Mission hemp farm opens, growth in industry expected

MISSION, Texas (ValleyCentral) – On Tuesday afternoon, hundreds of hemp trees swayed their aromatic leaves in the wind in the greenhouse of a Mission hemp farm.

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• Credit: KVEO Iris Karami; In the photo: Roberto Morales

“We don’t know anyone making that kind of volume south of Houston,” said Roberto Morales, owner of Healing Bloom Farm.

Healing Bloom handles all parts of production internally with the main product being CBD oil, according to Morales.

• Credit: KVEO Iris Karami
• Credit: KVEO Iris Karami

“We are not aware of an installation of this size that goes from seed to shelf, and my goal is to produce oil, a lot of CBD oil, to make a difference in people’s lives.” said Morales.

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Morales said he has a family member who has had seizures and was prescribed CBD oil, but at that time a 30 milliliter bottle would cost about $ 300.

In 2019, Morales said it began investing in Healing Bloom with the vision of becoming a 24-hour growth facility to supply Texas retailers.

“These oils can go into almost any product, from lotions to tinctures, edible butters; a whole different line of products,” said Hunter Ross, Healing Bloom’s processor and product formulator.

Credit: KVEO Iris Karami

Morales explained that many people do not know the difference between a marijuana plant and a hemp plant.

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“The difference is that marijuana has a lot of THC and very little CBD,” Morales said. “CBD is where the medicinal properties of this plant come from.”

In Texas, the 2018 agricultural law allowed hemp to be legally sold and grown with less than 0.3% THC.

• Credit: KVEO Iris Karami: In the photo: Hairdryer
• Credit: KVEO Iris Karami; In the photo: Seeds
• Credit: KVEO Iris Karami; In the photo: hemp trimming and packing

For local retailers, they say having a local supplier of this volume could bring improvements to the market.

“Having a local facility like this will help retailers a lot because instead of outsourcing things from different states, we can actually extract oil from our hometown in the Rio Grande Valley,” said Trevor Kocaoglan, owner of Rio. CBD RGV.