Beyond the Seed: Four Faces On The Farm in Planting Season
Charlotte’s Web isn't just a name—it's a movement, and we are grateful to watch it grow and expand as we do. As a company, we care deeply for our whole community. From our farms to our farmers, to the people using our products, we strive to support the health and wellness for those who benefit from the beneficial properties of hemp. Every step of the way, we trudge forward with one goal in mind: “to better the planet and the people living upon it.” None of which would be possible without our dedicated farmers, who share our mission and tend to our plants.
Spring and early summer on the farm is one of the busiest seasons and our team of farmers and cultivators work endlessly in our fields and greenhouses to prepare for planting.
We visited our farm in Eastern Colorado to introduce our family of customers to some of the hardworking folks in the agricultural industry. These four farmers - Chris, Andy, Dusty, and Ray, are all from Eastern Colorado, and they all favor Springtime on the farm. Here is a little more about what makes them tick and their favorite part about farming Charlotte’s Web Hemp!
Chris has been farming most of his life and has been with Charlotte’s Web for one year. Spring is his favorite time on the farm because “planting is always fun.” He loves working outside and then experiencing the rewarding work at the end of the harvest because it is a good feeling of accomplishment when you do it all. To him, Charlotte’s Web Hemp means “helping people, making renewable resources, and just making our Earth a little more green than it is right now.” Chris loves working at Charlotte’s Web because, as he says it is “quite amazing what the products do and it can really change the world.”
Andy has been working on a farm pretty much his whole life and with Charlotte’s Web for about a year. He said that there are so many aspects he loves about being a farmer, but if he had to pinpoint one, it would be the “idea of helping people and producing something that everyone can consume. He echoes a sentiment you’ll hear when you speak to anyone on the Charlotte’s Web team: “I work for Charlotte’s Web because I really believe in the idea of what we do.” Andy continued by adding, “Charlotte’s Web means the idea of a better quality of life.”
For Dusty who has been farming for five years, three of which have been with Charlotte’s Web, his favorite time at the farm is the spring planting season. He elaborates, “because you’re starting something new.” His second favorite time is harvest. Dusty loves being a farmer because he thrives when working on nature’s deadlines instead of deadlines driven in a more traditional office setting and enjoys the unexpected aspects of farming. His innovative spirit and curiosity gently shows when he grins explaining that the challenges farmers face allow them to change their methods and adapt to how they approach certain obstacles.
A face you hear a lot about if you’ve been reading our blog for some time is Ray. He has been farming his whole life and joined Charlotte’s Web in 2014, the same year we started growing outside. Ray loves being a part of the Charlotte’s Web family because it is an exciting industry to be working in. He enjoys the challenges of farming a crop that has re-emerged as a part of the American landscape and will tell anyone who asks: “great things can come from the products we create.” Because it is a newer industry…it’s a new way of thinking for Ray who is responsible for many of the innovations on our farms allowing us to produce enough hemp to meet the needs of Americans around the country who are looking for plant-based wellness. Springtime is Ray’s favorite time to farm because it’s “the beginning of new plants, new life, new season, and new year”... but to him, all the seasons “are really good.”
We’ll have to check back with Ray, Dusty, Andy, and Chris as the days start getting longer and warmer to learn about how their teams hand-tend the fields and what challenges are keeping them on their toes as our 2019 hemp plants grow toward harvest season.