– Joint Venture with One of the Foremost
Experts on Field Hemp Cultivation Significantly Advances Village
Farms' Vertically Integrated CBD Strategy –
VANCOUVER, March 1, 2019 /CNW/ - Village Farms
International, Inc. ("Village Farms" or the "Company") (TSX:VFF;
NASDAQ:VFF) today announced that it has entered into an agreement
with Nature Crisp LLC ("Nature Crisp") to form a joint venture for
the outdoor cultivation of high-cannabidiol (CBD) hemp and CBD
extraction in multiple states throughout the United States (the "Joint Venture
Agreement"). The joint venture, Village Fields Hemp ("Village
Fields"), will be 65% owned by Village Farms and 35% owned by
Nature Crisp. Nature Crisp is a private, Georgia-based farming operation and part of
the Jennings agricultural group of companies (the "Jennings
Group"), which grows a diverse range of food and other crops,
including hemp, on more than 6,000 acres in the U.S. and
Canada.
"Jennings Group is a pioneer in hemp cultivation and this joint
venture establishes a new powerhouse in hemp cultivation that
significantly advances Village Farms' vertically integrated CBD
strategy," said Michael DeGiglio,
Chief Executive Officer, Village Farms. "As 10th
generation farmers since Gideon (Zanini)
Jennings immigrated to South
Carolina in 1736, Jennings Group brings deep knowledge in
large-scale field agriculture across a vast array of crops, with a
proven track record of genetic optimization and innovation. Over
the past several years, they have rapidly become a leading
authority on hemp cultivation, renowned for their understanding of
the plant and their success applying their cultural and genetic
expertise to meaningfully improve CBD content and yield.
Moreover, the Jennings Group team brings extensive relationships
with the farming community across the U.S., as well as with
geneticists, academics and researchers, that will be invaluable to
the success of this new business."
"Hemp-derived CBD is a significant opportunity for Village Farms
and we are moving aggressively on the heels of the U.S. federal
legalization of hemp and hemp-derived CBD products to establish
ourselves as a leading vertically integrated supplier to the U.S.
market. The world's great agricultural product brands are
built on a foundation of exceptional growing operations that are
pioneers in genetic advances and cultural practices to optimize
plant traits and yields. Partnering with Jennings Group
provides a tremendous advantage in this regard as Village Farms
pursues its goal to be a premier supplier of branded and private
label hemp-derived CBD products to "big box" and grocery retailers
in the U.S."
"Since passage of the 2014 Farm Bill, we have recognized the
significant potential for hemp and hemp-derived CBD, and have
immersed ourselves in understanding the hemp plant and applying and
refining our proven cultural practices, gaining profound knowledge
with our 300-acre field crop last year," said Phillip Jennings, III, Chief Business Officer,
Village Fields. "Hemp cultivation is in its infancy and there
is much to learn about how to efficiently grow and optimize the
hemp plant for its CBD benefits, yield and disease
resistance. The Jennings team, including Phil Jennings, IV, who has been appointed Chief
Executive Officer at the new joint venture, has a considerable head
start in this regard. We are thrilled to now partner with
Village Farms to leverage our significant learnings and success to
date with hemp, as well as their direct experience with related
crops, to establish Village Fields as a leader in hemp cultivation
and CBD extraction."
Village Fields is in the process of determining locations in
which it will initially establish its hemp cultivation and
CBD-extraction operations, with a target to commence field
cultivation of hemp in Spring 2019 and to have 500 to 1,000 acres
in production during 2019. Village Fields also plans to have
extraction capabilities in place by the end of 2019 to enable it to
begin supplying CBD oil on a wholesale basis while it commences
production of branded CBD products for "big box" retailers in 2020.
Village Fields intends to conduct its operations in locations where
it is fully legal to do so on a federal and state level.
Mr. DeGiglio noted, "As a vertically integrated grower supplying
fresh produce to North America's
top grocery and "big box" retailers for decades, Village Farms
believes that it has a considerable advantage as we enter the CBD
market. We have not only already invested millions of dollars
in capital, as well as the requisite time and effort, in the
infrastructure and IT systems required to serve these retailers but
have, over years of repeatedly meeting their exacting standards,
established ourselves as a trusted fresh produce supplier, with a
reputation for quality, reliability and safety. Moreover,
Village Farms' experienced regulatory staff, with years of
experience working with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and
Department of Agriculture, among others, is a crucial asset that we
believe will be integral to success in the CBD industry as it
matures under a new regulatory framework in the U.S."
Under the terms of the Joint Venture Agreement, Village Farms
will contribute approximately US$15
million to Village Fields for start-up costs and working
capital. Capital investment for extraction capabilities is to
be determined and dependent on the future decisions with respect to
the locations of hemp production and the extraction operations.
