Daily Commercial November 16, 2020
Author: Cindy Peterson
UMATILLA — It’s been a journey, but Treadwell Farms in Umatilla is finally able to see all their hard work bottled up. The farm launched their line of CBD products from their own crops.
Reaping rewards
“We are so excited after all these months of work to finally get to this point,” co-owner Jammie Treadwell said. “Harvesting began in October and the plants have to undergo a lot of testing to be able to be used.
I’m proud to say that all ten of our local farms that we work with passed their testing and is now being used in our products.”
The team, run by Glen, Sharon and Jammie Treadwell, planted their first hemp crop back in July. It came after the team fiddled with the plant’s genetics to ensure the lowest amount of THC, the psychoactive compound in cannabis, possible.
Only trace amounts of THC are found in hemp. When the crop is ready for harvest, the plants must be tested again to ensure the levels of THC didn’t spike, which can be a stomach-twisting time for the farmers.
“If the levels in the plants go above a certain amount, they have to burn the entire crop,” Jammie said. “It takes about 48 hours to get the results in so it’s tough. Literally all your hard work can go up in flames.”
Passing the bar
The crop also has to pass tests for heavy-metals, pesticides, mold and microbials. “We want to ensure the highest quality product possible and that starts with the crop,” Jammie said. “Our famers have to get all the right tests, licensing and meet our high-quality standards in order for us to purchase from them.
But we also made sure to work with them in helping them succeed.” Once harvested, the hemp must be properly dried, tested for moisture to ensure no mold can grow and properly stored for production.
At the Treadwell Farms production facility in Umatilla, specialists create the essential oil from the hemp plants, where once again it undergoes testing.
An in-house lab tech tests it first and then sends off three samples to third-party facilities where the results are published for the public to see. Since passing the tests, Treadwell farms was given the green light to create their CBD line.
They currently offer 1200 mg bottles of their sublingual CBD oil in an essential blend, evening blend and a citrus spice blend that include a special dropper with specific dosage levels.
They also offer a cooling mint hemp salve and warming blend hemp salve great for rubbing on aches and pains.
Tea time
They have also partnered with Yaupon Brothers American Tea co. in creating a line of citrus spice Yaupon hemp tea. “We really want to build a community and work with other small businesses to create more CBD products like dog treats, cookies, honey, etc,” Jammie said. “We want to network so our community is always growing and evolving.”
They also have their first line in local retail shops including Health Basket in Mount Dora, Jeff’s Health Foods in Leesburg, Healthy Buddha in Mount Dora, Smoke and Art in Mount Dora, BZ’s Happy Plants in Umatilla and Long & Scott Farms in Mount Dora, which also happens to be one of their local farmers.
According to Jammie, one of the great things about Florida is that they don’t have to wait until Spring for their next crop. They have already begun planting in their greenhouse and will have another harvest in December.
