Today we’d like to introduce you to Josh Backman.
Hi Josh, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers the backstory on how Vitality Farms came to be.
Several factors led to the creation of Vitality Farms. On the personal side of things, my wife and fellow board member, Chelsea, and I have seen the medicinal benefits of CBD firsthand as we’ve watched friends and family battle various ailments over the years ranging from depression to cancer. Chelsea is a Nationally Board Certified Health and Wellness Coach and an advocate for natural medicine. She has made a believer out of me as well.
On the professional side of things, my background is in Chemical Engineering. In 2019, our partner and CFO, Kevin Woods, approached us about an investment opportunity in a CBD extraction facility in Smyrna, TN called Tennex. The science behind CBD extraction piqued my interest and it seemed like a good entry point into the market for us. Upon investing in that project, it became clear the importance of having a reliable source for hemp biomass. We knew we needed a hemp farm. And we knew we wanted it to be organic.
From there, a year-long journey began as we looked for a farm that would fit our needs, a team to help operate the farm, and investors that shared our vision. We connected with seasoned organic farmers Zay Lopez, Leah Lopez, and Dave Brown through a mutual friend and investor. They helped find the farm we have now located in southern Colorado and built out our farm operations and organic systems plans.
We then put together an investor group made up mostly of friends and family, and Vitality Farms was officially in business in February 2020.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I can’t help but chuckle a bit when I read this question. I am reminded of a time early in our farm search when Chelsea, Kevin, and I were standing in a field of hemp in southern California talking to an old farmer about the challenges of growing hemp on a large scale.
As the farmer began telling us stories about pests, drought, weather, and seemingly everything that could possibly go wrong while farming, Kevin stopped him and asked “how do we avoid these downfalls?” The old farmer cleared his throat, looked at Kevin with a straight face, and simply said “that’s farming, son.” Truer words have never been spoken.
For Vitality Farms, the road has been anything but smooth. For starters, we closed on the farm and officially went into business in February of 2020. Within a few weeks, the COVID pandemic was upon us and turned the world upside down. Retail sales slowed, demand for hemp stalled, and market prices began to tumble.
Fast forward to September of 2020. Somehow in the midst of early pandemic craziness, we had been able to gather all of the tools and supplies needed for planting and had 160 acres of hemp growing at the farm. Our first crop had just begun to flower and the CBD potency was starting to increase according to schedule. But that Labor Day, something happened on our farm that hadn’t happened in over 100 years. It snowed, and it snowed a lot. For 3 days our hemp crop was blanketed in 8 inches of snow. We feared the worst, a total loss of everything we had worked so hard for.
Yet somehow our plants pulled through. Our yields suffered and our CBD potency suffered, but we had something. In light of that event, combined with depressed market pricing for CBD, the economics of growing and selling hemp didn’t add up anymore. We were forced to develop value-added products in search of margin. We had our hemp biomass extracted into oils and distillates and even developed our branded retail line.
Through that process, we now have a company that can truly offer products with “seed to shelf” traceability. We did our best to turn lemons into lemonade as they say, and we are now in a much better position to navigate future market changes with an increased portfolio of product offerings.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Vitality Farms?
Vitality Farms is a vertically integrated company specializing in USDA-certified organic hemp and CBD.
We also have a strong focus on sustainability as we believe that a healthy Earth produces healthy plants which in turn make healthy products. There are many hemps and CBD companies out there that state they use organic inputs or that their hemp is grown organically. However, very few actually go through the organic certification process.
At Vitality Farms, we believe the USDA organic seal conveys confidence to our customers. They can be confident that we do not use any pesticides or herbicides that could ultimately end up in the final products. Not only do we not use those chemicals, but everything we produce is third-party lab tested to ensure product purity and safety.
We strive to create true health and wellness products and to differentiate ourselves from the competition.
What does success mean to you?
Success means different things to different people. At Vitality Farms, success is defined by helping people. There is no better feeling than reading a customer review about how our products have helped with a specific ailment or have improved their quality of life in some way.
In addition to helping individuals, we are on a mission to raise money for charity this year as well. We have partnered with a wonderful organization out of Knoxville, TN called Survivor Fitness on a fundraising initiative. Survivor Fitness Foundation helps cancer survivors regain their health and wellness through one-on-one personal training and nutritional support.
The work they do is truly amazing. If any readers would like to try our products while also helping Survivor Fitness, please use coupon code SURVIVOR25 at checkout on our online store for 25% off your purchase PLUS we will donate $5 from each item purchased to Survivor Fitness.
Contact Info:
- Email: jbackman@vitalityfarmsco.com
- Website: www.vitalityfarmsco.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vitalityfarms/
Image Credits
Jake Matthews
