Laura Drotleff

Laura has specialized in agricultural journalism for the past 20 years. Most recently she served as the editor of a B2B publication and multimedia properties focused on productivity, efficiency and profitability in commercial greenhouse cultivation. She has reported on multiple aspects of specialty crops including floriculture, fruit, vegetables, citrus and cannabis. She also has served extensively on various horticulture industry association boards. Laura is a Michigan State University graduate and is based in Cleveland, Ohio.


Indiana hemp processor expanding operations to meet demand

A hemp processor based in central Indiana plans to build a $50 million facility in Westfield, bringing 100 new jobs to the area. BDX-Indiana, a CBD extraction company, operates a 63,000-square-foot facility in Indianapolis. The first phase of construction of the facility, which received a city tax abatement last month, will begin in December. The […]

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Feds warn Florida CBD firm to stop making unfounded claims about products

Two federal agencies sent a joint warning letter to a Florida company for selling CBD products online while making unsubstantiated medical claims. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned Naples, Florida-based Rooted Apothecary on Oct. 10 that, by making claims that its CBD products can treat medical conditions […]

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Industry to USDA: Where are the federal hemp regulations?

The hemp industry continues to look for federal guidance on production for 2020. It’s been more than a month since Hemp Industry Daily first reported that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) had completed its draft of the federal hemp production rules and submitted it to the White House Office of Budget and Management, which reviews […]

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Hemp Harvest 2019: Six ways farmers may still profit this season

Farmers across the United States who produced hemp this year are using any means necessary to sell crops that are either still waiting in their fields to be harvested or drying postharvest. From posting hemp for sale on LinkedIn to working with brokers, farmers this season are looking for strategies to profit from hemp even […]

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NC awards economic development grant to new hemp processing plant

North Carolina is giving a hemp processor $100,000 to set up a new facility. Carolina Botanicals, a commercial processor of hemp biomass, will invest $3.46 million in its new processing plant in Tabor City, in Southeastern North Carolina. The plant is projected to create 30 jobs. The $100,000 grant comes from the One North Carolina […]

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California updates industrial hemp law to comply with 2018 Farm Bill

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill to bring the state’s hemp laws into compliance with the 2018 Farm Bill. The measure, which was signed Saturday and will take effect Jan. 1, updates the state’s definition of industrial hemp and terminology to match the federal language. It also requires the California Department of Food and Agriculture […]

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University looking for hemp industry guidance to identify research priorities

Michigan State University is looking to the hemp industry to provide guidance on research and outreach needs. University researchers are asking growers who are currently producing or plan to produce hemp for biomass, fiber, grain or CBD to participate in an industrial hemp survey. The survey asks growers to prioritize areas where they could use […]

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CBD firm trades shares for ads with media conglomerate in unconventional deal

A Canadian wellness company has entered into an equity partnership with an American consumer-media company to promote its hemp-derived CBD products in the United States. Neptune Wellness Solutions, based in Laval, Quebec, developed the deal with New York City-based American Media, a privately held publisher of consumer magazines such as Men’s Journal and Us Weekly. The media […]

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Kentucky hemp processing plant held up by contractors’ liens

A Kentucky hemp producer and manufacturer says a new manufacturing facility is on track despite financing snags that have held up construction. Winchester-based GenCanna Global is building a new processing facility in Mayfield, a town of about 10,000 people in Western Kentucky. Building contractors have reportedly filed 19 liens on the property, saying GenCanna owed them more […]

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