How much should you pay for CBD?

Prices for CBD vary and so does the quality. At the end of the day, not all CBD is created equal. The price of CBD products is based on three main factors: 

1. Where and how was the hemp grown? 

2. Where and how was it processed?

3. Where and how was it formulated?

We’re going to take a dive into each of these questions and consider how cost plays a role.

First up, farming practices.

If you read our blog on farming practices, you know we take our methods very seriously. Some of these practices involve using regenerative farming techniques and testing the soil for heavy metals and pesticides. These practices, while being the most effective for growing simple and pure products, have costs associated with them. 

Admittedly, there are much cheaper alternatives to these methods. For example, crops can be grown on less fertile land. Hemp can be grown alongside other crops such as soy, wheat, or alfalfa which usually require pesticides and herbicides in order to have a solid yield come harvest. Sometimes hemp is even grown near fracking fields where the plant can pull heavy metals from the ground. Even though these methods are cost-effective, they breed a lower quality hemp plant. If you start with low-quality hemp, you will end up with a low-quality CBD extract. 

Quality CBD starts at the source. More precautions and measures taken to ensure a high-quality, healthy crop means more steps between planting and harvesting. Those steps cost money and time. 

Let’s take a look at extraction and processing methods.

The method in which CBD is extracted and processed plays a huge role in product efficacy and cost. Chemical extraction methods are currently cheaper than mechanical extraction methods. There are a few things factoring into why this is true.

First, chemical extraction can be achieved using biomass, whereas mechanical, or rosin extraction in our case, requires high-quality hemp buds. Generally, biomass is a term used to describe the smallest particles of the hemp plant that are too small to be manipulated by hand - tiny hemp buds, shake, the lower quality aspects of the plant. In a chemical or solvent extraction method, these smaller pieces of the plant are perfectly acceptable to work with. You can simply dump a barrel of biomass into an extraction vessel, turn the machine on, and out comes crude oil. It’s kind of goopy and looks like tar - it’s akin to primordial soup rather than something that would be infused into a wellness product. From here, there must be another distillation process to separate the solvent from the CBD within. 

In direct contrast, Farmhouse does not use biomass because it does not meet our standards in terms of quality and transparency. As a matter of fact, we can’t use biomass. Biomass has a low concentration of cannabinoids, therefore, you need chemical extraction to collect the CBD.  Rosin extraction only works with grade A hemp material that is rich in cannabinoids, otherwise, when the pressure and low heat are applied, no CBD comes out of the press. The use of high-quality cannabis means a greater chance of having a more effective end product. 

While mechanical extraction has fewer steps than chemical extraction, mechanical extraction is more labor and time-intensive. Mechanical takes more time, effort, and resources to produce the same amount of usable CBD oil to formulate products when compared to chemical separation.  However, the quality of CBD oil tends to be much higher than solvent-extracted CBD because the starting material is better quality and the process doesn’t degrade the oil.

Cost variability for product formulation consists of two main pieces: facility and formula.

The facility in which a CBD product is made plays a large role in determining final costs. It’s important to implore where and how a product was made. Has the CBD product you’re looking for been formulated in a certified commercial kitchen? Is that kitchen insured? Is the facility clean and licensed? Licenses and certifications cost money to obtain and to keep current. 

Formulas are vital to research before purchasing any CBD product. The question to ask here is what other ingredients are used in this product and are they organic or ethically sourced? This is an easy area for companies to cut costs, especially if that company is producing mass quantities of products. For Farmhouse, we believe this is a vital area to remain vigilant in upholding high standards. Why go through so much time and effort to produce a CBD product and then cut corners at the end? Let’s take a look at the first product we ever sold: our full-spectrum Rosin Honey. 

Our Rosin Honey only has two ingredients: our solventless full-spectrum CBD rosin and organic Colorado wildflower honey provided by Copoco’s Honey, a local honey shop just up the road from our facility. We put extensive effort into ensuring our hemp is organically grown, high-grade, and ethical. Copoco’s Honey, similar to Farmhouse, takes rigorous steps when it comes to the quality of their product. They ensure an organic honey, free from pesticides and sustainably sourced. They harvest honey during the spring and summer so their hives can feed the colonies during the winter months. They even provide seminars on beekeeping to educate the masses on the importance of bees and proper bee care. 

We could have gone with virtually any honey supplier. Truth be told, honey doesn’t have to be expensive but when it came time to formulate our Rosin Honey the idea of purchasing cheap, untraceable honey didn’t bode well with us. 

So, how much should you pay for CBD?

Calculating costs for CBD is pretty easy, take the total milligrams in the container and divide it by the cost. So, our 1000mg Rosin Drops costs $75.00. Broken down, that’s $0.075/mg. We believe seven cents per milligram is a reasonable price, especially when considering all of the steps from sprout to sale. When calculating the cost for CBD and comparing company prices, make sure you take into account where and how the hemp was grown, processed, and formulated. If you are having a difficult time finding that information and the product you are looking at is cheap, or suspiciously expensive, that may be a red flag.

The bottom line. 

At the end of the day, every single step of production has a cost associated with it. For us, we are always evaluating our products making sure they are a consistent high quality at a reasonable price. Yes, there are cheap CBD products on the market, but with that cheap CBD comes the risk of purchasing products of questionable quality. It’s similar to purchasing organic vs. non-organic food at the supermarket; the organic products usually cost a little more but with that cost comes the assurance of a safe product. 

If you ever have any questions about our pricing or the pricing of other products on the market, please feel free to reach out. The most important thing to Farmhouse Hemp is not that you purchase our products, it’s that you find the product that is right for you at a price that is right for you.