Growing To Heal
When Ray Sitorius started growing hemp with the Stanley Brothers, no one knew what they hell to do, but they were determined to make it work.
There were 15,000 people on a waiting list for the Stanley’s CBD, and the only way to deliver was to grow outside. The stakes couldn’t have been higher.
One problem: Ray didn’t know anything about hemp, and the Stanley’s didn’t know anything about large scale farming.
They started out on their hands and knees, with shovels in a field, and Ray quickly introduced them to tractors and mechanization and modern technology.
Over the last six years, Ray has gotten one heck of an education, always innovating and striving to be better.
But as Ray says, no matter how much you think you’re in control and you do it right, Mother Nature is gonna tell you what you’re gonna get, when you’re gonna get it and how much.
Through all the struggles and unknowns, Ray knows he has found his calling. As a young boy he knew he wanted to be a farmer, but he never could have imagined it would be hemp and helping people in such profound ways.
Eastern Colorado might be known for the plains, the flat fields, the hot summers, the windy days, and the storms. No one seems to think of its fields and farms as the perfect place to grow hemp. That was what I thought, at least. My first trip to eastern Colorado was in the summer of 2015. I remember arriving at the Charlotte’s Web greenhouses with botanist Bear Reel. That was the first time I actually saw a real life hemp plant—and there were a lot of them.
Over the years, I have visited that farm and those greenhouses dozens of times. I’ve gotten to know the farmers, the town, and the plants. They have played a big role in my career, as well as my personal connection to hemp, Charlotte’s Web, and the industry.
