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CBD Processor Suing Oregon Farm Over Seed Dispute

elemental processing
Written by Alexandra Hicks

A CBD producer based in Lexington, Kentucky, is suing an Oregon company, claiming they were sold “worthless” hemp seeds that ruined what would have been a multi-million dollar crop.

According to Elemental Processing of Kentucky, this crop was “destined to help fulfill the country’s booming demand for CBD”. As stated in a recent survey, one in seven Americans are currently using CBD therapeutically, and that number continues to grow. 

Cannabidiol has grown in popularity over the last year as people continue to discover its potential as a natural treatment option for a myriad of conditions including anxiety, chronic pain, epilepsy, nausea, psoriasis and more.

Unfortunately those plans to resolve the nationwide demand never came to fruition. The company claims that HP Farms from Troutdale, Oregon, sold them male seeds, when they should have been feminized. 


Feminized seeds that produce high-quality CBD flower sell for a pretty penny, often as much as $1 each whereas male plants can be found for less than one cent a piece.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t until Elemental Processing had disturbed the seeds to various regional farmers and their crops began sprouting that anyone noticed things were amiss. The lawsuit states that “the farmers had no choice but to plow the plants”.

$44 million dollars worth of plants that is, which is what Elemental Processing estimates the loss is and what the lawsuit is set to. Legal documents from the suit state that Elemental Processing paid around $352,000 in advance for the seeds and had agreed to pay $3.5 million more – or 15% of its proceeds from the harvested plants’ flowers.

This story was originally reported by the Oregonian / The Oregon Hill, and HP Farms has yet to respond to any news outlet for comment. For more stories like this, subscribe to the CBD Business Weekly Newsletter

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About the author

Alexandra Hicks

Managing editor at Cannadelics and U.S based journalist, helping spread the word about the many benefits of using cannabis and psychedelics.