Augusta-based tech startup Midwest Hemp Technology is now certified as a sustainable agricultural goods provider by a USDA-funded program.
The startup, which produces hemp seed food, oil, and industrial hemp products, including hurd, fines, and short strand fiber, announced a strategic partnership Monday with Grown Climate Smart, a subsidiary of Wisconsin-based agriculture business and exporter The DeLong Co. that certifies and supports companies with climate-friendly agriculture products.
Grown Climate Smart is a grantee of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodity, a $3.1 billion initiative investing in sustainable production agriculture by small and underserved farmers.
"As more buyers in the hemp market look for sustainable and environmentally friendly products, our partnership with Grown Climate Smart perfectly fits these demands," Midwest Hemp CEO Sarah Stephens said in a news release. "This partnership is a significant step forward in our mission to showcase the environmental benefits of hemp."
The partnership will allow Midwest Hemp Tech to use Grown Climate Smart's sustainable commodity certification on its products and explore funding opportunities across Midwest and national markets.
Grown Climate Smart's Dylan Vaca said the company found Midwest Hemp through its research in March. Since then, Vaca said the company held interviews with Stephens to assess her company's buying, growing and producing practices.
"We wanted to make sure (the product) is genuine and authentic. And so, we talked with Sarah about who they purchase from and also their own values, and how they want to market their products and their business," he said.
Vaca said Grown Climate Smart received $40 million in grant funds from the USDA to support agricultural projects. While the partnership with Midwest Hemp Tech is purely strategic, Vaca said the company will help the startup find funding opportunities from around $160 million available for hemp-based products through the USDA initiative.
Stephens said she is looking forward to utilizing the strategic partnership to find funding opportunities as she moves the company forward.
"I think that's something we'll be able to move towards with the next growing season," she said in an interview. "I think we're pretty excited about the hemp health food that we've been able to bring to the market. It's taken a lot of trial and error. We're just starting to talk to retailers here locally."
Stephens added that the company has received a positive response from local markets like Hutchinson's High Point Pharm and Wichita's Firefly Farm.
"I just get so excited about the health food benefits of hemp, it's such a great part of our diet and I am excited for other people to start embracing that and seeing it," she said.
