The fall of 2019 was a historic season for Michigan agriculture. For the first time in generations, farmers across the state harvested a legal hemp crop. It was a time of incredible opportunity, steep learning curves, and pioneering spirit.
No one captured this moment better than MLive in their video featuring Andrew Blake of the renowned Blake Farms. He and his family, known for their success in everything from apples to hard cider, were among the first to dive into this new industry.
In the video, Andrew Blake touches on the deep agricultural roots of his new venture, stating,
“We’ve always been based in agriculture, it’s always been the foundation of everything we do… this is our first harvest.”
He also highlighted the very real, hands-on challenges of that first year, describing the process of drying the plants in “a big open barn” before it could even be processed—a perfect illustration of the learn-as-you-go reality for growers.
Crucially, Blake was already looking beyond the initial CBD boom.
“All of this has a use… the biomass, the stocks can be used for paper, plastic products. That infrastructure is not quite built out,” he noted.
That exact challenge—building out the infrastructure and knowledge for a diverse hemp industry—is the core of our mission. The questions that arose from that first harvest are precisely why we launched our “Hemponomics 102” educational tour.
We were thrilled that Gus Burns from MLive continued his excellent coverage by reporting on our tour. His article, originally published on February 24, 2020, perfectly captures the work we’re doing to connect farmers and build a strong foundation for the industry’s future.
You can read the original article on the MLive website by clicking here. The full text is also included below.