CEN at MJBizCon: Samson Extracts Pushes into Higher Margin CBD Isolate

The outdoor hemp processor was chasing scale but now it's focusing on improving quality.

Kyle Neathery, CEO of Samson Extracts, said his company lived in the CBD distillate space for a long time but always had goals to get into CBD isolate, which has higher margins.

Samson has now been producing CBD isolate for about two months and Neathery said his company owes a lot of that evolution to its fairly unique facility in Alabama. About 85% to 90% of its hemp processing happens outdoors on large equipment including about half a mile of stainless steel pipes moving flow from process to process.

Samson has maintained an extraction rate of approximately 200,000 to 250,000 pounds per month. Now that his company has reached a larger scale, Neathery said his focus has shifted toward improving quality. In the past year, Samson has also had to change its approach toward securing enough biomass to keep up with production. Last year marked the first time Samson operated on a majority of grow contracts.

Neathery said Samson's goal for the hemp industry is a shape similar to other crop management, a place where the risk is more balanced between the grower and processor.

As it continues to grow in the U.S., Samson is also looking at ways to send its CBD isolate to international markets. But pricing and regulatory uncertainty along with competition from China is still making global expansion an uncertain proposition.

The Cannabis Equipment News (CEN) team recently traveled to MJBizCon 2024 in Las Vegas from December 4 through December 6. At the show, we interviewed leaders from nearly every aspect of the industry. We didn't have time to interview everybody, so if we missed you, please reach out to [email protected]. MJBizCon 2025 is scheduled to be held from December 2, 2025, through December 5, 2025, at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

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