How to Start a Hemp Farm

Hemp farming continues to gain popularity as a high-yield, (relatively) low-maintenance crop that manufacturers can process for a wide variety of commercial applications.

Ready to turn your business idea into a reality? Tailor Brands is our top recommendation because it guides you through every step of the formation process with hands-on support — from paperwork and compliance to devising a detailed plan to help you achieve your business goals.

Tailor Brands ($0 + State Fees)

Start a hemp farm by following these 10 steps:

  1. Plan your Hemp Farm
  2. Form your Hemp Farm into a Legal Entity
  3. Register your Hemp Farm for Taxes
  4. Open a Business Bank Account & Credit Card
  5. Set up Accounting for your Hemp Farm
  6. Get the Necessary Permits & Licenses for your Hemp Farm
  7. Get Hemp Farm Insurance
  8. Define your Hemp Farm Brand
  9. Create your Hemp Farm Website
  10. Set up your Business Phone System

We have put together this simple guide to starting your hemp farm . These steps will ensure that your new business is well planned out, registered properly and legally compliant.

Exploring your options? Check out other small business ideas.

STEP 1: Plan your business

A clear plan is essential for success as an entrepreneur. It will help you map out the specifics of your business and discover some unknowns. A few important topics to consider are:

Luckily we have done a lot of this research for you.

What will you name your business?

Choosing the right name is important and challenging. If you don’t already have a name in mind, visit our How to Name a Business guide or get help brainstorming a name with our Business Name Generator

If you operate a sole proprietorship, you might want to operate under a business name other than your own name. Visit our DBA guide to learn more.

When registering a business name, we recommend researching your business name by checking:

  • Your state’s business records
  • Federal and state trademark records
  • Social media platforms
  • Web domain availability

It’s very important to secure your domain name before someone else does.

What are the costs involved in opening a hemp farm?

Hemp farming requires land. Buying farmland — along with farming and irrigation equipment — will require a sizable, upfront investment if you aren’t already farming. If you’re already a farmer, your initial costs will mostly focus on seed stock or clones for starting crops. You’ll also need to secure any required state and local licenses as well as insurance. Most costs associated with growing row crops, such as fertilizer and pest control, are already factored in for annual operating costs.

What are the ongoing expenses for a hemp farm?

Most ongoing expenses include buying seed stock or clones as well as farming supplies, maintaining farm equipment and buildings, paying worker salaries, and purchasing individual and farm insurance.

Who is the target market?

Hemp farming has both commercial and retail markets to consider. As a textile product, hemp’s commercial market includes businesses looking to compete with various products they can now make with hemp. Plastics, paper, building products, and fabrics are all products challenged by hemp.

In the retail space, customers buying hemp products tend to be younger and more liberal-minded although hemp fabrics and cannabidiol (CBD) sales reach into a wide range of demographic markets. College-educated people aged 25 to 50 represent a core group of hemp customers.

How does a hemp farm make money?

Hemp farms make money from the sale of their bulk, dried hemp.

How much can you charge customers?

Hemp is sold as a commodity so the market dictates the price. Farmers can sell their hemp plants as the fiber, the seeds, or both — with each option priced accordingly. Although prices continue to increase, as a market average, beware of ballooning figures based on speculators. Some in the industry fear hemp’s meteoric rise in popularity may cause a bubble similar to what the technology industry experienced in the early 2000s. Current wholesale prices vary between raw and processed hemp products, ranging from $3 to $3,000 per XXX.

How much profit can a hemp farm make?

Farming is a tricky business. While farmers don’t often turn a huge profit, it’s possible to keep overhead costs low by handling as much of the work as possible with a small crew. Hemp farming has the potential for good profits, but you must temper your expectations with the knowledge that Mother Nature can sometimes be a fickle and difficult partner. Average hemp farming profits typically fall in the range of $200 to $250 per acre.

How can you make your business more profitable?

Currently, hemp farming is experiencing a popularity surge. Offer the general public a chance to see what you do in an effort to destigmatize this plant. Many people will enjoy guided tours and farm visits. You might even consider using your farm as a backdrop for photo shoots. Some individuals would love to be immortalized on film, surrounded by your leafy greens.

Want a more guided approach? Access TRUiC’s free Small Business Startup Guide – a step-by-step course for turning your business idea into reality. Get started today!

STEP 2: Form a legal entity

One crucial aspect that cannot be overlooked when starting your hemp farm is the importance of establishing a solid business foundation. While sole proprietorships and partnerships are the most common entity types for small businesses, they’re a far less stable and advantageous option than LLCs.

This is because unincorporated business structures (i.e., sole proprietorships and partnerships) expose you as an owner to personal liability for your business’s debts and legal actions, while LLCs protect you by keeping your personal assets separate from your business’s liabilities.

