Southern Hemp Expo to Offer Business & Innovation, Farm & Soil Tracks

The 4th Annual Southern Hemp Expo (SHE4), presented by First Citizens Bank, is returning to Nashville, Aug. 18 to 20. The conference includes tracks in Business & Innovation and Farm & Soil Science, in two full days of programming following a welcome reception on Aug. 18. An Experience Hemp exhibition hall open both days and the Nashville Hemp Food & Beverage Fair & Music Festival on Saturday, Aug. 20, featuring local music and hemp-based foods and beverages, round out the programming.

“Four years after industrial hemp was legalized in the 2018 Farm Bill, we are seeing our industry expand from a focus on wellness and cannabinoids to the multiple industrial uses of hemp including textiles, building materials, bioplastics, paper and packaging, biofuel and superfoods,” said Morris Beegle, Southern Hemp Expo organizer and president and founder of We Are for Better Alternatives (WAFBA). All will be explored at the conference featuring a plethora of speakers, exhibitors and opportunities to meet and mingle.

Business & Innovation Conference

Kicking off programming on Friday, Aug. 19, this track will focus on business, consumer, product development, policy and other key hemp market trends — from CBD to hemp building — which are evolving rapidly in the U.S. and throughout the world. Entrepreneurs, founders, influencers and advocates in hemp look to the Southern Hemp Expo and the Let’s Talk Hemp Business & Innovation Conference as one of the ways to stay on top of the latest information and supply chain trends. It’s also the ideal venue to connect with innovators, investors, colleagues, mentors and friends.

In its return to Nashville in 2022, Southern Hemp Expo is welcoming Charlie Hatcher, DVM, Tennessee’s 38th commissioner of agriculture, who will brief the industry on initiatives to lead production, policy, education and advocacy for industrial hemp in Tennessee and throughout the United States.

Farm & Soil Science Symposium

This track will run throughout the day on Saturday, Aug. 20, with a variety of farmers and researchers exploring the science of hemp growing. Hemp farmers and agriculturalists have had their ups and downs over the past few years. The industry experienced growing pains amidst oversupply issues, a global pandemic, turbulent economic times, and an uncertain regulatory environment. Now the hemp industry is beginning to see some significant funding into research and development, and the applications of hemp are diversifying into many different industries. The Let’s Talk Hemp Farm & Soil Science Symposium draws experts in regenerative agriculture, soil health, genetics, pest control, testing compliance, food security, finance, agricultural economics, crop insurance, technology, equipment and more.

A featured speaker at the Saturday lineup, Patrick Brown is the fourth generation family member leading production at the Black-owned Brown Family Farm, established in 1865 by his great-grandfather farmer Byron Brown. Located in Southeast Warren County, North Carolina, the estate cultivates grain and industrial hemp and produces a line of hemp-derived CBD products under the Hempfinity brand. Patrick will speak about how he led the family farm to producing hemp and value-added products derived from hemp, and how he helps others in agriculture and Black farm communities via consulting, education, outreach and support.

To view the complete SHE4 speaker lineup, visit here.