We support accurate labeling of mushroom products

Two major mushroom product makers are at odds over what can be labeled as real mushroom products, and we have thoughts. NAMMEX wants the FDA to regulate the word “mushroom” in products to mean the full mature mushrooms depicted on their labels and in centuries of cultural use. Host Defense’s Paul Stamets wants his lab-grown mycelium to be labeled as the fully grown mushrooms depicted on his labels. As a mushroom extract maker who uses fully grown mature mushrooms, Half Hill Farm supports accurate labeling of mushroom products.

Recently, mushroom product maker NAMMEX filed a regulatory request with the FDA seeking clarity in mushroom supplements industry labeling.

At issue are major brands that make “mushroom” products from lab-grown sheets of mycelium cheaply propagated in a matter of days on rice or grain substrate. Once the substrate is myceliated, it is then dried, and extracted or encapsulated and labeled as made from the mature mushrooms often depicted on the label. These products unfortunately often contain the actual grain substrate in the product and are consumed by the purchaser. Some companies, like Host Defense, accurately include “rice” or “grain” in their ingredients because of this. Some don’t. Either way, the shorter and cheaper process certainly makes for more profit.

It is no surprise that some brands that make products from mycelium are upset with NAMMEX and have issued a statement opposing their effort. One statement, led by Host Defense’s Paul Stamets, argues that his company and other major brands should be able to label their mycelium products as “mushrooms” because mushrooms are made of the mycelium he uses to create his products. You can read his statement here.

At the same time this regulatory request for clarity is being made by a mushroom product maker, the poultry industry, in a bit of irony, won FDA approval allowing them to label lab-grown cultured cells as “chicken.” While science can definitively conclude a petri dish of cultured cells is indeed cultured from real chicken (just as mycologists can determine mycelium is cultured from real mushrooms), a plate of lab-grown cells is not the same as the real thing.

Here at Half Hill Farm, our mushroom extracts use the fully mature mushrooms pictured on our labels that take months to cultivate. Mature mushrooms experience months of growth and controlled conditions to produce the full spectrum of compounds that are extracted. The distinction between mushroom extracts and mycelium extracts set us apart from many major brands and is important to us.

Mushrooms have evolved to survive millions of years of changing conditions to be the oldest living thing on our planet. The result of that evolutionary outcome is eons of wisdom in the form of the full fruited body of the mushroom itself that we should respect and revere with proper labeling.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Take 15% off your purchase of our mushroom dual extracts using coupon code 4PACK at checkout when you purchase four or more 200ml bottles in any combination.

All orders over $150 get automatic free shipping. All orders ship within 24 hours except weekends and holidays.

Lion’s Mane mushroom extract improves brain cell growth

A new study in the January 2023 Journal of Neurochemistry shows unique compounds in Lion’s Mane mushroom extract boost memory by boosting nerve growth.

The study identified two bioactive compounds, N-de phenylethyl isohericerin and Hericene A, that appear to regulate the growth of neurons that improve memory.

The extracts had a “clear neurotrophic effect,” they write, resulting in doubly long axons – the threadlike links that conduct impulses away from a neuron – and more than triple the number of neurites, or small projections from a neuron that can grow into fully functional axons or dendrites.

“Laboratory tests measured the neurotrophic effects of compounds isolated from Hericium erinaceus on cultured brain cells, and surprisingly we found that the active compounds promote neuron projections, extending and connecting to other neurons,” Meunier says.

Researchers describe the compounds present in Lion’s Mane mushrooms as potent memory enhancers that may provide hope for natural memory enhancement for an aging population. Read more from University of Queensland researchers.

Multi collagen protein for joints, skin and gut health

COLLAGEN MAKEOVER: Adding a scoop of collagen to smoothies or baked goods gives our aging body essential protein building blocks for better joint, skin and gut health.

Dr. Axe’s Ancient Nutrition Multi Collagen provides types I, II, III, V and X that improves mobility and flexibility, relieves minor muscle aches and pains, and repairs joint cartilage and connective tissues of the digestive tract. Stop by Wellness Emporium in Woodbury, Murfreesboro, Bell Buckle and Jackson and learn how this important dietary supplement can help you on your path to better health and well being!

