Southern Hemp Expo 2019

Mike Lewis follows in his great grandfather’s footsteps as the first family member in two generations to continue the farming legacy practicing the natural process of agriculture. In 2009, he interned on an organic farm in Gravel Switch, Kentucky and founded Growing Warriors—the first veteran oriented food security project with a mission to equip, asset and train military veterans in production agriculture to feed themselves, their families, and their communities. In 2014, Lewis began farming hemp as part of the Kentucky Pilot Program. With the support of Fibershed and Patagonia, Lewis became the first federally permitted hemp farmer in the U.S. since prohibition.

To date, Lewis has won numerous awards for his work in agriculture and farming, including the 2013 and 2014 Local Food Hero Award, the 2015 Wendell Berry New Agrarian, Kentucky Colonel Award, the 2014 Yahoo People That Made the World a Better Place award, and the GRIST 50 award. In 2017, Lewis co founded Third Wave Farms—an industrial hemp company based Livingston, Kentucky. Today, Lewis serves as Director of Third Wave Farms responsible for production and sales. He regularly educates audiences on Agrarianism, Regenerative Agriculture, Farm Safety, Veterans in Agriculture and local economics. He also serves as Board Director of Growing Warriors, serves as Board Member of the Hemp Industries Association (HIA), is a former member of the KY Hemp Commission, where he was instrumental in crafting Kentucky and Federal legislation surrounding the newly passed 2019 Farm Bill.
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