I know the focus of this forum is not smokable flower, but the knowledge is here and needed.
New USDA regs aside, is my organic Colorado - llama shit fertilized - no till - no plastic - non seeded - high CBD - defanned in field - hang dried - hand trimmed - slow cured to perfection Grade A flower only worth $200 /lb wholesale, if that?
Zero boutique wholesale market for smokable?
machine trimmed is $200-300/lb, top shelf can fetch up to $300-450/lb i believe
I think a lot of this will depend on genetics and name recognition. If you have a known strain, testing at 15%+, then you should be able to get a wholesale buyer at $250-300/lb. You just have to know the right people. If youāre selling genetics that your buddy gave you and nobody ever heard of it, there is not much chance to get top dollar unfortunately, no matter how good the prep process was.
All that being said, what genetics did you grow?
Thank you for your advice. Genetics from EcoGen (Cherry Blossom and T1) right at around 15%, over 20% total cannabinoids. Admittedly not as good as some of the strains coming out of Oregon, but pretty standard CO strains. In an isolated area without other farms so flower is not seeded, unlike most other farms product I have checked out. I do have a buyer interested in 100 lbs at $200/lb for Grade A hand trimmed, but for that price I would rather hold for my retail front. Just not getting any wholesale interest on Kush or Hempexchange at $300 and surprised that there does not seem to be much of a price difference between million lb farms and small properly cured boutique farm flower.
Youāre on the right track. You need to get past the first round of brokers that are asking for hand trimmed for $200/pound and get to that next level where they are flipping it. It can be done, but itās not easy. But I agree that you should hold out for a higher price if youāve already hand trimmed it all.
Top shelf hemp is not a thing yet but I saw some Paradise OG hemp in my area coming from Vegas. This stuff is the truth and this is the quality I wanna see in the hemp market regularly. Not the trash I see constantly being funneled around.
You said ātop shelf hemp is not a thingā and then you described ātop shelf hempā 
Top shelf hemp is high CBD, low THC flower that looks good, smells good, and is cured and trimmed properly. Top shelf, top dollar hemp is the same as above but known genetics.
Market forces dictate what top shelf is, and these are the factors determining market value right now, namely:
Smell
Aesthetics
CBD content
Name recognition
Trim/cure quality
Yes agreed, ātop shelfā definitely a thing. The issue is, as you mentioned, flippers trying to get it at $200.00 and reselling at $400-$500.00 when no one should be selling it for less then $300.00. Based on labor required true top shelf wholesale should actually be closer to $400.00. Streamlining labor / processes is essential. Creating a scalable top shelf model and figuring out what the absolute bottom dollar to still remain profitable is what I am trying to do this yearā¦ But all for nill if USDA and FDA have their way
I am in the same boat dude. Iāve got 27lb of Cherry Wine testing at 16.3%, cured perfect, trimmed nice, top shelf. Yet people are passing it up because they can get some cheap shitty-cured lifter for 250/lb. I guess we need to get people to understand the value that top shelf hemp brings to the market. So many people are selling extraction-grade biomass as top shelf flower, and it gives hemp a bad name.
You have to go door to door to show dispensaries and CBD shops your product, cut out middle man and get top dollar. Just donāt have the time for that right nowā¦ but if a few small boutique flower farms could somehow co-op together we could find a way to make it work. Co-op top-shelf online retail and a salesperson to hit the streets. I have a large storefront (not yet open though) with focus on Hemp/CBD. I am trying to get a cooperative going for local premium hemp products up where Iām at, but perhaps there is way for a network regardless of location.
When I said itās not a thing I didnāt mean itās not a thing thatās in existence, I mean there isnāt a huge market for it specifically right now. When I say thereās not a huge market for it I mean of course people will enjoy a premium product but no one is looking to pay the premium for higher grade stuff. Weāre getting there though.
I blame all of these fly-by-night CBD stores that are trying to buy the cheapest shit to peddle. I mean, on one hand, I understand operating on a shoestring budget. But fuck man, you canāt spring an extra 200$ for some product thats worth a damn???
Thereās just so much volatility in prices right now. I see people on some of the hemp groups on Facebook peddlling pounds as cheap as $150. No way Iām hand trimming for that price. Stores if they are willing to say what they will pay are offering $2 a gram.
The biggest issue is the consumer education.
My opinion is that most of the smokable flower is consumed in the Midwest and southeast regions of the country where legal cannabis is scarce, garbage, or non existent.
Most of the growers that are growing boutique hemp come from craft cannabis. They are used to catering to a very mature market that has expectations and is a lot more cognizant of the process.
Iāve witnessed people in the Midwest advertise hand trimmed bud on fan leave shake pre rolls. I see guys selling machine trimmed hemp flower for $15/g at their rural vape store, but doesnāt understand why the hand trimmed pound is $100 more than the machine trimmed; in fact most of the time they canāt tell the difference.
I think that The bar was set so low last year that farmers expectations were set high on their ability to create healthy returns; buyers expectations are that there are more people doing it now so it should cost me less.
Illinois adult use market could be a a catalyst or stop the Midwest smokable hemp market in its tracks. My guess is that folks will either seek, low thc flower and CBD products that utilize THC and buy from dispensaries or the acceptance of consumption will boost the purchasing of hemp flower from CBD brick mortar retail shops/vape stores.
Great info and insight, thank you.
Has anybody claimed to produce smokeable hemp flower that would be compliant next yearā¦andā¦ gets good reviews?
Do you ship out of state?
OregonCBD has stated that no type III chemotype (high CBD low THC) strains brought to maturity currently exist, and I would trust them on this subject over anyone. Will have to harvest these stains atleast 2 weeks early, so it is likely that nothing compliant will have over 10% cbd. They do suppository have compliant type IIIās in the works for 2021.
Not sure if you were asking me or a commenter. I do. I actually just sold 4 lbs to a more regular user on here and he was extremely impressed with quality (and he purchased my grade b size flower). If you need him as a vouch or want any details please DM.