Half Hill Farm partners with MTSU Fermentation Science Program

FERMENTATION REVIVAL: Meet Kayley Stallings, our new intern from the Middle Tennessee State University Fermentation Science program! We are so happy to partner with MTSU to provide educational and employment opportunities in functional food & beverage.

Kayley will be one of the program’s first undergrads and plans to help make antibiotics work better after grad school. In the meantime, she’s the voice behind @mtsufermclub and MTSU Fermentation Association and will be helping us get elbows deep in some probiotic ferments!

Construction begins on hemp testing and CO2 extraction lab In Woodbury

Half Hill Farm began construction on a hemp testing and supercritical CO2 extraction lab today at their Woodbury location. The lab will be one of only a few such facilities across the state.

Hemp farmers and manufacturers will be able to send crop or product samples to the lab for required testing to ensure quality and state compliance. The expansion will also help integrate Half Hill Farm’s partnered indoor hemp grow operations with production of high quality supercritical CO2 extractions for food, beverage and supplement makers.

“Bringing this healing plant to the people and keeping the value of the crop close to home is important to us,” said co-owner Christian Grantham. “Tennessee is ready to lead in this growing industry, and we are proud to keep this investment in Woodbury.”

This year, more than 2,700 industrial hemp grower licenses were issued to farmers by the Tennessee Department of Agriculture. The state’s chapter of the Hemp Industries Association, the lobbying arm for farmers and industry stake holders, is now the largest in the country.

“Hemp is going to change our country,” said co-owner Vince Oropesa. “What I see it do for our customers will make a believer out of anyone.”

Since many customers use CBD products for personal health reasons, Half Hill Farm created partnerships to monitor the entire growing process from seed to flower harvest. The new lab will take those select buds and prep them for sale or extract them into oils.

“Our commitment to health and wellness runs deeper than the buzz of hemp,” said co-owner Scot Smotherman who is leading the farm’s hemp growth. “Being involved in the entire growing process all the way to extraction is critical to controlling quality.”

Half Hill Farm was the first certified organic farm to grow hemp in Tennessee. They are a licensed industrial hemp grower and processor and permitted manufacturer making CBD hemp products in an FDA registered facility under Good Manufacturing Practices. The farm got its start making mushroom extracts that are used across the country by cancer patients as adjunct therapies in consultation with a doctor.

Half Hill Farm recently opened two new health and wellness stores operating as the Wellness Emporium in Bell Buckle and Woodbury with plans to open two more this Spring. Their beverage and tonic manufacturing expansion late last year now has their products in 15 stores in Middle Tennessee with plans to expand for distribution later this year.

In addition to their popular functional beverages, mushroom extracts and apple cider vinegar tonics, Half Hill Farm also makes quality CBD hemp oil extract blends in 500mg, 1000mg, and 2500mg formulas and a 1000mg full spectrum CBD hemp topical salve.

The new hemp testing and extraction lab will be operational in the Summer. You can follow Half Hill Farm’s progress on FaceBook.

Please consult your doctor before taking any of our products for health reasons. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Organic grow plan for licensed industrial hemp farms

Today, the Tennessee Department of Agriculture began mailing out over 2,700 industrial hemp grower licenses for the 2019 grow season. If the record number is any indication, it could be the start of something big in Tennessee.

We are already getting lots of calls from farmers looking for buyers of flower and biomass. One of the requirements many buyers, including our business, will want is organically grown with no evidence of pesticides or other banned inputs in organically grown hemp.

One mistaken use or exposure to a banned input could render all your hard work unusable for certain buyers or the consumer, so we created a working draft of an Organic Grow Plan for licensed industrial hemp growers that outlines a few relevant National Organic Program standards used to certify a crop as organic by the USDA. It is not a full exhaustive plan and are not requirements, but it can be a great guidance to ensure quality and get you on your way to certifying your hemp as organic.

Half Hill Farm was the first certified organic farm to grow industrial hemp in Tennessee. We are a licensed grower, processor and permitted manufacturer that makes quality CBD hemp oils and other products. We are currently partnered with an indoor grow and building a CO2 extraction and testing lab at our Woodbury, TN facility. We are one of many retailers and manufacturers who will want quality Tennessee grown flower and biomass for our stores and products and hope this document can help ensure your product passes quality testing.

