American Hemp Farmer Adventures and Misadventures in the Cannabis Trade, reviewed

Review of American Hemp Farmer Adventures and Misadventures in the Cannabis Trade by Doug Fine. Available from Chelsea Green Publishing here.

The inside story of the world’s most fascinating and lucrative crop from gonzo journalist–turned–hemp farmer Doug Fine.

Hemp, the non-psychoactive variant of cannabis (or marijuana) and one of humanity’s oldest plant allies, has quietly become the fastest industry ever to generate a billion dollars of annual revenue in North America. From hemp seed to hemp fiber to the currently ubiquitous cannabinoid CBD, this resilient crop is leading the way toward a new, regenerative economy that contributes to soil and climate restoration—but only if we do it right.

In American Hemp Farmer, maverick journalist and solar-powered goat herder Doug Fine gets his hands dirty with healthy soil and sticky with terpenes growing his own crop and creating his own hemp products. Fine shares his adventures and misadventures as an independent, regenerative farmer and entrepreneur, all while laying out a vision for how hemp can help right the wrongs of twentieth-century agriculture, and how you can be a part of it.

American Hemp Farmer Adventures and Misadventures in the Cannabis Trade, reviewed

Hemp farming is booming, in the US and Ireland. Having been a banned plant for many decades, there is now a growing awareness of the many ways in which hemp can produce useful and powerful products for both building, pain relief, highly nutritional food products, and much more too.

Doug Fine’s book is a deep dive into the ups and downs are moving into a space that is still so new and emerging that it has only recently been transferred from being monitored by the US Narcotics division to a farming related product. Being at the early stage of any industry is always risky, and Dolly Parton is mentioned as a guiding light in terms of making your product first, better or different. Which is another smart insight from a backer of one of the covid-19 cures.

The new #FineInTheField column's here https://t.co/YBYe9cYtvv A key theme in it & in #AmericanHempFarmer & in my new online #RegenerativeHemp course-is Get Ready For Craft Top Shelf Hemp Stores-Talkin' #terroir vs. uniformity-Books & course registration at https://t.co/SUbw3TuYUi pic.twitter.com/TG245eYeU6

— Doug Fine (@organiccowboy) December 23, 2020

This book is a deep dive into his experiences, and it does illustrate how fast things are now moving, as, often conservative farming regions of the US are now embracing this crop. Fine himself pings across both sides of the continent dealing with various fields at different ends of the country. He shares his insights warts and all, and, in a similar way to the rapidly emerging Irish hemp farmers activities, it is clear that attitudes and opinions are being rapidly revised. This is very much an author and a space to watch.

It’s a tough job but someone’s got to do it. Check out this photo of @organiccowboy Doug Fine, author of HEMP BOUND, very much in his happy place: an Oregon hemp seed field. #hemp #cannabis #hempbound #agriculturalrevolution https://t.co/5WHEL1V7Af pic.twitter.com/pnPxmJUbR0

— Chelsea Green Publishing (@chelseagreen) July 26, 2018

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