Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities

Sounds like hemp industry good addition

Along with its cannabis cousin, hemp has been classified as a Schedule 1 narcotic for most of the 20th century, ostensibly for its appearance (a marijuana look-alike) but really because the timber industry saw it as unwanted competition.

Hemp doesn’t get you high, so outlawing it was government at its worst.

Now, however, with one sweep of a farm bill, it’s legal. Regulated, so you’ll need a license, but it’s ready to go as America’s newest cash crop.

Vincent Cordova, a Puerto de Luna native who went off and made good for himself before returning home to do as he pleased, is on to something. He says PDL and Guadalupe County would be smart to brand its river valley hemp with a reputation for the best CBD oil-producing hemp in the country, thereby claiming itself as “the hemp capital of the state.”

He’s well on his way to selling his first batch of hemp clones for any and all farmers up and down the Pecos River Valley, and he’s got a big investment partner in Pecos Valley Enterprises, which means he’s good to grow.

And grow his enterprise will do, if enough farmers step up and buy his top-shelf hemp clones and spread a quality product around the valley in abundance. Then maybe PDL will become known for its hemp, like Hatch is known for its chile, or Austin for its music, or California for its pot.

That last comparison is part of the reason why Cordova thinks New Mexico can sell hemp into California, which by itself is the fifth largest economy in the world. It’s already a state putting its money on marijuana, which means the farmers there might now be so inclined to grow hemp when pot is more lucrative.

Unlike most areas of New Mexico, Santa Rosa and PDL have plenty of water, so we have an advantage over most of the state when it comes to a brand new and wide-open hemp market. And with all the small-acre farms up and down the Pecos in Guadalupe County — a very good way to grow hemp for larger markets — we’ve got a big opportunity here.

Then there’s Santa Rosa’s downtown, which will surely benefit from New Mexico Hemp Services taking over the old Wells Fargo building. It almost makes up for the donut shop’s closing ... just kidding, despite that and the even-more-significant closing of OK Clothiers, there are more new businesses coming into downtown than closing down, and that’s a good thing. Especially now that we’re on the cusp of full MainStreet status.

A hemp headquarters sounds like a good addition to the downtown mix.

We’ll be watching how it grows from there.

— Guadalupe County Communicator,

Santa Rosa

 
 
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