Newsletter
Newsletter – August 20, 2025
Reset, Refine, Rock On: A NoCo Thank You
By Morris Beegle, Let’s Talk Hemp
Friends of NoCo Hemp Expo, thank you. After more than a decade of rolling up sleeves and raising roofs, I can say with a grin, what a long, strange trip it’s been. We built something together that mattered. And we are not done. I am resetting, refining, refocusing, and pressing onward. Fall down seven times, stand up eight.
A clear note of gratitude and closure: NoCo Hemp Expo has taken its final bow. NoCo11 in April 2025 was the last one. We took it to 11, we’ve been #OneLouder for ten plus years…and even the mighty Spinal Tap would be proud. Thank you for making it legendary.
I have always believed the show must go on. Even when the path got steep, we knew it’s a long way to the top if you wanna rock and roll, and the map looked more like modern art than directions, but we kept going. Why? Because the wheel in the sky keeps on turning. Because here comes the sun. Because when it gets weird, it’s times like these you learn to live again.
So thank you to everyone who showed up, spoke up, and lifted up. Your support has been the chorus behind the work. Life is a long song. When a door creaked shut, we chose to break on through to the other side. When doubts tried to crowd the stage, we chose to hold the line. When the wind shifted, we rode the wind of change.
Hemp 3.0: The Next Chapter of the American Hemp Industry
By Let’s Talk Hemp
The U.S. hemp industry has gone through distinct eras over the past decade, each defined by legislation, regulation, or the lack of it, and the market realities that followed. Today, the industry stands at the threshold of a new era. That era is Hemp 3.0.
Hemp 1.0 began in the years before and immediately after the 2014 Farm Bill. For the first time in decades, hemp was allowed back into American fields under state pilot programs. Small-scale crops, research plots, and early entrepreneurial efforts marked the reintroduction of a plant long celebrated for its versatility. With little infrastructure and limited regulatory clarity, the industry’s potential remained largely aspirational.
Hemp 2.0 arrived with the 2018 Farm Bill, which federally legalized hemp and its derivatives. The law triggered a rush into cannabinoids, especially CBD, without a clear federal pathway for manufacturing, marketing, or sales. Oversupply followed, prices fell, and in the absence of guidance, non-intoxicating products blurred into intoxicating derivatives such as delta-8 THC. At the same time, fiber and grain were treated as an afterthought, bundled with cannabinoid policy and blocked from developing the infrastructure, markets, and standards needed to scale. The global Covid pandemic added pressure by disrupting supply chains, drying up capital, and stalling early momentum. On the policy front, neither the Trump nor Biden administrations delivered the regulatory clarity the industry needed. Biden’s climate-smart initiatives were a bright spot that supported fiber and grain, but many of those gains were rolled back when Trump returned in early 2025. The result was confusion, uneven enforcement, and an industry too often defined by controversy rather than progress.
Let’s Talk Hemp Announcement
Thank You, Hemp Community
This week’s newsletter is our final edition for the foreseeable future. Let’s Talk Hemp is going on an indefinite hiatus. It has been an honor to inform, amplify, and advocate alongside you. We have had a great run, and we are proud of what this community has built together.
Our work in hemp does not stop. We will continue supporting the industry through new projects and collaborations, and we look forward to the unfolding of Hemp 3.0 and the opportunities it will bring for those committed to hemp and fighting the good fight.
For additional information or to stay connected, please reach out to morris@morrisbeegle.com. We will see you soon.
Keep on Hempin’ on!
Morris Beegle
Publisher, Let’s Talk Hemp
EVENTS
Hempcrete Workshop
September 13, 2025, Willis, MI
13th Annual International Hemp Building Symposium
October 3-5, 2025, Lower Sioux Indian Community, MN
South African Industrial Hemp Fibre Processing for Commercialisation Conference
November 3-4, 2025, Cape Town, South Africa
Asia International Hemp Expo & Forum
November 5-7, 2025, Bangkok, Thailand
Industrial Hemp International – Conference & Trade Show
March 26-27. 2026, Denver, CO
ICBC Berlin
April 14-16, 2026, Berlin, Germany
| Add your event to Hemp Events, a free listing service for legitimate hemp industry events. Visit www.HempEvents.org |
Subscribe to the Let’s Talk Hemp YouTube Channel
#LetsTalkHemp is the ultimate platform that focuses on “Changing the Cannabis Conversation”. We provide news, education, and information about Hemp and Cannabis to our viewers so that they can learn more about the industry and get tips and tricks on the latest technologies. Subscribe to our channel and learn about everything from legal updates, farming, production, and new products entering the Hemp & Cannabis space.
SCAM ALERT! Are you receiving emails from individuals passing themselves off as agents of the NoCo Hemp Expo or Southern Hemp Expo offering to sell you an attendee list from one of our expos or offer you discounted lodging rates? Please be aware that this is a bogus offer and should be marked as spam. CoHempCo does not sell, rent or give names of attendees for money. Please be aware of these inappropriate actions and stay alert for these types of requests. You can trust emails from @wafba.org, @cohempco.com, @nocohempexpo.com, @southernhempexpo.com and @letstalkhemp.com.
About Let’s Talk Hemp
Let’s Talk Hemp is a publication of WAFBA – We Are For Better Alternatives focused specifically on the subjects of industrial hemp, cannabis, sustainable agriculture, environment, healthy foods & supplements, and climate-smart applications. We present features and curate news from across the globe to share the benefits of hemp, cannabis, bio-based materials, and better alternatives. WAFBA also is the Producer of NoCo Hemp Expo, the world’s leading hemp conference and exposition.
Publisher/Editor: Morris Beegle
Editor-in-chief: Steven Hoffman
Web Developer: Debby West
Design: Ben Wright
Contributors: Morris Beegle, Beau Whitney
Send Us Your Hemp News!
Send press releases and news announcements to news@letstalkhemp.com
View the Complete Let’s Talk Hemp Content Library!
You can access all past issues of Let’s Talk Hemp in our Archives at LetsTalkHemp.com
