October 2025 Newsletter: A Long One, But an Important One

Dear Friends, Farmers, and Hemp Lovers,

I know this is a long newsletter, but it is important.

The farm is on fire, with color!

The maples are blazing red, the oaks glowing gold, and the cover crop we planted back in February is feeding our soil. The air smells of rain, soil, and fall leaves as everything is slowing down just enough to remind us to breathe. Of course, the deer have their own ideas. They’ve decided our young trees that we planted with the CREP Program make perfect rubbing posts for their antlers, so we’ve been busy protecting our little forest-in-the-making.

Standing Up for Small Hemp Farms

This month, I submitted public comments to the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission (OLCC) regarding the proposed Hemp Product Registry rules (HB 4121). These new regulations would require hemp products to go through the same registration process as controlled cannabis items, a move that will be devastating for small farms like ours.

Since earning one of Oregon’s first hemp licenses back in 2015, we’ve watched the industry rise and then shrink under the weight of ever-increasing fees and complex compliance demands. Each year seems to bring another permit, inspection, or costly license. Last year, a new license became required for every shop that carries a simple CBD product to pay the state for a special retail license, despite no evidence of any public health risk from hemp or CBD.

Hemp and CBD are natural, plant-based wellness products that already meet federal supplement guidelines. Over-regulating them doesn’t protect consumers; it drives out small growers and local makers who have worked hard to build this industry responsibly from the ground up.

We believe Oregon can do better. By supporting sensible, fair regulation, we can keep hemp sustainable, local, and accessible. Thank you for standing with small farmers and for choosing products that honor the land and the people who care for it. If you are interested to read my entire comments you can access them here.

There’s another urgent issue developing on the national stage.

Congress may soon vote on a spending package that could include “hemp-killing” language, effectively banning most hemp-derived products across the country. No one knows exactly what the final bill will look like, but if passed, it could devastate hemp farmers, makers, and small businesses nationwide.

The U.S. Hemp Roundtable and other advocates are working hard on Capitol Hill to stop this, but they need our collective voices. If you would like to learn more, please check out their Supporter Action Center.

As you can see, we’re standing on very shaky ground in the hemp and CBD industry. Nothing is guaranteed. The freedom to grow, make, and even purchase these natural, healing products is not as secure as it may seem. Hemp is one of the most innocent, beneficial, and versatile plants on the planet: capable of healing our bodies, supporting our soils, and revitalizing rural economies. Yet powerful forces are working to restrict and even erase this opportunity.

We can’t afford to be silent or asleep. Every voice matters, and every action counts. Together, we can protect this plant, this industry, and the communities it supports.

We’re gearing up for the Silverton Christmas Market at the Oregon Garden!

The Silverton Christmas Market will run from November 21 through December 31 and we are so excited for it. If you’ve never been, imagine over 1.5 million twinkling lights. Stop by our booth for a sip of our peppermint hemp tea; it’s soothing, festive, and grown right here at Whole Circle Farms. Warm your hands by the campfire, share a laugh, and maybe pick up a few hemp-based gifts for the season.

Rochelle and Peter
The Whole Circle Farms Family