fertility and your intended end use. Hemp averages 27,000 seeds per pound
In our breeding program we have wide rows to facilitate the necessary pollen control and to let the plants express their full potential. We also transplant. These are done on 60 inch rows with 18 inches between plants. That comes to a population of 5800 plants per acre. If you intend to plant like corn or soybeans you will be close to 18 inch rows and about 3 inches between plants. This comes to a population of 116,160 plants per acre. The higher the population, the taller your plants will grow. They will shade the ground faster and prevent weed growth but will have fewer buds. The bud tissue has the highest concentration of trichomes and the highest level of cannabinoid production.