Industrial Hemp Podcast

Industrial Hemp Podcast

The National Hemp Tour 5 Years On

Aug 28, 2026 · 27 min · 15 segments

This week on the hemp podcast we take a ride in the RV Time Machine. We're going back five years, back to the…

This week on the hemp podcast we take a ride in the RV Time Machine. We're going back five years, back to the National Hemp Tour in the summer of 2021, when we took the podcast on the road — and took my family too. We traveled over ten thousand miles from coast to coast in a rented RV visiting hemp farms, processors and manufacturers across the country. The industry was sparse then and these hemp companies were few and far between in 2021. And keep in mind that in 2021, most of the noise around industrial hemp was actually about CBD flower and canabinoid production. What made our trip different was that we were talking to the people on the fiber and grain side of the industry, where the game-changing potential of this plant is strongest. Think houses, textiles, food and fuel. Think row crops, think big acreage, think about a third crop in with our beloved corn and soy. Think Hemp, big, boring and ubiquitous. But it has to start somewhere. People have to start doing things to make it happen. So in 2021, I set out to meet the people where they were. I went to see the farms, see the fields and see the factories. I wanted to meet the people, hear their dreams and see their visions come to life. And now five years later, with gas prices approaching 5 dollars a gallon, we go back on the road again, but this time we go virtually. Over the next few months, I will be sharing new conversations from the people I met on the road back then. We'll hear what's changed, what's stayed the same and what the industry looks like now. But before we start publishing those episodes, we're going to go back in time and revisit the tour itself. This episode is your atlas for our time travel. Buckle up, buttercup, and we'll see you in 2021. ### Thanks to our Sponsors **IND HEMP** indhemp.com **Condor Seeds** condorseed.com **Forever Green** hempcutter.com

This week on the hemp podcast we take a ride in the RV Time Machine. We're going back five years, back to the…

Top entities: Montana×14 Chad Rosen×8 Lancaster Farming×8 United States×12 Rapid City×3

The National Hemp Tour0:01 – 2:20

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Lancaster

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Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast!

Eric HurlockHost

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That's the sound of about 50 people.

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We're gathered at an industrial park in Fort Benton, Montana.

Eric HurlockHost

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It's the summer of 2021, and these are the movers and the shakers of the hemp fiber and grain sector.

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We're standing among giant round bells of hemp, the big Montana sky overhead, and the vast expanse of north-central Montana stretching out behind us.

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A brand new multi-million dollar hemp fiber processing plant is in front of us, and we're all shouting the name of this show, of this podcast.

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It was a surreal moment for me then, and it is a surreal moment for me now.

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This is the Lancaster Farming Industrial Hemp Podcast.

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Hi there.

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My name is Eric Herlock.

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And today we're going back in time.

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We're going back on the road, sort of.

Eric HurlockHost

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We're going to revisit the National Hemp Tour that we took five years ago all the way across America, sea to shining sea, there and back again.

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So yeah, five years ago this summer, my family and I drove 10,000 miles in a rented RV to map an industry that barely existed yet, interviewing farmers, breeders, processors, and dreamers from Kentucky to Oregon and back again.

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I came home somewhat broken, definitely changed, and I came home more convinced than ever that hemp was the most important story in agriculture and that agriculture is the most important story in climate.

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So on this episode, we're going to do a retelling of the tale of the tour, the National Hemp Tour.

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And then over the next few weeks and months, sprinkled in among my other regular episodes, I'm going to revisit the people that I met on the road back then.

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Greg Wilson.

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Melissa Nelson.

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Morris Beagle.

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Wendy

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Mosher.

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Corbett Heffner.

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Tanya Farman.

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Greg Nicco.

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Marissa Baumgartner.

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John Green.

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Andrew Bish.

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Morgan Elliott.

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Jeremy Briggs.

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Derek Dolman.

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Lori Daitner.

Eric HurlockHost

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We'll see where they are now, hear their stories, see how things have changed, see how the industry has developed.

Eric HurlockHost

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But before any of that, before we hear any of my new interviews, I want to take you back on the road.

Eric HurlockHost

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Let's recap the trip, start to finish, the people, the highlights, a few voices from the road.

Eric HurlockHost

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Consider this episode like an atlas.

Eric HurlockHost

2:18

So we'll be back right after these messages.

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