Piedmont Community College’s (PCC) Small Business Center, along with the NC Cooperative Extension, will host an informational seminar for potential and current hemp cultivators and those exploring the hemp/CBD oil industry.
This free “Hemp 101: What, Where, and How?” seminar will be held on Tuesday, December 3, 8:30 – 10:30 a.m. on PCC’s Person County Campus, located at 1715 College Drive in Roxboro. The seminar will take place in Building S, room 100. This event is free and open to the public.
Currently, the hemp and CBD oil industry is like the “Wild, Wild West”. Promises, rumors, hopes, surprises, expectation, and hard reality abound. Those attending this free seminar will acquire an introduction to hemp farming and to the CBD oil industry.
In fact, the seminar is designed to explore emerging industry of Hemp through the following areas:
• Exploring the business side of hemp cultivation and distribution
• Potential benefits and limitations of industrial hemp markets
• What to expect from the industry and its immediate future
• How to prepare for and enter into the market
• A look at realistic hemp crop budgets and profitability
• Finding distribution channels and selling product
• Identifying resources: legal, banking, insurance, and others
The free seminar’s format will include presentation from Gary Bullen, Farm Management, NC State Extension; Gary Cross, Area Agent for Field Crops, NC Cooperative Extension; Jack Tatum, CEO, Isolera Extracts; and Tom Whitt, Open Book Extracts (OBX). Following the presentations, guests will be encourage to participate in a questions and answer session with the speakers.
About the presenters:
The following individuals will present during this event, and a panel Q&A will follow:
Gary Bullen is a Farm Management Extension Associate with the NC State Extension office, specializing in agricultural and resource management. He is an expert in evaluating new enterprises and marketing new crops, helping farmers in business development and feasibility studies. Gary is currently working on hemp budgets for North Carolina and will present his findings to help guide expectations, profitability estimates, and cost planning.
Gary Cross is the NC Cooperative Extension Area Agent for Field Crops, serving Person and Granville counties. He has been at the forefront of hemp farming and cultivation in our area. Gary will present an overview of the hemp industry, showing both the good and the bad, to present an accurate picture of what it takes to get started and to be profitable in this emerging industry. The practical nature of his observations will be a real benefit to both those starting and those struggling in the field.
Jack Tatum is the CEO of Isolera Extracts, the 187,000 square foot industrial hemp processing facility in Granville County, NC. He leads Isolera’s business operations, which include hemp and CBD oil extraction, CBD pharmaceutical manufacturing, and distribution. Jack will discuss distribution channels in the U.S. marketplace as well as the latest processing technologies, local requirements, and expert perspectives on standard operating procedures.
Tom Whitt is an executive with Open Book Extracts (OBX), a hemp-derived cannabinoid company with extraction and product manufacturing operations in Roxboro, NC. He will share information on cultivation requirements, licensing, processing, and best practices. Tom’s experience in the local supply chain will offer valuable insight into the specific needs of cultivating and processing in the Piedmont region.
To save your seat:
For more information or to participate in this free seminar, contact Scott Keen, PCC’s Director, Small Business Center at (336) 322-2484 or scott.keen@piedmontcc.edu. Or register online at www.piedmontcc.edu/sbc.

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