In practice, this means that if your hemp farm were to face a lawsuit or incur any debts, your savings, home, and other personal assets could not be used to cover these costs. On top of this, forming your business as an LLC also helps it to appear more legitimate and trustworthy.

Ready to turn your business idea into a reality? Tailor Brands is our top recommendation because it guides you through every step of the formation process with hands-on support — from paperwork and compliance to devising a detailed plan to help you achieve your business goals.

Tailor Brands ($0 + State Fees)

Note: If you’re interested in more information before getting started, we recommend having a look at our state-specific How to Start an LLC guide (DIY) or our in-depth Best LLC Services review (for those opting for a professional service).

STEP 3: Register for taxes

You will need to register for a variety of state and federal taxes before you can open for business.

In order to register for taxes you will need to apply for an EIN. It’s really easy and free!

You can acquire your EIN through the IRS website. If you would like to learn more about EINs, read our article, What is an EIN?

There are specific state taxes that might apply to your business. Learn more about state sales tax and franchise taxes in our state sales tax guides.

STEP 4: Open a business bank account & credit card

Using dedicated business banking and credit accounts is essential for personal asset protection.

When your personal and business accounts are mixed, your personal assets (your home, car, and other valuables) are at risk in the event your business is sued. In business law, this is referred to as piercing your corporate veil.

Open a business bank account

Besides being a requirement when applying for business loans, opening a business bank account:

  • Separates your personal assets from your company’s assets, which is necessary for personal asset protection.
  • Makes accounting and tax filing easier.

Recommended: Read our Best Banks for Small Business review to find the best national bank or credit union.

Get a business credit card

Getting a business credit card helps you:

Recommended: Apply for an easy approval business credit card from BILL and build your business credit quickly.

STEP 5: Set up business accounting

Recording your various expenses and sources of income is critical to understanding the financial performance of your business. Keeping accurate and detailed accounts also greatly simplifies your annual tax filing.

Make LLC accounting easy with our LLC Expenses Cheat Sheet.

STEP 6: Obtain necessary permits and licenses

Failure to acquire necessary permits and licenses can result in hefty fines, or even cause your business to be shut down.

State & Local Business Licensing Requirements

Certain state permits and licenses may be needed to operate a Hemp Farm Business. Learn more about licensing requirements in your state by visiting SBA’s reference to state licenses and permits.

Most businesses are required to collect sales tax on the goods or services they provide. To learn more about how sales tax will affect your business, read our article, Sales Tax for Small Businesses.

STEP 7: Get business insurance

Just as with licenses and permits, your business needs insurance in order to operate safely and lawfully. Business Insurance protects your company’s financial wellbeing in the event of a covered loss.

There are several types of insurance policies created for different types of businesses with different risks. If you’re unsure of the types of risks that your business may face, begin with General Liability Insurance. This is the most common coverage that small businesses need, so it’s a great place to start for your business.

Another notable insurance policy that many businesses need is Workers’ Compensation Insurance. If your business will have employees, it’s a good chance that your state will require you to carry Workers’ Compensation Coverage.

STEP 8: Define your brand

Your brand is what your company stands for, as well as how your business is perceived by the public. A strong brand will help your business stand out from competitors.

If you already have a logo, you can also add it to a QR code with our Free QR Code Generator. Choose from 13 QR code types to create a code for your business cards and publications, or to help spread awareness for your new website.

How to promote & market a hemp farm

Because you’ll mostly sell to wholesalers, your advertising should feel more like an ad for your entire industry. Create a social media presence and business website to showcase your farming process. Use these platforms to share the final products manufactured from your hemp as well. People really like to see stores and the understanding of how this product can improve daily life is critical.

How to keep customers coming back

Clients will tend to stay with a commercial source as long as it delivers a fair price and a consistent product. Clients stake their businesses on your hemp supply. If you can align your crop rotations and harvests with your clients’ needs, you should also retain those customers.

STEP 9: Create your business website

After defining your brand and creating your logo the next step is to create a website for your business.

While creating a website is an essential step, some may fear that it’s out of their reach because they don’t have any website-building experience. While this may have been a reasonable fear back in 2015, web technology has seen huge advancements in the past few years that makes the lives of small business owners much simpler.

Here are the main reasons why you shouldn’t delay building your website:

  • All legitimate businesses have websites – full stop. The size or industry of your business does not matter when it comes to getting your business online.
  • Social media accounts like Facebook pages or LinkedIn business profiles are not a replacement for a business website that you own.
  • Website builder tools like the GoDaddy Website Builder have made creating a basic website extremely simple. You don’t need to hire a web developer or designer to create a website that you can be proud of.

