THE HEMP ISSUE
LA PINE, OR
Davis Hemp
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oregonlEAF.COM
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estled in the quiet and cozy hills of La Pine in Deschutes County, we find the elusive
grow known as Davis Hemp Farms. After purchasing the 390-acre property in 2015 to grow recreational Cannabis, they sadly were informed that the county opted them out of their zone of cultivation. During that time, owner Jeremey Klettke worked on several legislative acts in Bend, including the Carve-Out Bill and House Bill 4060. While reprioritizing their focus and going back to their roots, their team’s attention had been shifted towards something else: producing a hemp seed line designed for smokable hemp flower with medicinal value and rich in terpenes.
One of the many facets that set this garden apart from the rest is its unique genetic pool, including American feral hemp varietals. For those of you who are unaware (I was myself until this visit), feral Cannabis or wild Cannabis - often referred to in the United States as ditch weed - is naturally growing Cannabis, most commonly descended from industrial hemp plants. Previously, the main usages for these were for fiber, with little to minuscule amounts of THC. In 2013-14, owners Jeremey Klettke, Tim Klettke and Scott Rainwater acquired 423 seeds from seven states, then went around to a handful of older hemp fields, asking their colleague’s grandfathers which genetics were best. From 2015-18, their small
OCt. 2020
team started a hemp breeding program by putting their colonial varietals out in a field with the end goal being to offer cultivars with a total THC content of less than 0.3% at complete development. Since then, Davis Hemp Farms has gone on to work together with numerous top ranking universities nationwide to create a boatload of high quality, predictable and stable lines of genetics for hemp seed. After carefully selecting two phenotypes from their American ferals, #5 and #22, they then took several resin-producing cultivar anomalies and bred them together, including Oracle, better known as AC/DC. That said, most people visualize AD/DC as a terp-less and junky plant - which is
not something said about their allmighty Oracle. Following three years of intensive R&D, they released their first line of stabilized feminized seeds, using a cultivar with high resin production as the dominant cross. It is important to note that Davis Hemp Farms takes a significantly longer time than other breeders to dial everything in, ensuring the solidity of their genetics. Their refined process is well worth it, as their homogenous seed line is federally compliant, tests at a ratio of 30:1 CBD:THC, 10-10.5% total cannabinoids, 100% feminized and a germination rate of 98-99%. Their genetics are naturally resistant to pests, mildew and mold.
Davis Hemp Farms has gone on to work together with numerous top ranking universities nationwide to create a boatload of high quality, predictable and stable lines of genetics for hemp seed.