blog

Quality, Certified Seed Lots NWG’s Certified seed production encompasses many steps. This process begins by paying close attention to the weather at harvest time, having adequate drying equipment, and cleaning to strict specifications, even if it means a higher rate of “clean-out” or yield reduction. We then follow up with rigorous testing of every single seed lot. This quality control and certification process ensures only the best seed makes it to your fields. Seed Cleaning Producing high-quality seed is a meticulous process involving several crucial steps. Through rigorous cleaning techniques, such as air-screening and gravity separation, impurities and unwanted debris are effectively removed, ensuring a much cleaner product that advances to the next stage. Once the seeds are cleaned, they undergo a rigorous conditioning process. Conditioning enhances the seed's viability and vigor, ensuring optimal germination rates and robust plant growth. This involves carefully controlling factors like temperature, humidity, and moisture content. Subjecting the seeds to these optimum conditions further improves their high performance, setting the stage for successful crop production. See the video below of our seed cleaning and conditioning in action Quality Assurance Certification plays a pivotal role in maintaining the integrity and reliability of high-quality seed. Certified seed goes through stringent third-party testing to meet specific quality standards. These standards include purity, germination rates, and freedom from weed seeds and invasive species. Certification gives farmers peace of mind that they can confidently rely on the quality and performance of the seed they purchase, ultimately [...]

Agronomic Excellence Achieves Greater Yields NWG is invested in the US hemp industry and building a future with knowledgeable, experienced, and successful hemp farmers. Our Agronomic Excellence Package educates and empowers farmers to maximize hemp yields, minimize risk, and optimize hemp in their crop rotation.   Farmers’ use of our Agronomic Excellence Package consistently leads to improved yields. This makes for a busy season and year for our agronomy team, but it is well worth it to see our customers succeed. “Daniel was the 2nd person from the NWG team that reached out when we started growing hemp. He has been there for us every step of the way. Whether it’s agronomy advice, seed depth, plant population, or harvest advice, he is always willing to offer help. Both years we grew hemp; he came to look at the crop and gave advice to make it better. His knowledge, along with his passion for growing hemp, makes life as a grower easier and stress free!” – NWG Customer, Idaho Farmer NWG Agronomic Excellence Package A purchase of NWG seed is backed by 11 years of breeding and production learning from our experienced agronomy team. Processors and producers alike get peace of mind from having a team at their side to support them through new crop production and achieve grain and fiber specifications. Find out more about our Agronomic Excellence Package and get connected with an NWG agronomist today. AGRONOMY Success starts at the seed, and ends with agronomic [...]

Hemp Sustainability Traits NWG investigates hemp's sustainability traits. Recent peer-reviewed university research largely confirms long-standing anecdotal observations. However, academic studies remain in the early stages, mostly beginning with 2021 USDA programs and limited to annual trials. Hemp’s Carbon Intensity Score Carbon Intensity (CI) scores measure greenhouse gas emissions associated with a production lifecycle. Lower scores indicate less environmental impact, with zero being carbon neutral. For farms, CI scores quantify carbon-based energy used in grain production, guiding practice improvements like cover cropping and reduced tilling. Hemp's lower input needs give it CI advantages over many other broad-acre crops. In private markets, low CI scores can earn crop premiums. AMPLIFY has a better CI score than most hemp varieties, simply due to its drastically increased yields, thus a more efficient use of land and inputs. NWG anticipates future incentives for soil sequestration and water efficiency in nature markets. Use this simple calculator from Iowa State to estimate your CI score today! Calculate your CI Score Hemp and Pesticide Use A 2023 literature review of industrial hemp at Oregon State University found that “Hemp plants have been shown to reduce the quantity of a limited number of nematode species and certain fungi in soils, and hemp may be grown without chemical pesticides.” This study also found that incorporating hemp into a rotation improves many soil health properties. Research Article Hemp and Water Use Efficiency Industrial Hemp Requires Less Water than Cotton and Corn. Industrial hemp is [...]

As breeders and seed producers seed handling is a key aspect of our quality assurance process. It’s best to take advice from the experts so we’re sharing Purdue Ag and ASTA’s guidance on seed handling to help you understand how to ensure you have the highest quality seed at planting time. The best way to maintain quality and germ starts with good harvest and processing (drying, cleaning, and conditioning) contribute the most to maintaining high seed quality. The key step here for seed quality is adequate drying to maintain germination and viability, Purdue Ag recommends that “a moisture content of 8-9% is desirable for storage.” Seeds stored at higher humidity degrade more rapidly than seed stored at the recommended moisture. Purdue Ag Guide ASTA offers these BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES FOR HEMP SEED PRODUCTION which lays out these key steps in seed handling: 1. Seed Storage: If stored properly, hemp seed can maintain high viability. Proper storage slows the decline of germination rates. Seed should always be kept in breathable bags in a cool, dry, rodent-proof facility. 2. Testing: Pursuant to the Federal Seed Act, all seed sold must be tested for germination and purity, by and AOSA certified seed laboratory. A copy of the test results and sample of the seed should be maintained by the company. One and done does not apply to seed storage! Test your seed moisture and germ regularly to ensure storage conditions are adequate to maintain quality. [...]

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 [...]

NWG AMPLIFY® hybrid hemp seed production fields look promising for exceptional yields and superior seed quality. Click the photo below for a week-by-week progression of one of our Northern Colorado AMPLIFY seed production fields. Our seed production fields are at their peak, so we are excited to host visitors throughout July and August. Reach out to schedule a visit to our Northern Colorado headquarters. The NWG team is also out visiting partners, customers, and demonstration sites while the hemp is flourishing. NWG CEO, Wendy Mosher, will trek across the US again this summer and would love to see you along the way. She travels from August 10th to August 21st; see route in the map below where Wendy will travel from Northern Colorado to Eastern Pennsylvania. Meet up with Wendy at an NWG demonstration site - contact info below.