Collaboration: If you are a certified organic grower of hemp, or use organic practices you feel need to be added to this document, please leave a comment with the addition or contact us directly. If you have favorite organic products you use that you’d like shared, or have questions, add them in comments. We’ll edit changes into the document. We want this document to be open sourced and available to everyone. If you are one of the many new hemp growers in Tennessee, congratulations and we hope the very best for your farm’s new direction!

Stories of healing: how CBD hemp oil has changed lives in Tennessee

In the time since industrial hemp was legalized in Tennessee, over 1,000 Tennesseans have died from opioid use. The problem is so bad all over the country that it has been declared a national emergency by the federal government.

Some politicians funded by pharmaceutical contributions – like Tennessee’s Rep. Marsha Blackburn – have made the problem worse by removing the DEA’s authority to stop the flow of opioids into our communities. Now that the public knows which politicians are getting paid to keep the pills flowing, these same politicians are misusing state agencies as cover to focus the public’s attention instead on the purported dangers of hemp.

While some politicians use our tax dollars on behalf of pharmaceutical companies to convince us God’s creation is the problem, the fact remains that there have been zero deaths from the use of CBD extracts from industrial hemp in Tennessee. You can thank God for that, but there is something else you can do to protect our access to this natural gift.

Help us share stories of healing: We’ve seen veterans, farmers, pastors, police officers, teachers, family and people of all walks of life find healing using CBD. How has CBD affected your health? Please share your story here in comments and give a voice to hope and healing across the state of Tennessee!

Half Hill Farm’s full spectrum extract CBD hemp oil

Our farm has witnessed first hand from customers the healing power of cannabis. We’ve seen veterans get off years of pain pills. We’ve seen parents buried under a decade of opiod management come off their drugs and wake up to a family at home. We’ve seen people come off powerful anti-inflammatory drugs. We’ve seen people with fibromyalgia or other chronic pain finally find the relief they’ve been seeking all their life.

We’ve seen lives changed forever using CBD as an alternative natural remedy, and we believe we are seeing the beginning of a revolution in health care.

At the same time, we’ve seen elected officials foment confusion over legal use of industrial hemp and politicians intentionally create a policy driven national emergency that kills three Tennesseans a day - all to keep their opioid and private prison industry patrons fat and happy.

Making and bringing healing hemp products to market has always been on the horizon for our farm. Half Hill Farm was the first certified organic grower of industrial hemp in the state of Tennessee. We helped change state law to bring the promising health benefits of CBD to the people. We are now on the manufacturing side proudly producing quality CBD hemp oil extract blends in 500mg and 1,000mg formulas.

Half Hill Farm uses organically grown domestic industrial hemp from Kentucky that goes through CO2 extraction and then is formulated and blended in our FDA registered facility in Woodbury, Tennessee. We do not sell private labeled product. Our CBD hemp oil products contain up to 0.3% THC. Each batch is tested by third-party independent labs to ensure quality and compliance.

Want to retail our products in your store? Sign up for a wholesale account here. You can purchase our farm’s CBD Hemp Oil and other CBD products through our online store or at Wellness Emporium of Woodbury, TN (110 W High Street. Woodbury, TN 37190) or the Wellness Emporium of Bell Buckle, TN (13 Webb Rd. E, Bell Buckle, TN 37020).

Please consult your doctor before taking any of our products for health reasons. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

The health benefits of Cordyceps Militaris mushrooms

Our farm’s journey with the power of mushrooms started with a family illness and continues to bring healing to many friends and customers. That’s why we’re pleased to announce the addition of Cordyceps Militaris to our farm’s line of mushroom extracts!

Cordyceps are a dietary therapeutic mushroom that’s been used for centuries to improve the immune system and boost energy levels. Cordyceps were first used in the mountains of Tibet thousands of years ago as a remedy for fatigue and recovery from illness. The mushroom grows naturally on a caterpillar at elevations of 12,000 feet above sea level in China and throughout the world.

The addition of Cordyceps comes after years of listening to and observing the needs of customers who regularly use our mushroom extracts for better health and well being. Half Hill Farm also makes Red Reishi, Chaga, Turkey Tail and Lion’s Mane mushroom extracts.

