by Lynda Kiernan
Cool Planet, an agtech company and engineered biocarbon product developer focused on soil health solutions, announced it is partnering with Gray Farm Maple, a progressive farming operation, to conduct trials of its Cool Terra® Organic product on outdoor hemp production.
Founded in 2009 in Colorado, and led by president and CEO Jim Loar, Cool Planet began as a biofuel producer but is now developing and commercializing Cool Terra. This engineered Biocarbon™ product delivers a platform of solutions to the agricultural sector by improving soil health, efficiency, and structure, with the potential to increase agricultural yields by more than 12 percent through the retention of moisture and nutrients at the root zone. When integrated into production systems by farmers, this award-winning, carbon-negative soil amendment has been shown to generate more than a 3:1 return on investment for growers.
In March 2017 the company raised a $19.3 million Series A led by Augstin Coppel and North Bridge Venture Partners. One year later, in July 2018, the company announced the successful close on an additional $20 million in funding as an extension of this Series A.
At the time, the company said that it would use the capital to support an increase in overall production of Cool Terra® amid growing demand. It also was used to help fund the immediate construction of its commercial production facility in Alexandria, Louisiana, which will serve as its manufacturing hub, as well as to support the company’s R&D initiatives and commercialization efforts for its Engineered Biocarbon™.
Today, Cool Terra® products are the most studied biochar-based soil solutions on the market. This success stands on a best-in-class trial program through which Cool Planet has partnered with more than 50 independent third-party university or agricultural researchers, who have conducted more than 125 trials in connection to 40 crops over the past four growing seasons. These trials have proven out that Cool Terra® products deliver a 12.3 percent improvement on average in marketable yield when compared to standard agricultural production, while also generating a 3:1 grower return on investment.
Grey Farm Maple
Located in Denmark, Maine, in the western mountain region of the state, Grey Farm Maple is a state-licensed grower of high-CBD industrial hemp and a producer of Grade A pure maple syrup.
As a progressive farming operation, Grey Farm Maple has integrated advanced plasticulture farming and root zone fertigation technology in the production of its hemp, and processes the biomass using CO2 extraction, resulting in crude and refined CBD oil. The farm also has a sugarbush of rock and red maple that are seasonally tapped for sap, which is then processed using reverse osmosis and wood-fired evaporation to produce Grade A Maine maple syrup.
“Industrial hemp is quickly becoming the next cash crop within the agricultural sector. We’re excited to partner with a company that is helping give farms more tools to take advantage of this tremendous opportunity,” said Jim Loar, CEO, Cool Planet.
The trials that the two companies are undertaking will be conducted as a randomized complete block, replicated design under which the acreage will be divided into 24 rows to account for soil variations in the field. Throughout the trial, plasticulture and drip tape will be used, and Cool Terra® Organic will be applied to the root zone. Upon harvest, yields of both the control crop, and the crop with Cool Terra® will be measured in dry weight, and CBD content will be measured after CO2 extraction.
“Based on the significant number of independent trials we have conducted, we believe applying Cool Terra® Organic to the root zone of hemp plants has the ability to increase the yield and thus overall CBD content, making the crop even more valuable than it already is today,” said Loar.
By removing hemp from the list of controlled substances and legalizing its production, the 2018 $867 million Farm Bill was the catalyst to turn what has been a boutique activity since 1937 when the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 made the possession of cannabis and hemp illegal, into a business that has the potential to generate revenues of more than $20 billion per year by 2020.
However, hemp is also a high carbon-footprint crop, and Cool Terra® could be the key to making production of the crop more sustainable.
“We are excited to partner with Cool Planet to better understand how their biochar-based soil amendment may impact the output, and environmental sustainability of industrial hemp farming,” said Barry Kallander, president, Grey Farm Maple.
“Hemp offers a tremendous opportunity for farmers across the country, but due to the crop’s high carbon footprint, we must find ways to make it more sustainable. We think Cool Terra® could be a helpful tool because of its ability to increase yield, reduce water use, sequester carbon, and improve soil health.”
– Lynda Kiernan is Editor with GAI Media and daily contributor to GAI News. If you would like to submit a contribution for consideration, please contact Ms. Kiernan at lkiernan@globalaginvesting.com
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