- Seneca Foods partners with CraftAg to enter the hemp industry.
- Seneca is converting a former cannery into a facility for drying hemp.
- Both companies plan to produce smokable hemp together.
Seneca Foods, a big-time fruit and vegetable processor, is entering the hemp industry after recently acquiring a 49 percent stake in CraftAg, a hemp production company out of Beverly, Washington. Seneca Foods will be converting a former 270,000-square-foot pear and apple cannery into a facility used to dry hemp plants.
Seneca Foods (SENEA) has a net worth of $360 million and currently processes fruits and vegetables for over 2,000 farms across the United States.
CraftAg and Seneca formed a joint venture that will process and dry hemp that is grown by farmers in the state of Washington. The hemp they will be producing is smokable (sometimes referred to as “CBD cigarettes”), a trend that has slowly increased among users looking for an alternative to tobacco.
The smokable hemp trend has gained traction due to it lacking both nicotine and THC, making CBD the most prominent compound in the plant. This has created a new method that uses CBD to help quit smoking, with many users reporting success.
Seneca expects the conversion of the cannery will cost around $10 million, with CraftAg also updating one of their facilities in order to clone and propagate seeds. This facility is located near Royal City, Washington.
In an announcement about the joint venture, Seneca stated that the cannery facility they are converting is “ideally located in the hear of the Yakima Valley, a region well-suited for growing specialty crops such as hemp.”
Is There Benefits to Smoking Hemp?
Yes, there are several benefits that come with smoking hemp, but its appearance tends to turn people off of the idea.
Due to hemp’s resemblance to marijuana, many people stray away from smoking it in its flower form. But the truth is hemp is typically comprised of around 15 percent CBD with less than .3 percent THC, so smoking it will not get you high or give you any psychoactive effects that users experience from smoking marijuana with high THC content.
In fact, smoking hemp provides all of the same benefits that most CBD products provide, with the additional opportunity to try and quit using tobacco products. Some of these benefits include:
- Reducing Anxiety
- Battling Depression
- Reducing Blood Pressure
- Treating Addiction
Be Advised
One thing you should take note of before smoking hemp is that The American Lung Association has announced that inhaling any type of smoke into your lungs can be damaging. And although hemp does not contain any nicotine or resemble tobacco in any way, it may be best to consult with your doctoring before trying it.
Wrapping Up
It is encouraging to see such a massive name in the food processing industry decide to enter the hemp market. This not only proves of hemp and CBD’s rise in popularity, but in their potential business demand as well. And having companies such as Seneca Foods join this market only makes these products more accessible for consumers.