Benefits of Cordyceps Mushroom extracts*:

  • Reduces inflammation & oxidative stress
  • Helps recovery from illness and exercise
  • Enhances liver & lung function
  • Improves tolerance of chemotherapy and radiation
  • Reduces tumor development
  • Improves sex drive

Studies show many benefits to using codyceps mushroom extracts including a reduction of inflammation and oxidative stress, the leading causes of most disease. This makes cordyceps, along with chaga mushrooms, a good anti-aging and recovery supplement.

Athletes use cordyceps for recovery and performance as studies show the mushroom’s adenosine levels help increase the body’s supply of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) which is a primary source of energy during physical activity. Cordyceps also increase the body’s natural production of nitric oxide optimizing oxygen absorption and improving lung and liver function.

Cordyceps militaris produces cordycepin, a bioactive compound with antitumor activity in various cancers. The mushroom’s polysaccharides help support patients in the treatment of cancers and also contains 18 essential amino acids, vitamins E, K, B1, B2 and B12, sterols and antioxidants superoxide dismutase and glutathione.

You can purchase our farm’s Cordyceps Mushroom Extract online or at our store in Woodbury and the Wellness Emporium of Bell Buckle.

Studies on potential uses of Cordyceps Militaris mushrooms:

*These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Half Hill Farm restocks CBD hemp oil in Woodbury

Half Hill Farm is now restocking our CBD hemp oil products following clarity provided  by Circuit Court Judge Royce Taylor (TN Judicial District 16). The judge acknowledged in his order of injunctive relief that hemp-derived CBD products are legal under state law. Half Hill Farm removed CBD products with an abundance of caution until we could understand whether the court intended to uphold or challenge state law.

Yesterday, Judge Taylor provided injunctive relief to business owners arrested in Operation Candy Crush ordering the return of keys and cash registers seized in raids. He also placed the burden of proof on District Attorney Jennings Jones to prove the store owners knowingly sold “marijuana,” as the indictments claim.

Judge Taylor, citing Tennessee Public Chapter 369, said the state must prove that the CBD products sold by those arrested and seized by law enforcement came from marijuana and not industrial hemp which is legal in Tennessee.

The 2017 law passed unanimously by the legislature defines industrial hemp as including “any industrial hemp-derived products that do not contain more than three-tenths of one percent (0.3%) of delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in a topical or indigestible consumer product” (TCA 43-26-102(4)(B)). Industrial hemp also includes viable and non-viable plant, plant parts, or whole plant extracts with the same THC limits and additional restrictions if the source is growers and processors licensed by the state (TCA 43-26-102(4)(A)).

State law also explicitly removes industrial hemp (non-viable industrial hemp OR products made from non-viable industrial hemp from a licensed grower or processor) from state marijuana criminal codes (TCA 39-17-415). Despite some irresponsible television and print reports citing poorly written press releases, it is legal for consumers to purchase, consume and possess industrial hemp products without a prescription.

Half Hill Farm was part of the state hemp pilot program. We wanted to create extracts but could not plant the seed we wanted or sell the product to consumers. Recent changes in state law and Department of Agriculture rules fixed both those problems (allowing high CBD variety seed and legalizing any industrial hemp derived products) and created a market for legal, safe industrial hemp products. The legal distinction in state law between marijuana and industrial hemp creates a market for state grower and processor hemp products and for retailers to offer those products with competitive choices. Without these protections the state’s hemp pilot program would likely fail.

Here is a picture of the 2017 law beside a picture of our product’s certificate of analysis. You can view these documents in our stores.

You can purchase our CBD Hemp Oil products at our store in Woodbury (Half Hill Farm – 1424 John Bragg HWY Woodbury, TN 37190) and in Bell Buckle (Wellness Emporium – 13 Webb Rd E Bell Buckle, TN 37020). You can also view full lab reports for each purchase.

UPDATE 02-28-18: District Attorney Jennings Jones has dropped all charges against store owners. If you are a district attorney in Tennessee and have law enforcement or politicians coming to you with this issue, take note and don’t make costly mistakes like this.

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