MO Farm Co

Remington operating a John Deere tractor on our hemp farm in Buchanan County.

Welcome to Missouri: a land made for hemp.
Missouri Farming Company represents a farming group based out of NW Missouri with a focus in the cultivation and processing of the hemp plant. 

We’re veteran farmers and agriculturalists with deep family roots in the most historically significant hemp production site in the country, and we’re applying that heritage and expertise to the emergent hemp production industry as it returns to our state after the repeal of prohibition. 

We grow, research and process the hemp plant, applying our many-generational legacy of agricultural experience in the region to develop the local hemp industry in a way that benefits the farmers and the people of Missouri.

We are MISSOURI FARMING COMPANY...

a FARMER PARTNERSHIP invested in GROWING HEMP and reestablishing the local HEMP PRODUCTION INDUSTRY in a way that benefits THE FARMERS and THE PEOPLE of our state.

One of four generations of farmers adjusting his signature Missouri Farming Company hat.

Our Heritage

Our farm is tucked away in a quiet, sun-drenched corner of Buchanan County not far from the banks of the Missouri River. That puts us in the Missouri Alluvial Valley, where high concentrations of nutrient-rich loess topsoil marks one of the most fertile agricultural regions on the planet.

The ideal nature of that geography is evident in the history of our region. In 1875, the rich black earth we share with neighboring Platte County yielded more hemp per acre than any other soil on the planet. The conditions we enjoy are so perfectly suited to the hemp plant that, prior to prohibition, NW Missouri was considered the nation’s industry leader in hemp production.

Having farmed this land for over 100 consecutive years, with four generations calling NW Missouri ‘home’, we’re no strangers to that fact. We know all too well the silty feel of loess under our fingernails, and we’ve seen with our own eyes how tobacco prospers in our fields. The history of this land is our history, too, and we’re proud to reclaim our heritage as one of the finest sources of high-quality hemp the world will ever know.

sustainability

It’s important to us that we practice farming which is sustainable, both for our local environment and for the world we all live in. To that end, we utilize a number of sustainable agricultural practices.

Illustration of measuring beaker symbolizing variable rate application and precision agriculture.

As part of a precision agriculture strategy, we implement variable rate application across all areas of our farming. Our seed, fertilizer, nitrogen and phosphate — everything is measured and applied at precise ratios that minimize waste.

Illustration of a soil sample magnified for testing and yield analysis.

That includes soil testing and yield analysis to ensure efficiency. We grid sample all of our soil over every 2.5 acres, using the data we gather to improve all of our sustainable practices.

Illustration of cover crops for soil protection and enrichment.

In order to protect and enrich our soil over the long-term, over the last 6 years we’ve implemented cover crops; today, we grow cover crops on 100% of our row crop acres as a tried and true means to reduce soil compaction and minimize the application of unnecessary herbicides.

Illustration of a chicken atop organic fertilizer representing no-till farming.

To preserve our high-quality soil, we’ve long practiced no-till farming — in fact, we’ve been no-till for over 32 years. More recently, we’ve begun the process of converting to organic fertilizer, including chicken and turkey litter, and we reuse manure from our cattle feed lots as fertilizer.

We’re invested in sustainable farming practices, and we’re always looking into new ways to expand our environmentally-friendly approach.

Our mission

Through Missouri Farming Company, we can partner together and develop a path toward achieving that vision of a thriving hemp landscape to an extent that goes beyond the capabilities of individual farmers acting on their own.

Even as we prepare for our first grow season in 2020, we’ve already begun that collaborative process. We know full well that agriculture in this day and age requires developing infrastructure, coordinating with regulators, collaborating within the industry, and so on.

Missouri Farming Company is ultimately about using our perspective and our voice as Missouri farmers to develop a local hemp production infrastructure that best serves the farmers and the people of our state.

Our Organization

Anticipating deregulation, we founded Missouri Farming Company with the purpose of bringing together our fellow farmers of NW Missouri to reestablish our region as the hemp capital of the country.

We are the ongoing recipients of a grant through the Missouri Agricultural and Small Business Development Authority to conduct a feasibility study regarding the viability of hemp production in Missouri, alongside a market study regarding the production, cultivation and sale of hemp.

As part of that grant we are developing a report establishing the knowledge Missouri farmers ought to have as they prepare to grow the hemp plant for the first time in living history.

our story

The holocene era

Glaciers retreat, leaving NW Missouri with some of the most fertile soil on Earth.

As the glaciers retreat across the center of the North American continent, wind blown silt deposits form the Central Lowlands Loess Belt. The climate began to warm and large deposits of topsoil are deposited in Platte and Buchanan counties.

The Holocene Era ends, leaving us with deep deposits of rich, dark topsoil along the Missouri Alluvial Valley. These are some of the most fertile wind blown loess silts in the world, part of the Great Plains Loess Belt. Climate patterns put Missouri in a sweet spot for sun and rainfall.

