New West is blessed to have cultivated deep relationships across not only the hemp industry but the wider agricultural industry in general. In fact, we are one of the maybe 1-2 US hemp seed genetics companies still operating since 2014. That says a lot about our commitment to being good actors. We value those relationships, and if our products don’t stand up to the test, we sit down with the customer and figure out why. Gather facts, and ask a lot of questions. So much can go wrong when you farm, that’s why farming is BRAVE and why farmers should be respected. Ultimately, it is important to determine if the cause of any failure is genetic fit, production errors, or just mother nature (and in some cases, a combination).
Mother nature’s impacts are pretty obvious, whether it is pests, weather, or disease. Genetic fit can be harder to determine unless replicate trials are performed. When you see success from the same genetic and same seed lot (as seed quality can impact things like stand establishment, etc) across multiple regional locations, you validate that 1.) the seed lot was good and 2.) the genetics are appropriate. If the field fails under favorable mother nature conditions and evidence of local success elsewhere, the poor performance is likely due to some production learning that needs to happen. This sounds obvious, but to newer producers and actors in the hemp industry, it’s important to have a framework of the basics.
As an example, here are some pics of an experimental hybrid, all from the same seed lot in 3 locations quite close to each other. Two out of three of the fields succeeded spectacularly, and one had poor performance. Weather was similar across the region, and no disease or pest pressure was evident. This tells us that there were one or more production errors.
There’s a lot to learn still about hemp production, region by region. NWG learns new techniques and makes adjustments every year. We have patience for newer producers, we were once that and have made many errors! We offer this expertise to every major seed purchaser, including field visits and phone calls with trained agronomists (over 30 years of production experience).
Ask about NWG Agronomic Excellence support with your seed purchase. We want you to succeed – our success is your success, and yours is ours. That’s how we build this industry!