Grower Stories #162: Ariel Ezekiel

Our chat with Ariel Ezekiel, the co-founder of Holland Hill Farm

The AskGrowers team sits for a chat with Ariel Ezekiel who is the co-founder of Holland Hill Farm. She talks about the farm’s early beginnings as a hobby farm which later turned toward CBD production. She also tells us how CBD is grown completely naturally at the farm, without any chemicals or excessive machinery, and how the farm focuses on sustainable growing methods.

Tell us a few sentences about you personally:

My name is Ariel Ezekiel. I am a wife, a mother, and a South Carolina hemp farmer. My husband is a Radiation Oncologist and, together, we make an incredible team. We are a large blended family with four sons at home and two daughters in college. Our life is an orchestra of organized chaos filled with so much love and joy.

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Tia: Tell us how you started Holland Hill Farm?

Ariel: Holland Hill Farm was initially started as a small hobby farm. We started with a few rescued horses, hay fields, and farmed pine trees. My husband and I follow medical news and have been following the studies as they come out with new knowledge of the benefits CBD has on the human body. As South Carolina ventured into the Hemp Pilot Program in 2018, we submitted and were awarded a 2019 farming permit.

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Tia: What kind of pain point have you faced launching the business?

Ariel: Any new business experiences growing pains. The majority of our largest points of frustration involved the installation of infrastructure. Erecting the greenhouse during the Christmas holiday was particularly painful.

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Tia: What was your initial capital for opening up the brand?

Ariel: Because we were already a functioning farm and needed only a few small additions, I could not accurately calculate the initial capital required for a hemp farm startup.

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Tia: What’s your brand focus?

Ariel: Holland Hill Farm’s focus is to grow cannabis (hemp) for CBD production using natural methods in order to be an honest contributor to the availability of products to the public. We have had three growing seasons where we did NOT use any chemicals and we are very proud of the Holland Hill Farm team.

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Tia: What are the technologies you’re using for extraction?

Ariel: At Holland Hill Farm we plant seeds one at a time by hand into trays of soil. These trays are set inside our greenhouse to start growing. Once they are ready for the field, we use tractors and a planting wheel where one person sits to transfer the seedlings into the soil. The plants are harvested by hand with hand tools and hung to air dry. We try to introduce as few pieces of equipment during the farming process as possible in order to minimize the potential for contamination.

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Tia: Speaking of processing, what are the approaches your farm is using?

Ariel: We are strictly growers at this time. South Carolina currently has separate licenses for hemp growers and hemp extractors. However, all of our plants are taken to Ascent Naturals in Travelers Rest, SC. The extracted oil is also packaged, by Upstate Alchemy, in the same building in order to maintain quality control. Those items can be ordered directly through UpstateAlchemyCBD.com

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Tia: What’s the hardest thing in handling the farm?

Ariel: The most difficult part of handling the farm certainly happens during harvest. The timeline in getting plants out of the field and hung to dry is an incredibly difficult race against time. Our goal during harvest is to touch and disturb the plants the least number of times. It is always a relief to our team when the last dry plant is removed and bagged for transport.

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Tia: Is Holland Hill Farm a sustainable company? What do you do for that?

Ariel: We are definitely a sustainable farm! We do not use chemicals in our fields, a natural regeneration of the soil happens by resting growing locations and allowing regrowth of the native grasses.

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Tia: Top 3 strains to smoke for you personally?

Ariel: Neither myself nor my husband has utilized smoking as a method for CBD use. Neither of us has used THC in any form.

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Tia: Do you think people should invest in the cannabis stock market at all? Why?

Ariel: This is a tough question as I could not begin to predict the changes in stocks. I do, however, hope to see an increase in the knowledge and medical studies on all strains of cannabis with regards to CBD and THC content.

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Tia: What are your predictions for the cannabis industry for the next 5-10 years?

Ariel: I would like to see an increase in scientific research for cannabis and more quality control on consumer-ready products in order to clarify product content and dosing for consumers. I truly hope to see people drifting away from addictive prescription pain medications and receiving more complete relief with far lesser side effects.

BLITZ:

> Why was weed made illegal?

Marijuana was made illegal through the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937. The reasoning is not well understood.

> Will weed be legal federally?

For THC to become federally legal, we will need more medical research to prove the health benefits are greater than what is currently available.

> Do weed leaves have thc?

When taking a closer look at the cannabis flowers, the cannabinoids are found in the tiny bubbles. Reference photos can be found on our social media sites. These tiny bubbles are typically found on the flowers and, to a lesser degree, on small leaves.

> Does weed get old?

I have no personal experience with THC and have not been able to find a definitive answer to how degradation is affected as dried flowers are stored for a longer period of time.

> Indica or sativa? Why?

We personally grow a strain that is 60% Sativa and 40% indica. The products curated from our plants and available through www.UpstateAlchemyCBD.Com seem to be popular with both preference groups.

> Why should weed be legal?

I believe the legalization of cannabis as a whole would benefit many individuals who are suffering. Legalization would open doors to allow better labeling of contents and guidance for dosing.

You can follow Holland Hill Farm at:

Facebook

Instagram

Thank you so much, Ariel, for taking the time to do the interview.

To learn more about the brand, head on over to their website.