Key Takeaways

In this blog we’ll discuss what our label means and how that translates into all your favorite products. We’ll also discuss:

• The ingredients and materials that go into Meristem Farms products
• The practices we have committed to
• How you can get involved 

 

 

Get Educated

Cannabis or hemp plants are natural bio-accumulators, meaning the plant will absorb and take up through their root systems anything existing in the soils where they are planted. Because of this, it is critical that the soils in which cannabis is planted for human or animal consumption are free from toxins, such as pesticides or heavy metals, otherwise these materials have the potential to transfer into your products.

To prevent these materials from entering your body, we have committed to a holistic approach to healthy economies and landscapes. We see this practice manifested in a variety of ways by:

• Putting farmers first by partnering and collaborating with existing family farms;
• Focusing on sungrown plants so as not to be dependent on excessive energy consumption;
• Hiring and buying locally;
• Relying on locally produced compost to further support healthy soils;
• Using natural predators to control insect populations;
• Interplanting for efficient use of space as well as repelling pests, reducing weeds and sharing nutrients;
• Companion planting, while similar to intercropping, uses other plant types to create a biodynamic ecosystem also effective for increasing pest resistance, pollinator habitat, flavor enhancement and nutrient providers;
• Managing and monitoring water use;
• Refraining from using plastic mulch (we learned that lesson the hard way!);
• Amending the soil smartly and sparingly;
• Planting cover crops to suppress weeds and revitalize soil health;
• Minimizing tilling–or skipping it entirely–to reduce disturbance of the beneficial mycorrhizal systems that support living soil;
• Creating products that highlight the consumer benefits of our practices. Farming with love leads to products you’ll love!

Agriculture experts caution that it could take years for the U.S. hemp market to mature and stabilize. They say hemp is a specialty crop, like cherries or tulips, rather than competing with major commodities such as corn and soybeans.

 

Hemp Matters to Meristem Farms

We became a product manufacturer because we wanted to create products that modeled what we wanted to see in the world.  We believe paradigm shifting starts on the land, and on the shelf and advocating at the state, federal and grassroots level.

 

The Bottom Line

At Meristem Farms we believe that hemp production is an opportunity for ecological and social justice — and we want to be a part of this change.

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