Recommended: Get started today using our recommended website builder or check out our review of the Best Website Builders.

Other popular website builders are: WordPressWIXWeeblySquarespace, and Shopify.

STEP 10: Set up your business phone system

Getting a phone set up for your business is one of the best ways to help keep your personal life and business life separate and private. That’s not the only benefit; it also helps you make your business more automated, gives your business legitimacy, and makes it easier for potential customers to find and contact you.

There are many services available to entrepreneurs who want to set up a business phone system. We’ve reviewed the top companies and rated them based on price, features, and ease of use. Check out our review of the Best Business Phone Systems 2024 to find the best phone service for your small business.

Recommended Business Phone Service: Phone.com

Phone.com is our top choice for small business phone numbers because of all the features it offers for small businesses and it’s fair pricing.

Is this Business Right For You?

Because hemp farming is, in essence, the same as cultivating other field crops, it’s a potential fit for individuals with experience farming and harvesting acres of crops. Many traditional produce and commodities (e.g., corn, soybean) farmers now include hemp in their crop rotations or transform entire fields for this industrious material. To prosper in this business, you’ll need a solid understanding of crop rotation, waiting and reutilizing strategies, pest prevention, and harvesting and baling.

Want to know if you are cut out to be an entrepreneur?

Take our Entrepreneurship Quiz to find out!

Entrepreneurship Quiz

What happens during a typical day at a hemp farm ?

Much like any farm, most days involve monitoring existing farm systems and equipment as well as your crops. Farming often involves waiting for certain times — both for planting and harvesting. With hemp, the growth cycle averages 110 days. Farmers can stagger or “cycle” their fields between planting, growing, and harvesting to generate a larger annual yield and a constant flow of work. After harvesting and baling their hemp, farmers ship it to manufacturing plants around the country. As such, some daily operations may include the logistics of shipping and receiving.

What are some skills and experiences that will help you build a successful hemp farm ?

Farming experience is a great start. Growing crops involves much more than soil, water, and sun. Experience in the tractor saddle really can give you an edge. Understanding the business world and, specifically, the hemp market, also will prove critical to success. 

While this industry is poised to explode in popularity and demand, the structure and legality of hemp products remain subject to sweeping changes. Understanding the political nature of this crop and how to navigate dissenting opinions of your industry also will be essential.

What is the growth potential for a hemp farm ?

With the legalization of hemp farming around the country, many textile and clothing manufacturers now recognize the benefits of hemp fibers. Hemp has been used for thousands of years in numerous products, such as fabrics and rope. Today, modern manufacturing also uses hemp fibers as a biodegradable plastic replacement. Of course, there is the ever-growing cod market, which has been embraced by numerous citizens from all walks of life as a pain reliever and beneficial dietary additive. Overall, industry experts project hemp farming will remain increasingly popular and profitable for the foreseeable future.

Take the Next Step

Find a business mentor

One of the greatest resources an entrepreneur can have is quality mentorship. As you start planning your business, connect with a free business resource near you to get the help you need.

Having a support network in place to turn to during tough times is a major factor of success for new business owners.

Learn from other business owners

Want to learn more about starting a business from entrepreneurs themselves? Visit Startup Savant’s startup founder series to gain entrepreneurial insights, lessons, and advice from founders themselves.

Resources to Help Women in Business

There are many resources out there specifically for women entrepreneurs. We’ve gathered necessary and useful information to help you succeed both professionally and personally:

  • Funding
  • Events
  • Guides
  • Support

If you’re a woman looking for some guidance in entrepreneurship, check out this great new series Women in Business created by the women of our partner Startup Savant.

What are some insider tips for jump starting a hemp farm ?

Hemp farming requires a solid demand for your product. Luckily, that demand continues to grow more and more each day. Your business also will need big voices and backers to help share and promote your vision. These include industry leaders in textiles, fabrics, and building materials. The stigma of hemp’s relation to marijuana will continue to turn away some potential clients, but, more than ever, consumer approval seems too positive to ignore.

Align your business with other forward-thinking businesses and act as a voice for environmentally conscious farming. Hemp farming challenges some large industries, such as forestry and fossil fuels, so retaining a market share requires finding allies at all levels. Growing your support team and customer base will be key for growing your overall company.

How and when to build a team

Because of the nature of rotational farming, your team will ebb and flow. For harvesting and baling, your team will swell. But, you won’t need much help during the growing phase. A medium-sized farm may only need two or three people to keep it operating, for example, plus a few more field hands during harvest. A large-scale farm might need three to five equipment operators and a few more field hands to round out its team.

Useful Links

Industry Opportunities

Real World Examples

Further Reading

Additional Sources