<10,000 BC

Our Story

Hemp comes to Missouri

In the first half of the 19th century, hemp is introduced to Platte County and surrounding areas by Kentucky settlers traveling up the Missouri River. With prior knowledge of the crop, the settlers recognize the rich, black topsoil as fertile ground.

One such settler was famed trailblazer and Stagecoach King Ben Holladay. Holladay spent two decades in Weston before going on to acquire the Pony Express and establish the Overland Trail, among other hallmarks in American transportation.

1820 - 40s

our story

Western expansion

Fort Leavenworth is established in 1827, immediately becoming the US Army’s most westerly outpost. This presence brings relative safety to the region, encouraging commerce and settlement.

At the same time, the geographic position and transportation infrastructure provided by Fort Leavenworth makes it the perfect place for settlers to stock up on provisions before continuing their migration to the wild West. Amidst this flurry of activity, the region prospers.

1827

our story

last safe harbor

In 1842, before Kansas City has even been established, the town of Weston is formally incorporated. Benefitting massively from its proximity to Fort Leavenworth, and gaining prominence as a regional hub and settlers’ last safe bastion, Weston quick becomes well-known as the second-largest port on the Missouri River.

A constant flow of steamboats — as many as ten per day, and including ships such as “Nellie” and the storied “Famed Far West” — arrive with settlers and supplies for Fort Leavenworth, then stop in Weston to load up on hemp and tobacco to sell in St. Louis and beyond. 

The same year, the community of Blakesnake Hills is renamed, becoming St. Joseph, MO.

1842

our story

Solid infrastructure

Several railroads are built that run through Platte and Buchanan Counties, connecting the nearby farming communities of Edgerton, Dearborn and Outer Weston to the main lines between Kansas City and St. Joseph and the wharfs of Weston. 

Seeds spilled from these cars still germinate today in the form of wild hemp, which a keen eye can spot hidden amidst the rail beds.

1850s

our story

Emancipation, legislation and agriculture

Having run on a platform of the abolition of slavery, Abraham Lincoln’s election to the office of President of the United States in 1861 immediately foments Southern secession. These events spark what will become the American Civil War.

Rebellion didn’t put a hold on governance, however. President Lincoln created the Department of Agriculture in 1862, and he passed the Homestead Act that same year, providing settlers great motivation to expand westward.

A flurry of state and federal legislation ends legal slavery in the United States, including the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863 and the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution in 1865.

1861 - 1865

our story

Ideal soil, peak productivity

Fortunately the land of NW Missouri, if not its soldiers, largely skirt the ravages of war. Exceptions include the Battle of Bee Creek and the skirmishes which razed Platte City and Camden Point.

The region’s productivity peaks from the 1850s through to the 70s. In 1873 alone, Missouri exports 38,000 tons of hemp from Platte & Buchanan Counties.

In the year 1875, the soil of Platte County yielded more hemp per acre than any other earth on the planet.

1873; 1875

our story

A new hemp harvest

With World War I won, American troops returned home. The Home Front converts to postwar productivity and soldiers pick up the plough; hemp and tobacco crops once again bring their support to the economy of NW Missouri.

The new hemp harvest doesn’t last long. In 1937, federal action brings a swift end to the nation’s hemp industry when corporate lobbyists persuade Congress to pass the Marijuana Tax Act. Jazz is never the same again.

1919 - 1937

our story

prohibition

With tax stamps and acreage limits limiting production, tobacco crops come to dominate fields where hemp once flourished. Platte County makes the best of the situation, operating the only tobacco market west of the Mississippi until 2001.

Forty years and another World War go up in smoke and suddenly everyone’s talking about marijuana. Nixon responds in 1971 with the Controlled Substances Act, declaring marijuana a Schedule I narcotic nationwide. Oregon outpaces impeachment to undermine Nixon while he’s still in office, starting off the decriminalization movement with its own state laws.

In 1977, farmer and President Jimmy Carter endorses cannabis decriminalization while Willie Nelson smokes a joint on the roof of the White House.

1938 - 2001

our story

A movement; the birth of Missouri Farming Company

Almost twenty years later, in 1996, California becomes the first state to allow the prescription of medical marijuana.

Fast forward to 2012. Voters in Colorado and Washington pass legislation legalizing the sale and consumption of marijuana for recreational purposes. The state treasuries immediately reap their rewards in the form of massive tax revenues and economic expansion.

In 2018, the people of Missouri approve medical marijuana statewide. Our founders form a partnership and begin preparations for...

2020 — licenses in hand, hemp and cannabis operations begin!

1996 - Today
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Our Story

Anticipating deregulation, we founded Missouri Farming Company with the purpose of bringing together our fellow farmers of NW Missouri to reestablish our region as the hemp capital of the country.

We’ve done it before and we can do it again, but we know full well that agriculture in this day and age requires developing infrastructure, coordinating with regulators, collaborating within the industry, and so on.

<10,000 BC

our team

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