An American agricultural biotech company focused on tobacco harm reduction has secured organic certification for its hemp production.
On Thursday, Buffalo, New York-based 22nd Century announced that it had received United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) organic certification for its hemp production at Needle Rock Farms.
According to 22nd Century, the certification will enable them to command a premium price and margin for its hemp biomass.
Obtaining a USDA organic certification is a process that can prove to be challenging.
In addition to extensive paperwork, certification agent visits, potential pesticide contamination from neighboring farms, and annual fees, a farm must operate as organic for 36 months before USDA will certify.
22nd Century CEO James Mish says organic certification is a valuable asset that enables premium pricing for hemp grown at Needle Rock Farms.
“It also expands our capabilities to create disruptive hemp/cannabis plant lines tailored to the most exacting customer requirements at a fraction of the time and cost of traditional breeding methods,” says Mish. “Similar to the work done in order to commercialize other major crop lines, our disruptive hemp/cannabis plant lines can be tailored to express consistent levels of desirable major and minor cannabinoids, improved structural characteristics, heightened disease resistance, and other key traits necessary for the economic and predictable production at commercial scale.”
22nd Century harvested its first two customized plant lines in late 2021.
The company says it is currently selecting an expanded roster of plant lines for the 2022 growing season.
According to the company, selected plant lines will exhibit commercial traits as requested by customers.
22nd Century says this will expand its revenue generation opportunities as it continues to lead the hemp and cannabis industries in commercial plant line innovation.
With a comprehensive and innovative upstream cannabinoid value chain in hemp and cannabis, 22nd Century says it is unlocking commercial success for large-scale cultivation and extraction as increased global legalization grows the industries.