Village Farms' Pursuing Parallel Greenhouse Hemp
Initiative
In parallel with its multi-state field hemp initiative, Village
Farms is continuing to monitor developments in the Texas State legislature regarding the legalization
of commercial cultivation of hemp and hemp-derived CBD products in
the State of Texas. Village Farms owns and operates 5.7
million square feet of existing, technologically advanced
greenhouse facilities in West
Texas, one of the best growing climates in the U.S. If
Village Farms were to convert its Texas operations to hemp production, they
would comprise the largest greenhouse hemp production footprint in
North America.
"We expect a sizeable portion of the forecasted US$16 billion in U.S. CBD sales by
20251 to be composed of CBD derived from hemp grown in
controlled environments to address the demand for exacting
specifications and consistency from the health and wellness and
pharmaceutical segments of the market," said Mr. DeGiglio.
"We believe we are very well-positioned to address this exciting
opportunity."
About Jennings Group
Jennings Group operate more than 6,000 acres of farms in the
U.S. and Canada and has
consistently demonstrated its ability to grow fledgling
agricultural ventures into successful, large-scale commercial
operations. Over the course of its long history, Jennings
Group has grown a diverse array of agricultural products (outdoors
and in greenhouses), including a wide variety of food crops
(vegetables, soy beans, corn, high bush blueberries, wild
blueberries), tobacco, cotton, turf grass and giant miscanthus,
among others.
With a passion for discovery and innovation, Jennings Group has
a proven track record of collaborating with seed companies, tissue
culture laboratories, universities and private researchers to apply
genetic research and advanced breeding techniques to optimize plant
traits, disease resistance and yield.
Among its many successful agricultural operations, in 1998
Phillip Jennings, III founded Phillip Jennings Turf Farms, which
rapidly became an industry-leading, international supplier of
proprietary turf grasses, including the world's first turf grass
that can be irrigated predominantly using salt water. In
collaboration with university researchers, Jennings Turf also
developed proprietary technology that extended the shelf life of
its turf grasses from several days to more than 60 days
post-harvest, enabling their grasses to be exported globally.
Jennings Turf has been used on golf courses and in sports stadiums
in more than 30 countries on six continents around the world.
About Village Farms International, Inc.
Village Farms is one of the largest and longest-operating
vertically integrated greenhouse growers in North America and the only publicly traded
greenhouse produce company in Canada. Village Farms produces and distributes
fresh, premium-quality produce with consistency 365 days a year to
national grocers in the U.S. and Canada from more than nine million square feet
of Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) greenhouses in
British Columbia and Texas, as well as from its partner greenhouses
in British Columbia, Ontario and Mexico. The Company is now
leveraging its 30 years of experience as a vertically integrated
grower for the rapidly emerging global cannabis opportunity through
its 50% ownership of British
Columbia-based Pure Sunfarms Corp., one of the single
largest cannabis growing operations in the world. The Company
also intends to pursue opportunities to become a vertically
integrated leader in the U.S. hemp-derived CBD market, subject to
compliance with all applicable U.S. federal and state laws, and has
established a joint venture, Village Fields, for multi-state
outdoor hemp cultivation and CBD extraction.
Notes
1. Cowen: Cowen's Collective View of CBD. February 2019.
Cautionary Language
Certain statements contained in this press release constitute
forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable
securities laws ("forward-looking statements"). Forward-looking
statements may relate to the Company's future outlook or financial
position and anticipated events or results and may include
statements regarding the financial position, business strategy,
budgets, litigation, projected production, projected costs, capital
expenditures, financial results, taxes, plans and objectives of or
involving the Company. Particularly, statements regarding future
results, performance, achievements, prospects or opportunities for
the Company, Pure Sunfarms, Village Fields, the greenhouse
vegetable industry or the cannabis and hemp industries are
forward-looking statements. In some cases, forward-looking
information can be identified by such terms as "outlook", "may",
"might", "will", "could", "should", "would", "occur", "expect",
"plan", "anticipate", "believe", "intend", "estimate", "predict",
"potential", "continue", "likely", "schedule", "objectives", or the
negative or grammatical variation thereof or other similar
expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts.
Although the forward-looking statements contained in this press
release are based upon assumptions that management believes are
reasonable based on information currently available to management,
there can be no assurance that actual results will be consistent
with these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements
necessarily involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many
of which are beyond the Company's control, that may cause the
Company's or the industry's actual results, performance,
achievements, prospects and opportunities in future periods to
differ materially from those expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include,
among other things, the factors contained in the Company's filings
with U.S. and Canadian securities regulators, including as detailed
in the Company's annual information form and management's
discussion and analysis for the year-ended December 31, 2017.
When relying on forward-looking statements to make decisions,
the Company cautions readers not to place undue reliance on these
statements, as forward-looking statements involve significant risks
and uncertainties and should not be read as guarantees of future
results, performance, achievements, prospects and opportunities.
The forward-looking statements made in this press release only
relate to events or information as of the date on which the
statements are made in this press release. Except as required by
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publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future events or otherwise.
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SOURCE Village Farms International, Inc.